ACI Streamlines Banks’ Path To Real-Time Payments

ACI Worldwide has unleashed its real-time payment solution for financial institutions (FIs).

The company announced news on Tuesday (Oct. 10) that its UP Real-Time Payments Solution has officially launched in an effort to help banks and other financial institutions support real-time payment services and streamline the way in which these FIs realize their real-time payments strategies.

According to ACI, the solution addresses the challenges banks face when managing multiple, separate systems and schemes involving real-time payments. It uses the ACI Money Transfer System and the payment processing capabilities of UP Immediate Payments to connect banks to real-time payment schemes and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), enabling FIs to deploy open API technology and support SWIFT functionality, including support of SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi) and SWIFTNet.

The company noted that banks must support real-time payments capabilities and solutions if they are to remain competitive in today’s financial services market.

“Banks are facing acute pressure to provide customers with a real-time experience,” said ACI Worldwide Vice President WA Proctor in a statement. “Competition from startup companies offering real-time payments — combined with a rising number of domestic and global payment gateway connections — has led to a convergence of the retail and transaction banking world.”

“The UP Real-Time Payments Solution grows with a bank’s evolving needs to help its customers take advantage of global transaction growth opportunities that real-time payments enable,” Proctor added.

Earlier this year, ACI Worldwide said it was bringing its UP Immediate Payments tool to Europe, enabling FIs there to link into the RBA RT1 scheme to similarly support their connectivity to real-time payments capabilities.

“A critical function of a new real-time payments system is its accessibility to financial institutions of all sizes,” said ACI Director Solution Consulting, Immediate Payments, Barry Kislingbury in a statement at the time.

UP first rolled out in 2008 to link U.K. banks to the nation’s Faster Payments scheme.