On Wednesday, ACI Worldwide and Constant highlighted how they’re now working together.

The provider of mission-critical, real-time payments software and the fintech involved in self-service loan management software announced a partnership that they said will allow finance companies to increase contract volumes, streamline their collection process, drive revenue and lower cost to serve.

Pairing ACI Speedpay and Constant’s CX capabilities enhance the self-service experience for loan management driving greater digital engagement with customers. ACI Speedpay serves thousands of billers in the U.S.

Both ACI Worldwide and Constant said consumers are increasingly turning to digital when it comes to managing bill payments, including seeking out better self-serve experiences.

According to industry research they cited, 81% of consumers say they want more self-service options, with 95% of businesses seeing growth in self-service requests.

More than 34% of consumers cited faster response times as their number one benefit, based on the research ACI Worldwide and Constant mentioned in a news release.

“Keeping up with consumer expectations requires a more proactive focus, which is why Constant and ACI Worldwide held a tech summit with the leaders of top lending institutions to discuss how we can help them close the customer experience gaps today and tomorrow,” said Darcy Locke, head of consumer finance of the biller segment at ACI Worldwide.

“With this collaboration, we are creating the next level of user experience for consumer finance lending, across all debt types and devices,” Locke continued.

Powered by ACI Speedpay’s comprehensive suite of products offering advanced bill payment capabilities and Constant’s enhanced user experience, finance company customers can self-serve for a greater number of servicing tasks that are typically handled manually.

The company highlighted the expanded services will provide access to the most relevant payment services (debit, prepaid, credit, EMV and contactless), digital wallets (Apple Pay and Google Pay) and alternative payment methods (PayPal, Venmo, etc.)

“Many institutions are under pressure to expand their digital presence, respond to borrowers faster and generate revenue from existing customers. However, many of them still rely on legacy systems that limit automation, self-service and access to the payment methods and processing speeds that customers are demanding today,” Constant chief executive officer Catherine York Powers said.

“Our partnership with ACI will help lenders quickly stand up a solution that meets a growing number of customer preferences. Against the backdrop of rising defaults and lower margins, we can help them drive revenue in the loan servicing experience,” York Powers went on to say.

Visit www.aciworldwide.com/acispeedpaypulse for more billing and payment insights.