Rwandan Card Payments Network Goes Live; ACI Software Drives State-of-

    Business Editors

    OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2005--ACI Worldwide (Nasdaq:TSAI), a leading international provider of enterprise payment solutions, today announced a live implementation of its open systems software for payments and card management at SIMTEL, an organisation created by the Rwandan government to modernise the country's national payments network. SIMTEL has deployed BASE24-es(TM) to drive its core payments network and ACI Card Management System(TM) for the management of card accounts and personalisation. The software will provide a flexible framework for card transactions and help SIMTEL promote the use of cards among Rwanda's largely unbanked population.
    The BASE24-es integrated payment engine is the foundation of the Republic of Rwanda's new national inter-bank card payments network. The creation of a network for card payments at the point-of-sale and cash withdrawals from ATMs will directly benefit Rwanda's economy, banks and consumers. A national card payments infrastructure is essential for the effective economic reform of the country's banking system.
    "This is an exciting day for SIMTEL and for our country," said Roger Munyampenda, director general of SIMTEL. "With ACI's help we have been able to provide a modern, flexible and open system that will support the growing demands of the developing payments system in Rwanda. BASE24-es will enable SIMTEL to acquire, authenticate, route, switch and authorise card transactions on behalf of the commercial banks in Rwanda. This is an important step in the economic development of our nation."
    ACI Card Management System software will enable the issuing and acquiring of debit cards. Most importantly, the payments network will reduce the amount of cash in circulation in Rwanda, a primary concern of the Rwandan government.
    Rwanda's new payments infrastructure will initially support national Visa debit cards. A second phase will introduce the acceptance of international credit cards to help bolster a previously cash-only revenue stream from foreign visitors. It will also enhance the national card scheme and enable the use of pre-authorised debit cards, allowing the system to be used in environments where online authorisation is not always possible.
    The project will provide ATMs and POS terminals to all banks under the direction of the government and the central bank of Rwanda. This will enable a wide cardholder and merchant base to process transactions electronically - in many cases for the first time. In addition, the system uses the internationally standardised card scheme and payment methods of Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV).
    "We are extremely proud to be playing such a pivotal role in the implementation of Rwanda's new payment system, which will greatly extend the level of banking services available to its population," said Richard Launder, managing director at ACI Worldwide (EMEA). "Our experience and commitment to scalable technology has helped to build Rwanda an open infrastructure that will support future growth as consumer demand grows for high quality payment services."

    About SIMTEL

    The creation of SIMTEL was prompted by the Rwandan government's objective to modernise the national payment system as part of the macro-economic framework reform. Rwanda is located in east Africa with a population of nearly 8 million. Funding is provided by the government, individual member banks and the World Bank. SIMTEL is a privately owned company, registered in April 2002 in Rwanda. Shareholders are made up of the National Bank of Rwanda (the Central Bank) and all six licensed commercial banks in Rwanda, as well as the Savings, Union Bank and the Post Office. As the main shareholder of SIMTEL, The Central Bank has demonstrated its support by extending and modernising its operational headquarters. The SIMTEL chairman, Mr. Francois Kanimba, is also the current governor of the Central Bank.

    About ACI Worldwide

    Every second of every day, consumers are initiating electronic payment transactions--getting cash at ATMs, using debit and credit cards to make purchases in stores and on the Internet, banking by phone and PC, and paying bills online. Over 41 billion times a year, ACI software is used to process these transactions, powering the world's online payment systems. ACI was founded in 1975 and pioneered the development of applications and networking software for online transaction processing. Today more than 500 customers in 75 countries use ACI supplied software. Visit ACI Worldwide on the Internet at www.aciworldwide.com

    Any statements in this press release regarding projected results are preliminary and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, this press release may contain other forward-looking statements including statements regarding Transaction Systems Architects, Inc.'s ("TSA"), its subsidiaries or third parties' expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially.
    For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, interested parties should review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Form 10-Q filed on February 17, 2004, the Company's Form 10-Q filed on May 17, 2004, the Company's Form 10-Q filed on August 11, 2004, and the Company's Form 10-K filed on December 14, 2004.

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CONTACT: ACI Worldwide, Omaha John Walker, +44 1923 81 2741 walkerjo@aciworldwide.com or Jim Maxwell, 402-390-8906 maxwellj@aciworldwide.com

KEYWORD: NEBRASKA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING SOFTWARE NETWORKING INTERNET E-COMMERCE PRODUCT SOURCE: ACI Worldwide

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