ACI Worldwide has expanded its cloud-native payments hub, ACI Connetic, to support transactions through Swift's blockchain-based ledger alongside conventional payment flows. The integration enables banks to manage tokenised deposit payments and traditional transactions within a single operating model, using existing infrastructure and workflows. Swift announced its blockchain ledger last year, and 17 banks across six continents are now piloting the technology. The ledger facilitates cross-border transfers of tokenised deposits beyond individual institutions and traditional banking hours. ACI Connetic uses bank-defined rules to select clearing and settlement routes automatically, allowing financial institutions to manage payment speed, costs and availability across different payment types through one integration. Craig Ramsey, Senior Vice President at ACI Worldwide, said digital assets should extend banks' payment capabilities without requiring separate payment operations. ACI will demonstrate the new functionality at the Sibos conference on 30 September.

ACI Worldwide expands ACI Connetic with advanced Financial Messaging technology to power intelligent, future-ready payments. September 17, 2026 OMAHA, Neb.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Sep. 17, 2026- ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), an original innovator in global payments technology, today announced the expansion of ACI Connetic with a powerful cloud-native Financial Messaging capability, designed to help banks modernize payments infrastructure, simplify complexity, and scale real-time processing across domestic and cross-border networks. Financial institutions face growing pressure to support real-time payments, ISO 20022 migration, and an expanding range of domestic and cross-border networks. That pressure has made financial messaging critical to interoperability, speed, and innovation across those networks. ACI's advanced financial messaging technology delivers cloud-native, intelligent messaging that transforms how banks manage payments and other systemic messages across account-to-account (A2A) rails. By standardizing, enriching and contextualizing payment data in real time, the solution helps banks build the high-quality data foundation needed for intelligent payments operations, advanced analytics and emerging AI-powered use cases. The solution enables institutions to translate, validate, enrich, and route messages in real time, supporting interoperability between legacy systems and modern infrastructures, while helping banks address increasingly complex ISO 20022 requirements, including the adoption of richer and more structured payment data. Embedded within the ACI Connetic platform, ACI's advanced financial messaging technology allows banks to decouple messaging from core payment processing for a more agile architecture. By running messaging as a centralized, enterprise-wide capability, banks can reduce operational friction, improve resiliency, and gain real-time visibility across payment flows, while creating new opportunities for data-driven services and revenue growth. "Financial messaging is the connective tissue of modern payments," said Craig Ramsey, global head of account-to-account payments, ACI Worldwide. "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." Momentum builds as ACI Connetic expands reach, capabilities and adoption The expansion of ACI Connetic with advanced financial messaging technology caps a year of strong momentum for ACI Connetic during which ACI significantly expanded the capabilities of its cloud-native platform. Earlier this year ACI announced ACI Connetic for eight major U.S. networks. In other key markets, including the UK and Europe, banks are adopting ACI Connetic to unify payment processing across schemes and prepare for evolving real-time and regulatory requirements. "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." About ACI Worldwide ACI Worldwide, an original innovator in global payments technology, delivers transformative software solutions that power intelligent payments orchestration in real time so banks, billers, and merchants can drive growth, while continuously modernizing their payment infrastructures, simply and securely. With more than 50 years of trusted payments expertise, ACI Worldwide combine its global footprint with a local presence to offer enhanced payment experiences to stay ahead of constantly changing payment challenges and opportunities. ACI, ACI Worldwide, ACI Payments, Inc., ACI Pay, Speedpay ONE and all ACI product/solution names are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACI Worldwide, Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States, other countries or both. Other parties' trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. Media Katrin Boettger, Communications & Corporate Affairs Director, ACI Worldwide, [email protected] Pierce Rohrmann, Global Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs, ACI Worldwide, [email protected]

Lesaka Technologies reports first GAAP profit, eyes strong FY2027. South African fintech firm Lesaka Technologies achieves GAAP profitability for the first time since its 2022 rebrand from Net1, posting a $2.8 million net income for FY2026 and projecting robust adjusted EPS for FY2027. This financial pivot comes after Lesaka Technologies (formerly Net1 UEPS Technologies) rebranded in 2022, a move that coincided with the R3.7 billion acquisition of the Connect Group. The company's journey has been marked by strategic shifts, including its historical involvement with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant payment system through its subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), a contract that faced legal challenges and ultimately led to CPS's liquidation in 2020. Today, Lesaka Technologies says its focus is on financial inclusion, providing services to underserved communities and merchants. The path to profitability and future projections. The company's FY2026 results show a 20% year-on-year increase in Net Revenue, reaching $374.9 million, and a 41% rise in Group Adjusted EBITDA to $75.7 million. This growth was driven by strong performance in its Consumer and Enterprise segments, which saw revenue increases of 38% and 62% respectively in FY2026 compared to FY2025, even as merchant revenue declined. The company attributed its Net Revenue growth to a higher contribution from distribution and agent mix adjustments. Lesaka Technologies Executive Chairman, Ali Mazanderani, highlighted the achievement, stating that the company delivered on all its FY2026 guidance metrics and exceeded its Adjusted EPS range. For FY2027, the company expects Net Revenue between ZAR 7.0 billion and ZAR 7.7 billion, Group Adjusted EBITDA between ZAR 1.45 billion and ZAR 1.60 billion, and Adjusted EPS between ZAR 7.50 and ZAR 8.50. These projections incorporate the pending acquisition of Bank Zero, a South African digital mutual bank, a deal valued at R1.091 billion that received approval from the South African Competition Commission in late 2025. Navigating a crowded market. Lesaka Technologies operates in a competitive South African fintech landscape, where mobile money platforms like those run by Vodacom and MTN already serve millions of users. The company's focus on financial inclusion positions it against both traditional banks and other fintech players. While Lesaka Technologies has made strides in the social grant recipient market, with its EasyPay Everywhere (EPE) platform having 1.9 million customers, of whom 1.7 million are social grant recipients, its revenue share in this R25 billion annual opportunity is less than 7%. Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa, noted in May 2025 that the company was gaining market share from traditional banks due to operational challenges faced by competitors like Post Bank. Competitors in various segments of Lesaka Technologies' business include companies like PayU, Flutterwave, and ACI Worldwide, which offer bill payments, POS solutions, and card acceptance. Other rivals in the broader payments space include DOCOMO Digital, TreviPay, Market Pay, and Systems & Methods. The South African regulatory environment, governed by acts like the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and the National Payment System Act (NPSA), aims to foster innovation while ensuring consumer protection. This presents both opportunities and challenges for fintechs, as compliance can be costly for smaller firms, but regulatory sandboxes offer a testing ground for new products. The unresolved question. Lesaka Technologies' return to GAAP profitability and its ambitious FY2027 projections signal a period of renewed confidence. However, the company's ability to significantly increase its revenue share in the social grant market, where it currently holds a smaller percentage of a large opportunity, remains an open question. While its strategy of acquiring companies like Connect Group and Adumo, and the pending acquisition of Bank Zero, aims to broaden its offerings and reach, the ultimate success will depend on how effectively these integrated services can convert its large user base into higher-value transactions. The merchant segment's declining revenue in FY2026 also presents a challenge that the company will need to address to ensure balanced growth across its business lines. Based on information available at time of publication. Trademarks and logos belong to their respective owners. Spot an error? Write to [email protected]. Editorial policy · Disclaimer. Support our work Buy the AU-Startups team a coffee. We track African funding rounds, investors and outcomes, and publish what the data actually shows. No paywall on the reporting. If it is useful, you can help keep it going. Secure payment through Stripe. One-off, no account needed.