Solutions By Text, ACI Worldwide Link Up For SMS Transactions

ACI Worldwide, a real-time payment and banking company, has partnered with Solutions By Text, a Dallas-based automated texting company, to allow companies to receive payments through text, according to a release by ACI.

ACI’s UP Bill Payments service is combining with Solution by Text’s software to provide simple pay-by-text options, reduce collection costs and increase on-time payments.

“As the digital texting needs of consumers continue to grow, organizations must be willing to meet them where they are – on their smartphone,” ACI said. “ By integrating ACI’s UP Bill Payments solution with the Pay-by-Text software from Solutions by Text, organizations in the consumer finance, healthcare, higher education, government and insurance industries can provide their customers with a personalized and convenient payment experience, all while being fully compliant with industry regulation. With text payment reminders and the ease of completing a transaction in just a few clicks, consumers will benefit from an overall positive payment experience.”

Danny Cantrell, the founder and CEO of Solutions by Text, said the technology to offer payments through mobile phones was a necessary step.

“Text messages have up to a 98 percent open rate, and text billing reminders have an overwhelmingly positive customer response, which can’t be said about paper billing statements,” Cantrell said. “As smartphone use continues to advance, offering customers the option to pay by text is quickly becoming a necessity as it improves the payment experience through payment reminders and mobile-enabled payment systems. We are happy to join a market leader like ACI Worldwide in improving the overall digital payment experience.”

Andrew Sajeski, business leader of biller solutions for ACI Worldwide, said the choice to offer the service was a no-brainer.

“The vast majority of Americans (95 percent) own a cell phone of some kind, according to Pew Research data. As consumers continue to rely more heavily on smartphones for just about everything, it is quickly becoming the device of choice for digital payments,” Sajeski said. “To increase consumers’ ability to pay their bills on time in a more convenient way, we are integrating our solution with Solutions by Text to provide a pay-by-text option to consumers, which will drive on-time payments and improve collections.”

ACI works with upwards of 3,600 organizations, the company said.