Worldline - 2020 Universal Registration Document

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GROUP OVERVIEW Message from Gilles Grapinet

Message from Gilles Grapinet [GRI 102-1] [GRI 102-14] A.3

Dear Madam, Dear Sir, Dear shareholders, 2020 was genuinely an extraordinary year, in the true sense of the word. Covid-19 will stay in the history books for decades to come. It brought exceptional challenges, both societal and economic. It is probably the first ever truly global and synchronous event which impacted every country on earth with the same immediate threat. In spite of these testing conditions, your Group was able to achieve all its major objectives for the year and this is a source of immense collective satisfaction. In response to the pandemic, we have achieved our immediate aims of protecting our people, ensuring business continuity and continuing to prepare Worldline for the future. We rapidly implemented rigorous health and safety measures everywhere we operate, in strict compliance with the recommendations of local authorities. We temporarily adapted our cost base to keep our business strong and maintain our long-term growth prospects. In parallel, we ensured full business continuity in all areas of our business. We responded to the needs of our clients, whether it was helping merchants ramp up online commerce, contactless payments, click-and-collect and mobile payments or responding to an increase in volumes of e-commerce and cashless payments processed for banks. This enabled our business lines to maintain a level of activity in line with our annual objectives as set out in April 2020, demonstrating the strong resilience of our business model. Of course, the most important strategic development of Worldline in 2020 is our friendly acquisition of Ingenico that we announced in February. Thanks to the extraordinary joint work of both companies, we were able to close end of October, within the expected timings. It is a truly strategic milestone in our company’s history. We have expanded our footprint in the US, Latin America and Asia, as well as in Germany, the Nordic countries and especially in online payments. Our integration and synergy plans are progressing at a rapid pace. More than ever, we cover the entire payment value chain, with outstanding market positions in online payments, merchant acquiring and industrial banking and payments transaction processing. The acquisition has ideally positioned Worldline for the structural transformation of our markets and for new opportunities to play a central role in the consolidation of the payments sector in Europe and beyond.

This major transformation of our business is incredibly timely and will enable the Group to take full advantage of the fundamental changes that the pandemic has set in motion, accelerating pre-existing trends in which we are actively engaged. In our field of digital payments, these changes are leading to more cashless payments, the growth of contactless payments and a significant increase in e-commerce. Finally, the Group has continued to make progress in all areas of social and environmental responsibility and has been recognized through multiple independent assessments as one of the most advanced in the technology sector and beyond. In this regard, in June, you approved a company purpose for Worldline that confirms the link between our mission and our corporate values. At a time when everywhere in the world there are growing concerns regarding the eroded confidence in social media and in the use of individuals’ data and more widely the dominant power of some tech giants, I believe our company purpose and our brand signature – digital payments for a trusted world – profoundly resonate with the expectations of our stakeholders and offer a path for our clients and partners who aim both to lead their industries and to be fully trusted by their customers and society at large. Having managed to make 2020 a truly decisive year for its future, despite the pandemic, Worldline will focus in 2021 on three main priorities: Ensure a fast and flawless integration of Ingenico to deliver ● all the expected synergies and complete the strategic review of the payment terminals business; Pursue preparing the Company to reap all the benefits of ● the structural acceleration of the cashless trends in our economies in parallel with the expected improvement in the health situation; Pursue the strategic development of the Company by ● positioning ourselves for seizing value-creative consolidation opportunities in Europe and beyond. All our efforts will be energized by our company purpose with its important focus on sustainable economic growth and reinforcing trust and security in our societies as we work together with our stakeholders to forge a safer and more prosperous world. Gilles Grapinet Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

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Universal Registration Document 2020