Nexi Payments Greece: The new era of digital payments

Alpha Bank, faithful to its vision for the digital transformation of its banking services, announced its subversive cooperation with the Italian Nexi.

Alpha Bank and PayTech Nexi join forces, bringing a new era of digital payments in the country.

The two Groups announced the creation of a new company under the name “Nexi Payments Greece“, which aims to provide innovative solutions for merchants, as well as to develop cutting-edge products and services in the Greek market.

The announcement of the joint company was made in the context of a Press Conference, in the presence of the Minister of State Akis Skertsos and Her Excellency, Mr. Patrizia Falcinelli, Ambassador of the Italian Republic in Greece. The event, which marked the launch of the new company, was addressed by the CEO of the Alpha Bank Group, Vassilis Psaltis, the CEO of the Nexi Group, Paolo Bertoluzzo and the CEO of Nexi Payments Greece, Dionysis Grigoratos.

Accelerating the digitization of Greek businesses

The commercial world, consumers and the Public Administration will benefit from the integrated solutions provided by the new company by Alpha Bank and Nexi, while the high level of innovation and advanced technology that characterize the new services will contribute to the expansion of digital payments in Greece.

Digital payments are expected to be significantly upgraded, providing a faster, easier and even more secure experience for merchants and businesses, through the provision of ready-to-use tools that will allow greater comfort and flexibility in the development and management of customer payments. At the same time, the new services from Alpha Bank and Nexi will enable consumers to enjoy a new, simplified shopping experience without the use of cash.

One step closer to the cashless payment culture

Nexi Payments Greece seeks to contribute to the digital transformation of the country and the cultivation of a cashless payment culture, enhancing digitization, simplifying transactions and bringing merchants and consumers one step closer to a new payment era.

“Today we welcome the partnership of two ‘national champions’, two leading groups in their sectors and countries, which aims to contribute to the digital transformation of the Greek economy. The digital transformation of the State and the economy is a national priority, with the main goal of making Greek society more fair, and Greek democracy stronger.By adopting digital technologies, the transactions of citizens and businesses become easier, and thus their trust in the State and institutions increases. At the same time, digitization strengthens reforms in the field of our tax administration to reduce tax evasion (e.g. universal connection of modern cash registers with the state, in order to reduce the gap in VAT collection), creating a virtuous circle where increased tax revenues lead to a further reduction in tax rates and enhance the investment prospects of our country. In addition to the steps that have been taken in recent years for digitization, there are also the efforts of the private sector, such as that of Alpha Bank and Nexi, which is another important foreign investor, which gives a vote of confidence to the Greek economy.”, said Akis Skertsos, Minister of State.

“Alpha Bank’s cooperation with Nexi in the field of payments is part of our strategy to create alliances with leading groups in the global market, with the aim of providing top quality solutions to our Customers.We are excited by the mutual commitment of both parties and we are confident that our joint effort will transform the digital payments experience in Greece, at a time when our Customers are choosing – at ever-increasing rates – cashless payments.”, stated Vassilis Psaltis, CEO of Alpha Bank Group.

Nexi Payments Greece: the transaction and the new company

The completion of the transaction between Alpha Bank and Nexi, which marked the opening of Nexi Payments Greece, took place on June 30, 2022. Alpha Bank has transferred its spin-off payment acceptance sector to the new company, which has received a payment institution license.

Nexi holds a 51% stake in the new company, while Alpha Bank, through the signing of a long-term promotion and distribution agreement, remains committed to the payment acceptance sector and is the exclusive distributor of the new company’s products and services in the Greek market, through its extensive Branch Network throughout Greece.

Nexi will consolidate the new company, a development that is expected to contribute over 196 thousand POS terminals and 12 billion euros payments volume.

Nexi Payments Greece is expected to have approximately 94 million euros revenues in 2022, on a pro-forma basis and before synergies. Nexi fully financed the completion of the Transaction by utilizing its cash resources.

Following the completion of this landmark transaction, Alpha Bank successfully completes the capital enhancement actions announced in the framework of its business plan “Project Tomorrow“, which fully offset the impact of the Non-Performing Exposures (NPEs) transactions completed within the second quarter of 2022, which allows it to achieve its strategic goal of achieving a single-digit NPE ratio within the first half of the year.

Accordingly, with the completion of the Transaction, which is compatible with its strategic vision, Nexi secures a leading position in the rapidly growing Greek payments market, further expanding its activities in the field of acquiring card transactions, while, at the same time, increasing revenue diversification, operating in particularly attractive European markets with low penetration. The new company will also be in a privileged position to take advantage of further growth opportunities, organic and non-organic, in the country.

“Today, we are proud to announce the launch of a strategic partnership with Alpha Bank in Greece, resulting in the joint creation of Nexi Payments Greece, which will allow us to accelerate the process of modernization and digitization of payments in the country. Together, we will provide citizens, businesses and public administration with an offer of innovative and technologically advanced solutions and services, with the aim of making digital payments a daily experience that benefits the entire payment system. This collaboration is further proof of our commitment to Greece, where we already employ more than 1,000 people and where we recently created in Athens a center of excellence, for the development of the issuing platform that will serve the entire Nexi Group. In the next 5 years, we will invest more than 100 million euros in Greece and we plan to hire 100 talented professionals to work on our next generation technology platforms.This partnership with Alpha Bank, in line with our selective investment strategy, in markets with high growth potential, such as Greece, for the Nexi Group, represents a further step on our path to creating value in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market”, said Paolo Bertoluzzo, CEO of the Nexi Group.