Worldnet: payment made simple

Worldnet, based in Dublin, Ireland, is a leading B2B provider of omni-channel payment platform solutions, with an international clientele that stretches across Europe and North America. “Originally, we focussed on ecommerce and payments where the cardholder is not present. But with technology developing and payment methods changing, today we provide the full range of options: cardholder present or not, mobile, tablet, online, point-of-sale – you name it,” explains Will Byrne, CEO and co-founder of Worldnet.

“Today’s connected consumer expects quick, no fuss, no friction payment. We help ease the burden associated with integrating and maintaining omni-channel payments on a single platform. Our Payment-as-a-Service (PaaS) model enables our partners to outsource their entire payment function or to integrate specific processes into their existing systems” he explains.

Since it was founded in 2007, Worldnet has expanded across the Atlantic to cover the large US market. “We had a hard time when the market collapsed in both the US and Europe, but we dug deep, rode the wave, and since 2011 we’ve been growing strongly.”

On the back of that growth, in 2017, Worldnet received an important investment from ACT Venture Capital, an EIF-backed venture capital firm, to help accelerate its expansion into the US market. “At the time we didn’t have a business entity in the US,” Will says, “We’ve since been able to establish ourselves on the US market, develop product capabilities and exploit our business model to the fullest extent, hiring around 15 people in the process.”

One of the biggest challenges for the company is research and development, to keep things like security and encryption ahead of the curve. “It’s a constant battle, between the industry and the fraudsters. You have to constantly review your security. A security breach is as much about the dollar-value damage as it is about reputational damage. Despite our aggressive growth in the US, all the R&D still takes place in Dublin and the vast majority of our staff is based here. We’re constantly scaling-up our R&D activities. We need to stay at the forefront of the market, so getting the best IT people is key. Ireland has a great reputation in the technology sectors as well as a good living environment, so it really helps our efforts to attract top talent from around the world. We’ve got staff from Brazil, Argentina, India for example…But it’s an ongoing challenge.”

Company: Worldnet (Ireland)

Type of business: ICT

EIF financing: COSME EFG

Financial intermediary: ACT Venture Capital

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Ireland, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/ie