ACI Worldwide adds messaging to Connetic payments platform

ACI Worldwide has added financial messaging technology to its ACI Connetic payments platform, extending its role in handling payment formats used across domestic and cross-border networks.

The new function is designed to let banks translate, validate, enrich and route payment messages within a single system. It supports Swift MT, ISO 20022, SEPA and instant payment messages, and is built into the company's cloud-native account-to-account payments platform.

The expansion comes as banks face a prolonged and uneven transition to richer payment data standards. Although ISO 20022 adoption has advanced across major networks, the quality and structure of data in payment instructions remain inconsistent, particularly in cross-border flows.

The issue has become more visible as payment operators and regulators push for better use of structured data. In launch materials, ACI cited Swift figures showing that more than 98% of payment instructions on its network use ISO 20022, while 61.2% of payments in April still carried unstructured debtor addresses.

The messaging layer can be separated from core payment processing, allowing banks to manage message handling as a central function rather than embedding it in individual payment systems. ACI said this approach can help institutions connect older infrastructure with newer payment networks while improving visibility across payment flows.

Data pressures

The launch reflects a broader industry push to prepare bank systems for instant and cross-border payments that rely on more complete and standardised information. Financial institutions are being asked to support a growing number of domestic schemes alongside international standards, often while maintaining older systems not designed for real-time processing.

Message translation and validation have become practical concerns as institutions adapt to different network rules and data formats. Banks also face pressure to preserve data quality when payments move between local systems and international rails, particularly where compliance checks and straight-through processing depend on structured fields.

ACI said the technology standardises and contextualises payment data in real time. It added that the richer data produced through the system can be used for analytics and artificial intelligence applications, including decision-making and audit processes.

To underscore the launch, ACI pointed to the scale of traffic handled by its existing systems. Its solutions regularly process more than two-thirds of Fedwire payments traffic and about 15% of Swift payments traffic globally, the company said.

Platform reach

ACI has been widening the scope of ACI Connetic beyond individual payment types. Earlier this year, it said the platform had been extended to cover eight major US networks, and that banks in the UK and Europe are using the system to consolidate processing across schemes and prepare for changing real-time and regulatory demands.

That broader positioning matters as payment providers seek to offer banks a single environment for handling multiple rails. For financial institutions, the challenge is not only connecting to more networks, but also keeping data consistent as transactions move between formats and jurisdictions.

Craig Ramsey, Global Head of Account-to-Account Payments at ACI Worldwide, said the company sees messaging as a central part of that shift.

"Financial messaging is the connective tissue of modern payments," Ramsey said. "Built into ACI Connetic, our advanced financial messaging capabilities provide banks with a single, intelligent foundation to manage messages across rails and formats. They also give institutions access to richer, higher-quality payment data that can drive smarter decision-making, support AI-driven innovation and accelerate modernization across the enterprise."

ACI's broader argument is that payment modernisation now depends as much on data handling as on transaction processing speed. As real-time networks expand and cross-border instant payment projects move forward, banks are under pressure to ensure payment instructions carry structured information that can be read and acted on consistently across systems.

ACI linked the launch to that longer-term shift in payment architecture.

"Banks aren't just modernizing infrastructure; they're preparing for a future defined by intelligent payments, real-time decisioning and AI-driven innovation," said Thomas Warsop, President and CEO of ACI Worldwide. "With ACI Connetic, we're helping financial institutions turn payment complexity into strategic advantage by combining cloud-native processing, intelligent messaging and rich data intelligence on a single platform. The result is an AI-ready payments foundation that enables banks to move faster, operate smarter and deliver the next generation of payment experiences."