George Drimiotis, CEO of Cardlink, on the CEO Initiative Book, the special edition of Fortune 100

Cardlink, a worldline brand, CEO George Drimiotis

CEO Initiative book

Strong stand in front of the changes in the payment industry

– What additional value does joining Worldline bring to the Cardlink team in Greece?

Worldline is a leader in the European payment and transaction management services market. It is also part of the top four world players and has a presence in over 50 countries. Cardlink, as a part of a specialized provider since September 2021, strengthens its position in Greece and gains access to the global market, cutting edge technologies and products, as well as Worldline’s expertise and know-how, in the field of electronic payments. This will provide Cardlink the way to create and launch new products and services that can meet the needs and expectations of businesses and can help them develop even further.

In addition, joining Worldline will contribute to the improvement of profitability from new sales, scale economies and cost efficiency for operating costs. At the same time, our company’s employees will be presented with new opportunities since they now belong to a dynamic team of 20,000 employees with presence in 55 countries worldwide.

– Faced with the challenge that is climate change, how far would your role go in reducing the use of paper by transforming the current model of transactions to a digital one?

Our goal for 2022 is to reduce the paper consumption resulting from the thousands of receipts that are printed daily through the 290,000 Cardlink POS. We have started by trying to encourage businesses to “think green” by eliminating the printing of receipts for both the merchant and the customer, utilizing the available digital tools, such as the Cardlink apollo merchant transaction management platform, and the available Android POS. Our contribution does not stop there. We will contribute to Worldline’s CSR strategy and to that of the TRUST 2025 programme, that was built around five challenges with measurable targets in the regions: business activities, employees, ethics, supply chain and environment. Worldline is the first company in the field of payment services to commit to carbon neutrality. In addition, the target is, by 2025, for 100% of the POS we sell to offer digital receipts capability, to not contain any PVC and to be packaged in recycled material, as well as being capable of operating in energy save mode.

– How do you earn the trust of your customers? 

For 17 years at Cardlink we have been working towards simplifying the everyday life of businesses, so they can do what they know best: their work. To serve, create and stand out! If you can provide experiences and solutions that can solve business problems, and the consumers enjoy and find them useful, you increase fidelity, build confidence, and this leads to growth.

Our people are our strength, and our customers are our inspiration to become better. High-level support is a part of our DNA. Our culture is based on agility — we encourage our people to try new things. This way, they train and become better — each time in something bigger and more important. Moreover, we have found the right partner in Worldline, since their core values are innovation, cooperation, excellence, and empowerment. This way we are always ready to face the challenge of all the rapid changes in the payment industry.

“Speed, complexity and volatility cause fatigue, which can easily lead to mistakes. The businesses that adapt to these conditions are the ones that will succeed”.

– What are your medium to long term financial goals, and which is the strategy you have set in place to achieve them? 

Our main financial goal for the next years is to achieve an annual revenue increase of 10%. Our strategy has two axes: to be close to our customers and provide them with products and services that can solve problems and help them in their own work. And to have happy employees who are inspired by the company’s purpose and values and are focused on serving our customers. These are the two axes on which we build our range of products and services that will fuel our growth.