Despite the rapid global rise of real-time account-to-account transfers, traditional cards continue to heavily dominate the commerce landscape. Fuelled by the widespread adoption of contactless technology, persistent e-commerce growth, and the ongoing digitisation of business-to-business transactions, global card transactions totalled 776 billion in 2024. According to the Nilson Report, this figure is projected to reach an staggering 1.1 trillion annually by 2029, representing a 43 per cent increase over a five-year period.
Against this high-growth backdrop, global payments technology leader ACI Worldwide has launched ACI Connetic for Cards. This next-generation card modernisation suite is built directly within ACI Connetic, the industry’s first unified cloud-native payments hub. The newly launched suite brings together card issuing, acquiring, and ATM and self-service operations into a single, highly modular system. Crucially, the platform is enhanced by embedded, real-time AI-powered fraud intelligence to strengthen protection across every single transaction.
Modernising mission-critical infrastructure
Currently, ACI’s market-leading solutions process more than 300 billion card transactions annually. ACI Connetic for Cards advances this proven capability by unifying the firm’s global strengths onto one next-generation platform. The enterprise-grade suite supports the full transaction lifecycle of every payment. It captures and authenticates data across all channels, intelligently routes transactions to the appropriate hosts or networks, and securely authorises and clears payments to support final settlement between institutions. By unifying these mission-critical functions, the platform provides the necessary scale, resiliency, and advanced functionality required to modernise card operations and drive continuous business growth.
As global card usage continues its upward trajectory, banks are being forced to reassess how well their existing legacy platforms can support future demand. ACI notes that having a clear modernisation plan, executed at a pace that makes sense for each individual institution, is now critical.
Industry perspectives on cloud-native agility
Thomas Warsop, CEO and president of ACI Worldwide, highlighted the strategic importance of this launch. He stated that when the company initially introduced ACI Connetic, it set a new benchmark for how banks operate within the digital economy. Warsop explained that with ACI Connetic for Cards, they are bringing that same high standard to the heart of retail payments by modernising the critical issuing, acquiring, and ATM capabilities that banks depend on. Ultimately, it gives institutions a future-ready foundation that improves agility by opening a low-risk path to new services and continuous innovation.
Bill Farris, head of issuing and acquiring at ACI Worldwide, echoed these sentiments, noting that banks desperately need payments infrastructure that can evolve without elevating their risk profiles. Farris emphasized that this modern infrastructure is built to evolve at the exact pace customers require without ever risking stability.
Financial institutions are increasingly turning to these unified, cloud-native architectures to streamline operations and drive faster innovation across all payment types. Peter Hüftlein, head of product accounts at Solaris SE, praised the platform’s unified approach. He shared that the system supports Solaris in simplifying operations, accelerating change, and innovating across payment types with far greater control.
Introduced in 2025, ACI Connetic originally combined account-to-account payments, card payments, and AI-driven fraud prevention. The platform has maintained strong momentum through 2026 with new deployments, and this latest card-focused expansion builds directly upon that continuous progress.
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