ACI Worldwide has agreed to acquire Cranium Ventures Ltd, the UK developer of SYNAP, a microservices-based card switching framework that runs in cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments. The deal stage is agreed; the sources do not disclose a transaction amount.
The agreement was reported on 25 September 2026. Payments Dive's Justin Bachman covered the deal, framing it around card infrastructure.
According to the Nilson Report, global card purchase transactions are on track to pass 1.1 trillion by 2029, and authorization at many banks and processors still runs on architecture designed before cloud was an option. The source states that Cranium's technology accelerates the ACI Connetic for Cards roadmap and brings modernized card switching to market sooner.
Thomas Warsop, President and CEO of ACI Worldwide, said: "Financial institutions need more than a switch. They need intelligence embedded throughout the payment lifecycle."
No further terms, closing date, advisers or financial details were disclosed in the sources.