ACI Worldwide has acquired Australia-based
payments switch Distra for USD49m.

Distra’s platform is known for its speed and
flexibility, and ACI hopes to enhance its own platform across old
and new technologies.

Distra will support ACI’s “Agile Payment
Solution strategy”, providing a platform suitable for real-time
environment, such as payments through mobiles and social
channels.

Gareth Lodge, senior analyst at Celent, said:
“Distra’s technology can handle pretty much any kind of data. The
acquisition opens up some interesting opportunities for real time
interaction, includingin the mobile environment”.