Real-time payments software provider ACI Worldwide has launched an instant payments solution to enable US-based merchants to accept online, mobile, and in-store payments instantly. The service, ACI Instant Pay, offers access to lower-cost payments, instant liquidity, reduced risk of fraud, and improved shopper experience.

As detailed in the announcement, the launch marks the expansion of ACI’s real-time payments software solutions to merchants and is a reinforcement of the company’s goal of powering domestic and pan-regional real-time schemes. ACI Instant Pay capabilities ACI Instant Pay can be enabled by merchants through a simple API integration with ACI’s payments orchestration platform. Once integrated, the solution is displayed to merchants as an alternative payments’ method through all major channels: online, in-store, and mobile apps.

When talking about in-store payments, customers can initiate and complete payments via their mobile device by leveraging a QR code that is displayed on a consumer-accessible screen, thus enabling a smooth, secure, and one-click checkout experience. As per information provided in the press release, with the expectation of a 2023 launch of the US domestic real-time payments scheme FedNow, ACI Instant Pay aims to enable US-based merchants to boost their businesses by accepting and processing real-time payments, which are expected to gain traction in the years to come. Based on ACI’s 2022 Prime Time for Real-Time Global Payments report, the annual volume of real-time transactions in the US is expected to reach 8.

9 billion by 2026, an increase from the 1. 8 billion in 2021, representing a CAGR of 37%. Created with this knowledge at its basis, the ACI Instant Pay solution brings forth the following capabilities: No interchange fees, with the service offering relief from the increasing costs of card payments’ processing, which average between 2 – 4% of each transaction; Instant settlement, thus enabling instant liquidity for merchants; Chargebacks’ elimination.

As account validation is carried out pre-payment, only insufficient funds can result in declined transactions, which means chargebacks are eliminated and fraud exposure shifts to the banks.   And integration simplicity, with single, simple API integration for secure ecommerce, and QR code integration in-store. When talking about the announcement, company officials advised that this marks the expansion of their real-time payments for central governments, payment networks, banks, financial institutions, and fintech companies to also include merchants.

The company aims to enable merchants to leverage instant payments for an improved shopper experience, as a multitude of shoppers are frustrated with traditional payment options and have a need for increased choice, transparency, and control, both online and in-store. With ACI Instant Pay, merchants can gain and engage new customers while simultaneously driving growth and decreasing costs. Furthermore, ACI Instant Pay helps value flow directly from customer to merchant, with no card fees, user friction, delays and card fraud risk being encountered.

Furthermore, merchants are enabled to reduce costs and pass savings on to their customers as an incentive in the form of either cashback, loyalty points, or discounts. For more information about ACI Worldwide, please check out their detailed profile in our dedicated, industry-specific Company Database. .