Real-time payments software provider ACI Worldwide has launched its digital central infrastructure, a single ISO 20022 native solution that bundles digital overlay services with ACI Central Infrastructure. ACI’s digital central infrastructure solution is a single solution for the entire payment ecosystem, enabling domestic and global interoperability, and increasing speed to market.

ACI offers tailored consultancy and professional services to plan, design, and implement the solution, helping reduce complexities for customers and simplifying SLA management via a single vendor. ACI Worldwide’s end-to-end digital central infrastructure Per the announcement information, ACI’s digital central infrastructure provides central banks and financial institutions with a one-stop solution encompassing real-time central infrastructure integrated with digital overlays of the likes of Request to Pay, QR code payments, back-office management platform, and AI-powered fraud technology. Furthermore, it includes value-added services such as merchant onboarding and management, dispute management, and multiple-aliases management.

ACI officials advised that following the demonstrated success of real-time payments in multiple countries, there is an increasing demand for countries to evolve to the next growth stage and launch new payment methods and innovative digital use cases in addition to their payment rails. Per their statement, ACI empowers central banks with a secure central payments infrastructure to expedite real-time payment growth and enables banks and financial institutions to capitalise on said growth with solutions integrated with digital overlays. As per ACI’s 2023 Prime Time for Real-Time report, global real-time payment volumes reached 195 billion transactions, a 63.2% year-over-year growth.

Countries around the world are at different maturity stages in their real-time payment strategy, with some aiming to expand their domestic networks, and others looking beyond borders for the next real-time payments boost. Seeking to expand financial access and further economic growth while safeguarding national autonomy, governments and central banks are pivotal in fronting the development of centralised real-time payment infrastructures. Further adding on this, company representatives said that with digital central infrastructure integrated with the ACI Enterprise Payments Platform, ACI provides the complete end-to-end solution to enable rapid adoption of real-time payments within a country and expedite growth and digital enablement.

More to this point, the press release details that the benefits of real-time payments are growing as central banks and financial institutions deploy innovative digital overlay services on top of modernised central payments infrastructure. From the UAE to the US, new schemes have launched or are planning to launch with features pioneered at scale in India, such as QR-code payments and Request to Pay. Exemplifying this, the announcement details Bahrain, where approximately 60% of electronic payments are processed in real-time and are forecasted to increase to 78.6% by 2027.

As the Central Bank’s support enables easier use via digital apps like BenefitPay, real-time payments further financial inclusion promotion and bolster financial stability across the economy, enabling stronger economic growth. Worldwide, ACI powers 25 domestic and pan-regional real-time schemes across six continents, including nine central infrastructures, offering solutions to central banks, participant banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers. For more information about ACI Worldwide, please check out their detailed profile in our dedicated, industry-specific Company Database.

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