ACI Worldwide is teaming with French e-payments vendor Fineac to form a joint venture that will provide technology and support services to financial services firms in France.
France-based Fineac provides payments technology and services to banks across the country via its EAC Corporation subsidiary.
Under the deal ACI Worldwide France will hold a 51% stake in the venture - which will be called ACI Monetique - while Fineac will hold the remaining 49%. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Erroll Williamson, who is currently vice president of software and services at ACI Worldwide Emea, will become president of the new unit. Gerald Fay, director of services for EAC Corporation, will be appointed general manager of ACI Monetique.
Commenting on the deal, Williamson says France is a key strategic market and represents one of the largest business growth opportunities for ACI.
"In order to effectively react to the changing requirements driven by Sepa and by structural changes in the French payment processing market, we need to proactively seek out local business partners and opportunities," he adds.
ACI says its existing French subsidiary, ACI Worldwide France, will also continue to market and sell its technology to the local market.