Benzinga | Mar 2, 2021 08:16AM EST

ACI Worldwide Says IRS Will Allow Taxpayers To Make Cash Transactions Through New Digital Barcode Feature Using ACI Payments

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW), a leading global provider of real-time digital payment software and solutions, today announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will allow taxpayers to make cash transactions through a new digital barcode feature using ACI Payments, Inc.*

Once taxpayers are validated by the IRS, they can obtain a barcode -- made possible through ACI and InComm Payments' VanillaDirect Pay. Taxpayers can then take the barcode payment token to over 60,000 participating retail agents (including Dollar General and Family Dollar stores) with the appropriate amount of cash to cover their tax debt and any associated service fees. Together with the IRS, ACI is the first organization to provide this type of cash payment option for taxpayers in the U.S.

While the pandemic has caused financial difficulty for many consumers, the lack of cash payment options due to the closure of some physical locations and merchants' push for digital payments puts the unbanked and underbanked populations at a further disadvantage. With ACI Payments, Inc. the IRS not only increases the payment options available to all taxpayers but makes it easier for these consumers to pay their taxes in a way that works best for them.

A recent ACI Speedpay Pulse study showed that more than a third of consumers will take at least six months to catch up on missed bill payments due to COVID-19, and 1 in 10 consumers reported having past-due monthly bills as a direct result of their financial situation during the pandemic.

"As consumers contend with making payments amid the financial strain caused by the pandemic, offering more and convenient payment options will help taxpayers complete their payments," said Sanjay Gupta, executive vice president, ACI Worldwide. "ACI is committed to providing a wide array of cost-effective payment methods and channels to help the IRS make payments easier for taxpayers."

ACI is the longest-tenured service provider for the IRS and has processed more than $25 billion in IRS tax payments securely for more than 20 consecutive years.

*ACI Payments, Inc. (formerly Official Payments), is an ACI Worldwide company.