Retail Innovation Hub Summit 2024: Cardlink, a Worldline brand, Reinforces Commitment to Innovation in Retail

Press Release

October 11th, 2024

Retail Innovation Hub Summit 2024:Cardlink, a Worldline brand, Reinforces Commitment to Innovation in Retail

Cardlink, member of Worldline (Euronext:WLN), a global leader in payment services, successfully hosted the second in the row Retail Innovation Hub Summit in collaboration with Found.ation. The event, which took place on Wednesday, October 9th at Atraktos, featured presentations and panel discussions designed to drive innovation across the retail industry.

The summit was held as part of the Retail Innovation Hub (RIH), an initiative implemented by Cardlink, a Worldline brand, with Found.ation as its strategic partner. The RIH is an open innovation program with the aim of bringing together retail experts, startups, and technology companies to shape together the future of retail in the digital era.

Ioannis Kitixis, Country Head & Managing Director of Worldline in Greece opened the summit with a warm welcome highlighting the company’s long-term commitment to driving innovation. Mr Kitixis stated: “Worldline is a strong supporter of open innovation and encourages partnership across the payment ecosystem. As a result, Worldline invests more than 250 m € in Research and Development on an annual basis. In Greece, the Retail Innovation Hub initiative exemplifies our unwavering commitment to redefining the payment ecosystem through collaborative partnerships and forward-thinking solutions. ”

The Summit’s first keynote, delivered by Filippos Zakopoulos, Managing Partner at Found.ation, titled “The Evolution of Human Skills in the AI Era”, explored the impact of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science on the retail sector. He highlighted the critical need for businesses to adapt their skillsets and strategies to succeed in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Eleni Gkouti, Director and Technical Architect at Mastercard, underscored the vital importance of innovation in payments: technology, competition, and trends, pointing out how technological advancements are transforming business-customer interactions and how the industry is evolving to provide solutions that extend beyond payments. A standout session, “Bridging the Innovation Gap: Startups & Corporations in Sync”, brought together startup leaders from Simpler, Keyvoto, and iSPACE, who discussed how startups and corporations can effectively collaborate to foster innovation. The discussion, moderated by Konstantinos Geros, Head of Innovation Solutions at Found.ation, underscored the vital role of agile startup culture in driving fresh solutions and the importance of corporate support for scaling up these innovations to meet industry demands.

The 2nd Retail Innovation Hub Summit also featured the presentation of the Retail Innovation Hub Annual Report 2024 by Giannis Kordonis, Solutions & Innovation Manager της Cardlink, a Worldline brand. The report provides an in-depth analysis of retail trends, offering insights into consumer behavior, technological advancements, and market opportunities. This essential resource will guide stakeholders as they navigate the challenges and opportunities in retail innovation.

The final panel, “Retail Innovation Unleashed”, gathered executives from leading retail companies, including ACS Courier, Nova Telecommunications & Media, and Hondos Center, to discuss the strategic priorities for innovation in their businesses. Moderated by journalist Dimitris Mallas, the panel offered expert perspectives on how these companies leverage technology to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency in a competitive market.

The event concluded with networking opportunities, reinforcing the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the retail innovation ecosystem.

More details about the Retail Innovation Hub can be found here and the “Retail Innovation Report 2024” is available free of charge here.

About Cardlink
Cardlink was founded in 2004 and is the largest payment service provider in Greece. Cardlink helps businesses with their day-to-day transactions with quality, security and speed. The Cardlink team monitors developments in the field of electronic payments and adopts the latest technologies and services that continuously improve the trading experience in physical and electronic commerce. Since September 2021, Cardlink has been member of Worldline (Euronext:WLN), the European leader in the payments services.
cardlink.gr

About Worldline
Worldline [Euronext: WLN] helps businesses of all shapes and sizes to accelerate their growth journey – quickly, simply, and securely. With advanced payments technology, local expertise and solutions customized for hundreds of markets and industries, Worldline powers the growth of over one million businesses around the world. Worldline generated a 4.4 billion euros revenue in 2022.
www.worldline.com
Read here the 2022 Integrated Report of Worldline.

Contact
Cardlink: Margarita Rosmari, tel. +30 210 6100674, email: pr@cardlink.gr
AIA Relate: Katerina Kaskouti, tel. +30 210 7418908, email: kaskouti@aea.gr