"In the grand scheme of things, buying 250 to 300 credit union accounts, some portion of which are already Fiserv core customers, isn't a huge movement of credit unions percentage wise," Smith said. "But as Internet banking increasingly is becoming the new core – it and mobile are your member's core system – and the platform for web and mobile payments, those contracts are often more important, [and mean] more revenue and higher margins for Fiserv and other fintech providers."

Smith also explained that this acquisition and Fiserv's attainment of Open Solutions Inc.'s DNA in 2013 reinforces how important credit unions, as well as Internet banking and the mobile channel, are to the core processor.

Last month, Fiserv announced it entered into a definitive agreement with ACI to acquire the assets of CFS in an all-cash transaction valued at $200 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, but is anticipated to close in the first quarter of this year.

"We are pleased to add these strong digital banking capabilities, which will further enable financial institutions to serve their customers in today's dynamic world," Jeffery Yabuki, president/CEO for Fiserv, said in a statement at the time of the acquisition announcement. "We are also excited to add a talented team of associates who share our vision for creating value for clients through innovation and service excellence."

The technology solutions included in the transaction are ACI's Architect Banking, SSB Internet Banking, WebFederal Internet Banking and Advantage Internet Banking solutions; Advantage Consolidated Bank Bill Pay; and ACI Defense Services, a full-service security solution.

The acquisition also means there is one less Internet banking vendor and bill pay vendor out there for credit unions to choose from, Smith noted.

"Hopefully [there will be] more investment into the Architect product as this is a product gaining momentum," Smith said. "Fiserv core customers will have a more modern Internet banking option in Architect."

He added it also speaks to Fiserv's lack of a product that can effectively compete with Internet banking providers.

"I think acquiring Architect is an acknowledgement that Fiserv doesn't have a strong, next gen, single platform, core agnostic, Internet banking product," he said. "It's perhaps an acknowledgment that Corillian [a 2007 acquisition] isn't the silver bullet against Q2, Alkami and other best-of-breed, non-core Internet banking providers."

Smith also pointed out a conflict in regard to mobile services.

"Fiserv is all in on Mobiliti as their mobile platform, but ACI Architect has an integrated mobile solution," he said. "I guess they would not touch the Architect mobile system."

Fiserv's Mobiliti is a hosted solution that gives community banks and credit unions tools and expertise to deliver mobile banking and payment services.

Other challenges resulting from the acquisition, Smith said, involve the potential integration or sun setting of numerous related products.

"Fiserv now will have nine Internet banking systems, not including Mobiliti!" he exclaimed.

Smith listed the systems as Corillian, DNAweb (for DNA customers), Virtual Branch, Retail Online (for bank ITI/Premier customers), Virtuoso (for credit union customers only), ACI Architect (formerly ORCC and what Smith called "the jewel of the acquisition"), SSB Internet banking (formerly S1), Advantage Internet banking (formerly ORCC) and WebFederal Internet Banking (formerly PM Systems and for credit union customers only).

"Fiserv's history is to encourage migration with financial incentives, but they are loathe to sunset products for fear of triggering an evaluation process, which leads to bigger discounts for retention or losing to a competitor," Smith said.

The bill pay system implications appear to be small, Smith said.

"I would bet the acquired bill pay [system], the old Princeton eCom, will be merged into CheckFree," he said. "That's clearly their one and only flagship bill pay system."

Fiserv provided CU Times with the following statement regarding its acquisition and the ramifications going forward:

"Fiserv is committed to remaining the leader in enabling financial institutions to deliver differentiated digital experiences in an anytime, always-on world. We acquired a suite of digital banking and payments solutions from ACI that enhance our ability to extend the digital banking highway for our clients. We believe the assets from ACI complement our existing digital banking portfolio. Our strong suite of digital banking solutions may also benefit from a variety of capabilities including Architect Banking, a modern single-platform digital banking solution that supports online, mobile and tablet banking for retail and small business users. As part of the acquisition we will add both a group of high-quality clients and talented associates to the Fiserv family."

Fiserv is no stranger to mergers and acquisitions. In 1984, Sunshine State Systems, Inc., based in Tampa, Fla., and First Data Processing, based in Milwaukee, combined to form Fiserv, Inc.

In 1991, Fiserv acquired Citicorp Information Resources, a subsidiary of Citicorp. This acquisition placed Fiserv into the commercial banking, internal and credit union core account processing marketplace. In 1995, Fiserv acquired Information Technology, Inc., which, according to Fiserv, put it at the forefront of client/server solutions for banking.

More recently, in 2007, Fiserv acquired CheckFree Corporation, which it described on its website as the largest acquisition in its history, totaling $4.4 billion in cash. That deal also brought financial software company Corillian and its Internet banking platform to Fiserv.

In 2011, Fiserv acquired M-Com and CashEdge, further strengthening its position in mobile banking and digital payments; and in 2013, the company acquired Open Solutions, adding DNA, a real-time account processing platform, as an option for its clients.

Fiserv is a global organization with more than 13,000 clients and 21,000 associates worldwide. The company provides solutions for mobile and online banking, payments, risk management, data analytics and core account processing.