ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time payments and digital payment software solutions, announced an expanded multi-year strategic alliance with Microsoft to deliver payments solutions in the cloud.

The alliance will accelerate and expand ACI’s cloud payments offerings in Microsoft Azure as more financial institutions (FIs) embrace digital transformation.

With global demand for SaaS-based payment offerings increasing, ACI and Microsoft will closely collaborate on innovations that empower FIs to launch new solutions, add new services to their existing platforms and deliver those new capabilities more quickly and with greater agility.

They will also provide FIs greater efficiency of operations, scalability, data protection, data sovereignty and better user experiences, ultimately creating new revenue streams.

In a joint statement, ACI and Microsoft said that its client list includes 20 global banks, a US-based digital bank with more than 30 million customers and a card issuing and banking-as-a-service software platform in Latin America.

“Cloud modernisation is a top strategic priority at ACI, and we are excited about this expanded alliance with Microsoft—together delivering and operating an unmatched payments platform and ultimately helping our customers grow their business by focusing on differentiation.”

said Jeremy Wilmot, Chief Product Officer, ACI Worldwide.

“The powerful combination of ACI’s SaaS-based payments offerings and Microsoft Azure enables financial institutions to serve their customers more effectively, and we look forward to expanding our joint efforts in the months to come.”

said Bill Borden, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft.

Featured image: mobile phone screengrab from ACI Wordlwide homepage