Euronet Expands in Greece as Banks Keep Offloading Acquiring
Hey Payments Fanatic!
Euronet Worldwide is buying the merchant acquiring business of CrediaBank in Greece as part of a broader payments partnership.
The deal is expected to close in Q3 2026. Under the agreement, Euronet will take over acquiring, run the bank’s ATM network, and give customers access to 2,500 ATMs nationwide. Card processing comes with it. Debit, credit, and prepaid.
The two sides will also work together on sales, distribution, and new payment and digital wallet services for at least three years. Acquiring plus infrastructure plus product.
CrediaBank brings scale. 24,000 POS terminals across 20,000 merchants. 6.7 billion euros in deposits. One of Greece’s top five banks.
This fits a wider pattern. Greek banks have been steadily selling acquiring units, while processors and payments firms consolidate the space.
If you’re following how Payments industry keeps evolving globally, keep scrolling 👇 Tomorrow I'll be back with everything you need to know, first-hand.
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
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NEWS
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GOLDEN NUGGET
𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞’𝐬 🇪🇺 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 — the 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐬 and 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 by Payplug 👇Created by Arthur Bedel 💳 ♻️
Europe is not a single payment market — it’s a patchwork of local card schemes, payment methods, and region-specific consumer habits. Operating across borders means adapting to how people actually pay in each country, not assuming a single checkout experience works everywhere.
𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲
🇫🇷 France → GIE Cartes Bancaires (CB) is the national card scheme, co-badged with Visa or Mastercard. CB accounts for the majority of French card transactions — over 70%+ of all card spending flows through CB rails.
🇩🇪 Germany → girocard is the leading debit scheme, particularly in-store, supported increasingly by co-badging and digital wallets.
🇮🇹 Italy → BANCOMAT (national debit) + mybank for A2A e-commerce.
🇪🇸 Spain → Bizum has become the de facto P2P + increasingly e-commerce checkout option with Getnet having a strong presence as a local PSP.
🇧🇪 Belgium → Bancontact Payconiq Company → soon Wero (EPI Company)
🇳🇱 Netherlands → iDEAL dominates online payments with direct bank transfers → soon Wero (EPI Company)
🇵🇱 Poland → BLIK is the rising instant payments ecosystem powering e-commerce and offline QR.
🇬🇧 UK → Faster Payments and a competitive PSP ecosystem led by Checkout.com, Adyen, and PayPal.
🇵🇹 Portugal → Multibanco remains the core national interbank payment network.
🌐 Nordics → strong national rails + local wallets and bank-based payments -> Vipps in Norway.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞
→ Consumer Trust & Familiarity
Payment behavior is cultural. People trust what they use daily — not what is globally standard.
→ Cost Efficiency
Local schemes often carry lower interchange and processing fees than international networks — improving margins at scale.
→ Authorization Rates
Payments routed through domestic networks typically perform better — especially for recurring billing and card-on-file use cases.
→ Compliance & Regulation
Europe is deeply influenced by PSD2, SCA, and national banking frameworks. Local schemes are already integrated into regulatory norms.
𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 🇫🇷 - GIE Cartes Bancaires (CB) in France 🇫🇷
CB is not just another card logo — it is the backbone of French card payments.
Every CB card is co-badged (CB + Visa or CB + Mastercard), meaning:
• Domestic transactions route via CB rails → lower cost, higher approval rates
• International transactions route via Visa/Mastercard when needed
For merchants selling in France, supporting CB is not optional — it is a prerequisite for conversion, cost control, and customer trust.
Global scale requires local depth.
Source: Payplug
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