Worldline says fraud ratio below industry following media reports

Worldline (WRDLY) issued a statement after Dutch’s NRC reported the company covered up customer fraud despite warnings from its risk department. The shares fell in Europe over 20% following the news. In a statement, Worldline said: “Worldline operates in a demanding and constantly evolving regulatory environment, especially the one related to HBR (High Brand Risk) sectors, such as online casinos, online stockbrocking or adult dating services. Since 2023, the Group has strengthened its merchant risk framework to ensure full compliance with laws and regulations, conducted a thorough review of its HBR portfolio- which currently accounts for approximately 1.5% of its acquired volumes – and has terminated commercial relationships deemed non-compliant with its strengthened merchant risk framework. As indicated in previous financial communications, these decisions affected merchants representing EUR 130 million run rate revenue in 2024. As an indication, according to the latest international schemes reports, Worldline’s fraud ratio is below the industry average…Wherever the Group identifies indications of non-compliant situations, additional checks are immediately undertaken, potentially leading to termination of the client relationship.”