Crédit Agricole has acquired 100 per cent of shares in merchant payments provider CAWL, all of which were formerly held by French payment processor Worldline.

France’s second-largest bank initially launched the brand as a joint venture in 2024 with the intention of creating a new leader in payment services for merchants. Now, Crédit Agricole said, the partnership is “evolving,” moving from an equity-based model to a commercial partnership.

The bank said the partnership has already enabled the commercialisation of offers for merchants who are clients of Crédit Agricole’s regional banks and subsidiary LCL. It added that the combination of its acquiring solutions and Worldline’s acceptance solutions has allowed the groups to win a significant amount of tenders from large merchants over the past two years.

The transaction is not expected to have any material bearing on Worldline’s financial trajectory as communicated at its annual results announcement in February, nor on Crédit Agricole’s financial ratios or the trajectory presented in its 3-year ACT 2028 plan.

Pierre-Antoine Vacheron, chief executive of Worldline, said: "Our collaboration with Crédit Agricole is evolving from an equity-based model to a commercial partnership, with the same ambition to best serve the needs of Crédit Agricole's clients.

“This operation is part of the strategic refocus of our Group initiated in 2025. We remain fully committed alongside Crédit Agricole, a trusted long-term partner and reference shareholder.”

Crédit Agricole acquired a seven per cent stake in Worldline in 2024.

In June, it was reported that the bank was one of several interested in a stake in Belgium’s state-owned lender Belfius, alongside Rabobank and ING.

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