ACI Worldwide, a pioneer in real-time and digital payments, just doubled down on its credentials—earning spots on both CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025 and TIME’s America’s Best Mid-Size Companies 2025.

For a company that’s been in the game since before “fintech” was a buzzword, these twin accolades highlight not just ACI’s market endurance but also its cultural relevance and internal health—an increasingly rare feat in a sector crowded with flashy upstarts and shaky growth models.

Legacy Tech, New Honors

The CNBC list, curated in partnership with Statista, ranked companies across various fintech segments—payments, neobanking, digital assets, enterprise fintech, and more—evaluating KPIs from over 2,000 global players. It’s ACI’s second consecutive year on this list, further cementing its place as a foundational pillar in the global payments infrastructure.

But the bigger surprise? TIME’s 2025 nod, naming ACI one of America’s Best Mid-Size Companies for the first time. That list considers a mix of employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and ESG transparency—suggesting ACI isn’t just innovating externally but has built a resilient, mission-driven culture internally as well.

What Got Them There?

TIME and Statista ranked companies based on three primary criteria:

• Employee Satisfaction: Surveyed from more than 217,000 U.S. workers over three years, evaluating everything from workplace environment and salary to equality and company image.
• Revenue Growth: Focused on companies with $100M–$10B in annual revenue and a positive, steady trajectory—no easy feat in a post-ZIRP economy.
• ESG Transparency: Measured carbon footprint progress, board diversity, human rights policies, anti-corruption measures, and CSR reporting.

ACI apparently checked all the right boxes.

And it helps that they’re not standing still. The company has been doubling down on tech that fuels fast, secure, and scalable money movement—for banks, merchants, and billers alike. From real-time payments to fraud prevention and bill pay, ACI’s tech stack increasingly underpins the global commerce engine.

Fintech’s Quiet Giants Still Matter

In an industry often obsessed with newcomers—Stripe, Klarna, Revolut—the role of infrastructure providers like ACI is easy to overlook. But these are the companies that keep the gears turning behind the curtain.

And as fintech startups face tougher regulatory scrutiny and investor skepticism, players like ACI, with robust systems and proven resilience, are looking more valuable than ever. With real-time payments gaining ground globally and governments pushing for modernization of financial infrastructure, the value of long-standing, scalable solutions is increasing.

“We are grateful for the recognition from CNBC and TIME,” said ACI CEO Thomas Warsop. “These awards underscore our commitment to delivering best-in-class payment solutions to our customers and enabling money movement across the global financial ecosystem.”

While ACI may not dominate fintech headlines like its VC-fueled peers, its presence on both TIME’s and CNBC’s 2025 lists suggests it’s playing the long game—and winning. Its ability to pair internal employee satisfaction with external product relevance could become the benchmark for fintech sustainability in the coming decade.