ACI Expands; Says It Covers Third of Countries Offering Real-Time Payments

Software firm ACI Worldwide says it is expanding amid a global boom in real-time payments.

The expansion means ACI now covers about a third of the world’s countries that offer real-time payments services, the company said in a Wednesday (Feb. 1).

“ACI now powers 25 domestic and pan-regional real-time schemes across six continents — including nine central infrastructures — providing solutions to central banks, participant banks, fintechs and other payment service providers,” the Miami-based firm said.

ACI says that Europe, the Middle East and the U.K. are its leading regional markets, with 12 countries having signed on for its real-time payment software capability. It also serves nine countries in the Asia-Pacific and four in the Americas region. Its newest clients are three central banks in the Middle East.

The announcement follows the recent launch of two new products for ACI Worldwide, a frequent collaborator in PYMNTS’ research.

Last month, the company debuted The ACI WalletHub, which connects merchants in 70-plus countries to a single hub for more than 200 digital wallets. Later the same day, ACI unveiled a real-time payment offering for merchants.

The company says its expansion is in response to an anticipated uptick in demand for real-time payments. It projects that by 2026, this payment method will facilitate an additional $131 billion in gross domestic product in the planet’s five largest global real-time markets: India, China, Thailand, Brazil and South Korea.

As noted here Wednesday, real-time payments have become invaluable to the global economy. A past PYMNTS study shows that 86% of businesses generate yearly revenues between $500 million and $1 billion using this method.

“The benefits of real-time payments are self-evident: Half of the businesses surveyed reported improved cash flow management capabilities, and 32% enjoyed improved transparency in the payments process,” PYMNTS wrote.

More than 60 countries now have a real-time payments infrastructure, with experts projecting that nearly three-quarters of the world’s population either has or will soon have access to real-time payments.

But the exact nature of each county’s real-time payments scheme varies greatly. Some countries are new to the instant payments world, while others have spent a decade developing a system, in some cases with their governments’ support.

For example, Brazil officially unveiled the current version of its Pix system at the end of 2020, and 60% of Brazilians use it for everyday needs. In percentage terms, Brazil’s GDP will have the highest growth facilitated by real-time payments of anywhere on the globe.