When you work at ACI Worldwide, you have the opportunity to work on payment solutions that help your neighbor down the street, as well as someone who lives half a world away. The chance to make a global impact is one of the reasons Somya Patnaik, a Principal Product Manager, enjoys working at ACI. Recently relocating from Mumbai to London, Somya’s experience in product management is helping prepare her team as they look forward to the future of real time payments.
What a product manager does
As a product manager, Somya is part of the team that decides what a payments solution (for example ACI Low Value Real-Time Payments) looks like, how it should be priced, how it should be marketed and how it launches into the market. She works with customer-facing teams such as sales solution consulting and technical product management.
Somya began working in the field of product management after graduating university. What she finds fascinating about her job is that “it’s not a one-size-fits-all role.”
She added, “I doubt you’re going to find a standard job description for a product manager.”
The role of product manager has evolved since Somya started working in the field. She noted she learned many product management skills on the job.
“I’ve had an interesting journey so far, and that’s given me a unique perspective,” she remarked.
From unknown territory to expertise
At her first product management job, Somya worked as an associate product manager at a payments company. It was her first time working in product management, as well as in the payments field.
“They were both unknown territories for me,” Somya said.
However, the payment processing industry soon became fascinating to Somya. She went on to work for several other organizations in the payments field, giving her an understanding of the payments ecosystem as a whole.
Somya believes that her experience working at a variety of payment organizations has a positive impact on her work at ACI.
“I can keep myself in the shoes of the customer and see what products and solutions can solve for pain points,” she commented.
Working in an emerging field
At ACI, Somya works on what are known as “instant” or “immediate” payments – payments that are transferred within a matter of seconds.
“It’s prime time for real-time payments,” Somya commented. Some seventy-odd countries already have real-time payment schemes set up, while many other countries are in the midst of establishing such programs.
While the world had been making the shift to real-time payments before 2020, the pandemic accelerated its development. Somya noted that consumers are very enthusiastic about real-time payments, including contactless payments. However, ACI’s business-to-business customers, such as merchants, have also begun to demand this type of payment.
“They have seen the benefits of real-time payments,” she explained. “The major benefit is the immediacy.”
Somya sees the direct link between real-time payments and economic growth.
“Your economy is growing if your country is adopting real-time payments,” she stated. “That’s why we see a lot of adoption worldwide.”
The opportunity to shape real-time payments worldwide
Before working at ACI, Somya had never worked at a multinational firm.
“More than the brand, I would say the thing that fascinated me the most was the opportunity to work at a global company,” she remarked. “I was really excited to learn the nuances of working for a company that operated multiple countries across different cultures where I was able to be part of a global team and work on global projects.”
Somya began working at ACI in 2019, and from the moment she started working here, “I could see the potential ACI had to offer professionally and personally.”
“I aspire to be a global subject matter expert,” Somya continued. Being at ACI allows her to achieve that goal.
“ACI is a global leader in real-time payments, and we are driving payments transformation for our customers around the globe,” she declared.
What is Somya’s advice to people interested in working at ACI?
“For anyone who is passionate about payments, I would say ACI gives you the opportunity to be at the center of global real-time payments and the digital payments revolution,” she remarked. “You get the opportunity to work on industry-leading payment solutions.”
Somya predicts that the world “will be a much smaller place.” She believes we are moving towards a more connected future, one in which cross-border payments interoperability will become the norm. Moreover, new modes of payments could become part of our everyday lives. Instead of taking a credit card out of our wallets, we may someday be able to pay through facial recognition or through a gesture.
“We’ll see a lot of new and innovative things happening in the next five years or so,” Somya said. Working at ACI gives Somya the chance to shape the future of global payments.
Want to create a global impact? Visit our careers page to learn more about current opportunities with ACI Worldwide.
