ACI Worldwide is doubling down on the cloud-native payments race. The global payments tech pioneer announced the acquisition of Payment Components, a Greek-based provider of AI-driven financial messaging and Open Banking solutions, in a move set to supercharge ACI Connetic, the company’s unified payments platform.

A Smarter, Faster Payments Backbone

The deal—terms undisclosed—brings Payment Components’ software, intellectual property, and engineering team fully under ACI’s umbrella. Founded in 2014, Payment Components has carved out a niche in account-to-account (A2A) payments, API management, and financial messaging, offering flexible, standards-based infrastructure that simplifies how banks orchestrate transactions.

What makes the company stand out is its AI-enhanced messaging layer, capable of supporting a wide range of global payment formats. That flexibility allows financial institutions to adapt faster to localized schemes, such as SEPA Instant in Europe or FedNow in the U.S.—a timely advantage as real-time payments continue to surge worldwide.

ACI Connetic’s Next Evolution

ACI plans to weave Payment Components’ capabilities into ACI Connetic, its flagship cloud-native unified payments platform. Connetic already integrates A2A payments, card processing, and AI-powered fraud prevention under one modular architecture. The integration will reportedly accelerate product development and expand messaging capabilities, positioning ACI to compete more directly with firms like Fiserv, Temenos, and Volante Technologies, all vying to become the default operating systems for global payments modernization.

“ACI’s acquisition of Payment Components will further strengthen the capabilities of ACI Connetic, defining a new standard for how banks drive payment transformation and compete in the digital economy,” said Thomas Warsop, CEO and president of ACI Worldwide.

Why It Matters

While the acquisition is “not financially material,” strategically it’s significant. ACI is clearly betting that AI-driven infrastructure and API-first Open Banking frameworks will be key differentiators as banks and fintechs face mounting pressure to deliver faster, smarter, and more compliant payments.

Payment Components’ client base—65 banks and financial institutions in 25 countries—also gives ACI a deeper footprint across Europe and emerging markets. Expect to see tighter integration between AI-led orchestration and compliance automation, two areas where banks are still wrestling with legacy constraints.

ACI’s latest move echoes a broader trend: consolidation among fintech infrastructure providers racing to build end-to-end, cloud-native payment stacks. Competitors like Marqeta and Stripe are enhancing their A2A and Open Banking capabilities, while IBM and Oracle have leaned heavily into AI-driven financial services automation.

With regulators worldwide tightening rules around cross-border payments, fraud, and instant transfer frameworks, the ability to unify messaging and compliance under a single platform could become a decisive edge.

“Joining ACI is an exciting milestone,” said Sotiris Nossis, CEO and founder of Payment Components. “Our complementary expertise will reinforce ACI’s global leadership in powering the world’s payments ecosystem.”

For ACI, this acquisition isn’t about size—it’s about speed. By embedding smarter messaging and API orchestration into Connetic, the company positions itself to serve banks that want modern payment rails without ripping out their cores—a practical approach to digital transformation in a cautious industry.