SHIFT · EU
Crédit Agricole takes full control of Cawl merchant payments platform
Crédit Agricole has bought out Worldline's stake in Cawl, the joint venture established in 2023 for merchant payment services. The bank now owns 100% of the platform, consolidating control over a core revenue stream as payment processing consolidates across European banking.
WHY IT MATTERS
Banks are increasingly vertically integrating payments infrastructure to reduce third-party dependencies and capture margin leakage to fintech competitors. This signals a broader shift toward in-house processing.
Source: Finextra · 2026-07-06