Accenture Invests in EMTECH to Modernize Central Bank Operations

September 10, 2024 at 05:59 AM EDT

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced that it has invested in EMTECH, a global financial technology company that provides software-as-a-service platforms to help central banks streamline, connect and modernize their processes and operations. This investment, made through Accenture Ventures, will support EMTECH in its efforts to transform central banks’ financial and technology infrastructure and make it easier for central banks to regulate and supervise fintechs in an increasingly digital economy.

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Accenture announced that it has invested in EMTECH, a global financial technology company that provides software-as-a-service platforms to help central banks streamline, connect and modernize their processes and operations. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Like Accenture, EMTECH works with financial institutions to solve pressing challenges, such as testing new banking applications, meeting regulatory criteria, accelerating payments and settlement times, and driving financial inclusion for the unbanked and other parts of society that have been excluded. Accenture will integrate EMTECH products for digital cash, regulatory sandboxes, and compliance into the company’s core banking transformation services.

The investment in EMTECH comes as the number of fintechs steadily increases, the regulatory landscape becomes more complex, and many central banks look to update their payments systems to facilitate faster payments and explore developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

“With constant innovation and digital disruption across financial services, the need for central banks to reinvent how they operate to stay ahead of the industry has never been greater,” said Oliver Reppel, a managing director in Accenture’s Banking practice. "Our investment in EMTECH will enable Accenture to help central banks modernize their payments systems, enhance their supervisory capabilities and develop the critical infrastructure needed for tokenization and central bank digital currency.”

“This investment and collaboration are the result of a shared vision to guide banks in modernizing their infrastructure and processes for the era of tokenization,” said Carmelle Cadet, co-founder and CEO of EMTECH. “Successful digital transformation at this scale is a major undertaking that requires cutting-edge technology and industry expertise. That’s why we’re delighted to have Accenture not only investing in our mission but also ready to unlock opportunities with banks across the globe.”

This investment reflects Accenture’s ongoing commitment to providing historically underrepresented entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and connections to Accenture clients and ecosystem partners. This support will help drive new advancement and economic opportunities for underrepresented business owners and leaders.

“Underrepresented founders and entrepreneurs are making important strides in technology innovation but often face challenges with access to capital, connections and resources,” said Dujon Smith, global lead for Accenture’s development program focused on underrepresented founders. “We are proud to invest in EMTECH and help usher in further change and support through mentoring, community engagement and business growth opportunities.”

EMTECH will also join Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program for startup companies that create or apply disruptive enterprise technologies. Project Spotlight offers extensive access to Accenture’s domain expertise and its enterprise clients, helping startups harness creativity and deliver on the promise of their technology.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth, and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent and innovation led company with 750,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise, and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Accenture Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients succeed and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners, and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About EMTECH

EMTECH provides software, data and services that connect central banks to other regulators and financial services providers. EMTECH’s platforms power regulatory data exchange, compliance, supervision, currency issuance and currency movement in financial markets. The company is founded and led by a former IBM Blockchain Executive, Carmelle Cadet.

For more information visit the EMTECH website.