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The world’s biggest card networks earlier this month reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by closing their operations in Russia, and now some of the world’s biggest processors are beginning to report their exposure to those markets. For Paris-based Worldline S.A., it’s not trivial, but it’s not huge, either. Worldline, which last month said it is selling its point-of-sale terminal business, reported Friday that Russia accounts for approximately 1.5% of its revenues on continuing operations, while its take from Ukraine is nil.
The big processor said its Russian revenue is mostly derived from e-commerce, enabling Russian consumers to buy from businesses located outside Russia. And while it reported virtually no business in Ukraine, the company said neighboring countries contribute about 1.5% of its annual revenue, with half of that flowing from transaction processing in the Baltic nations.
Worldline said it is reporting its exposure in the two countries in line with recommendations issued by the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) as relayed by the French regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
Worldline’s move comes after actions taken early this month by the major card networks to shut down operations in Russia in reaction to the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Mastercard Inc. said all Mastercard-labeled cards issued by Russian banks will not work on the network, and cards issued outside the country will not work at ATMs or merchants inside Russia. At the same time, Visa Inc. said “all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation.” AmEx’s statement at the time echoed Visa’s.
A number of Western nations, including the United States and the European Union, imposed financial sanctions on Russia following the invasion These resulted in a ban on certain Russian banks from participating in the SWIFT money-transfer network.
Worldline made headlines last month when it announced it is selling its Terminals, Solutions, and Services division to New York City-based Apollo Global Management Inc. for 2.3 billion euros ($2.6 billion). The significance of the deal is that the TSS unit includes Ingenico, a major point-of-sale terminal maker that Worldline acquired only in 2020 for $8.6 billion.
