NAPLES, Fla. -

ACI Worldwide, one of the more than 60 exhibitors set to share their expertise during Used Car Week, recently announced the winners of the 2017 ACI Innovation Awards, with one of the recipients being a finance company that specializes in subprime paper.

The awards recognize banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and billers around the world for their innovative use of ACI’s UP portfolio of payment solutions. And one of the winners was Nicholas Financial, which originates subprime vehicle installment contracts with franchised and independent dealerships.

ACI Worldwide highlighted that Nicholas Financial pioneered new payments channels and technologies to increase electronic payment adoption while reducing print and mail costs, increasing customer adoption and satisfaction.

This year’s other winners include:

• Auchan Retail International: One of the world’s largest retailers, Auchan leveraged new card payments standards and took control of the payment chain to more effectively innovate, improve time to market, reduce costs and ultimately improve customer satisfaction.

• Everlink: A leading provider of comprehensive, innovative and integrated payment solutions and services to Canadian Financial Institutions, Everlink successfully deployed Proactive Risk Manager, augmenting it with enhanced rules and integration into SMS messaging for a 360-degree measure of customer protection. This deployment is leading the way in Canada with the capability of protecting millions of Canadians.

• MB Financial: A top commercial bank, MB Financial implemented a best-in-class internal training and communication program in which every customer received specialized training related to a major systems conversion.

• Rabobank Nederland: A leading bank in the Netherlands, Rabobank implemented a complete new debit card payment infrastructure. By standardizing on solutions, Rabobank was able to realize a faster time to market ratio, allowing the bank to be more responsive to new developments like mobile payments with new services, the rapid emergence of wearables, the internet of things and biometrics.

• The Co-operative Group: She leading convenience retailer in U.K., Co-op established a customer rewards experience unmatched among national merchants; the program has generated significant increases in customer loyalty and community engagement.

• Westpac New Zealand Limited: A faster payments pioneer in the Asia Pacific region, Westpac NZ implemented a new payments engine capable of meeting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s mandated go-live date for hourly intraday settlement and interchange of electronic credits and payments.

The awards celebrate global payments innovation, and winners were selected by a panel of judges composed of ACI experts and industry analysts from Aite Group, Celent and Ovum.

“ACI is honored to work with many tremendous organizations—and the winners of this year’s Innovation Awards represent the best in forward-thinking payments excellence,” said Craig Saks, chief operating officer at ACI Worldwide. ”We are thrilled to have received a record number of submissions this year; these organizations make us proud to support innovation in the payments industry.” 

For additional information on the Innovation Awards program and winners, visit aciworldwide.com/awards.