Paris, Feb 13 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas, the largest lender in the euro zone, and its French counterpart BPCE announced on Thursday the finalization of an agreement to establish Estreem, a joint venture in payment processing, with the goal of becoming one of the top three players in Europe's market.
The newly formed company, equally owned by both banks, will handle all card transactions for BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE in Europe, processing a total of 17 billion transactions annually. This move positions Estreem as the leading player in France, responsible for 30% of the country's card payment volume, according to the statement.
Estreem is expected to have a workforce exceeding 300 employees.