BillDesk has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the India payment businesses of French payments firm Worldline, marking a significant development in India’s fast-evolving digital payments landscape.
The acquisition is estimated at an equity value of approximately €60 million (around $70.8 million USD). While BillDesk did not formally disclose the transaction size in its statement, the deal represents a strategic consolidation move within the Indian fintech ecosystem.
The transaction comes nearly 10 months after Mint exclusively reported that Worldline had initiated a process to explore a potential sale of its India operations as part of a broader global restructuring exercise. The company had reportedly mandated bankers to evaluate strategic options, including a possible divestment, as it sought to exit non-core geographies and improve profitability amid muted global growth and repeated profit warnings.
This acquisition aligns with a broader consolidation wave underway in India’s fintech sector, as players look to strengthen capabilities, expand scale, and enhance profitability in a competitive environment.
Strategically, the deal combines BillDesk’s strong scale in online payment aggregation—serving merchants, businesses, governments, and banks—with Worldline India’s expertise in payment processing, bank transaction switching, and omnichannel merchant acquiring. The latter includes in-store POS infrastructure, QR acceptance, and integrated offline capabilities.
The combined platform is expected to offer seamless omnichannel payment solutions, spanning digital and recurring mandates, cross-border transactions, and offline acceptance. The integration aims to strengthen reach across both metropolitan and Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, supporting India’s expanding digital economy.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. As part of the agreement, Worldline will enter into a long-term technology and software partnership with BillDesk to ensure operational continuity and platform stability.
Worldline’s India business is estimated to have a revenue impact of around €90 million, and the divestment aligns with its strategic intent to refocus on its core European operations.
With this acquisition, BillDesk further solidifies its position as a leading end-to-end payments platform in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets. The deal underscores both the maturing nature of India’s fintech ecosystem and the growing importance of scale, integrated capabilities, and technology partnerships in driving the next phase of innovation.
