SRM (Strategic Resource Management, Inc.), an independent advisory firm serving financial institutions across North America and Europe, today announced that, through its subsidiary SRM Europe, it has acquired Accourt Payments Specialists, a provider of payments consulting and other strategic services based in the United Kingdom.

For 22 years, Accourt has provided expertise in payments, regulation, and risk to a diverse group of clients, including traditional financial institutions, large card issuers, processors, payments schemes, and fintech entities.

Accourt’s leadership team, including Founding Partner John Berns and Managing Partner Vaughan Collie, possess over four decades of collective experience in international retail banking and payments, and their deep bench has executed client projects from all corners of the globe. They will be integrated into SRM Europe’s offering and rebranded to Accourt Payments Specialists, an SRM Company.

This acquisition supports SRM’s long-term vision to be the leading advisory firm for the financial services and payments industry, supplementing the company’s client base in the UK and European markets. To date, SRM has served over 1,000 financial institutions – helping to deliver more than $5 billion in savings and revenue growth back to those institutions.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the experts from Accourt Payments Specialists to the SRM family,” noted Neil Whittaker, CEO of SRM Europe. “This allows us to grow our brand in the UK and Europe, consolidate and build on our strength in payments, and share our 30+ years of experience with several new clients in the European market.”

In addition to its payments pedigree, Accourt provides strategy and project delivery to its clients across critical areas of the modern operational landscape – notably risk, fraud, cybersecurity, and compliance. Considering the work ahead for financial institutions navigating risk during the rise of AI and other next-gen technologies, this deep knowledge was another incentive for SRM to acquire the UK-based firm.

“It’s easy to see that the leadership team at SRM – both in the US and Europe – is dedicated to delivering results to clients that create significant operational and financial impacts,” said John Berns of Accourt. “SRM shares our impartial, independent spirit and desire to be great in our work and our culture. We are thrilled to be part of the SRM enterprise going forward.”