Tech Mahindra acquires Avant to boost payments platforms

Tech Mahindra has acquired Avant Techno Solutions, expanding its reach in payments modernisation and wealth platforms.

Canada-based Avant focuses on payments modernisation and wealth platforms for financial institutions. The acquisition adds sector expertise in banking, financial services and insurance, where technology spending remains concentrated on payments, compliance and customer-facing systems.

Avant's work spans real-time payments, ISO 20022 migration, wire modernisation, cloud transformation in core payments, wealth management platforms, and identity and access management across North America. Tech Mahindra expects the business to open opportunities in adjacent areas including open banking, commercial lending, regulatory compliance, and fraud and financial crime.

Founded in 2017, Avant brings specialist teams and client relationships in financial services. The deal gives Tech Mahindra a larger presence in a market where banks and other institutions are updating legacy systems while trying to meet new regulatory and customer demands.

Roshan Shetty, BFSI and Public Sector Head - Americas at Tech Mahindra, said: "The acquisition of Avant will strengthen our ability to serve financial institutions at a time when the sector is balancing growth with rapid digital change. By combining deep domain expertise with scaled technology delivery, we will help clients modernize core payment & wealth systems, improve customer engagement and respond faster to evolving market and regulatory demands."

The transaction reflects how service providers are using targeted acquisitions to deepen specialist knowledge in high-spend areas of the financial sector. Payments infrastructure has become a particular focus as institutions adapt to instant payment schemes, message standard changes, cloud migration, and tighter controls around fraud and data access.

Wealth platforms are also drawing investment as firms modernise adviser tools, client portals, and data flows across products. In that context, a specialist player with experience in both payments and wealth can provide a route into projects that combine operational overhaul with customer service changes.

The addition of Avant is expected to strengthen Tech Mahindra's service offering across North America, where financial institutions are reshaping payments architecture and reviewing identity frameworks. Avant also brings delivery talent that can support work in core banking and related systems.

Srinivasa Varma Alluri, chief executive officer of Avant Techno Solutions, said: "Joining Tech Mahindra marks an exciting next phase for Avant. With our deep expertise in payments and wealth platforms combined with Tech Mahindra's global scale and delivery capabilities, we look forward to helping financial institutions accelerate modernization and deliver more secure, data-driven customer experiences."

Sector focus

The acquisition adds to Tech Mahindra's push in banking, financial services and insurance, one of the largest technology markets for outsourcing and consulting groups. Firms in the sector are investing in automation, cloud systems, data tools and security as they face pressure to reduce complexity in older technology estates.

For service providers, the appeal of niche acquisitions lies in access to domain specialists and active client programmes rather than headcount alone. Payment transformation projects often require a mix of technical migration work, regulatory understanding and familiarity with regional clearing systems, capabilities that can be difficult to build quickly through internal hiring.

North America remains a key market in that effort, especially as institutions continue to adopt real-time payment rails and prepare systems for evolving standards and oversight. Wealth management is also changing as firms bring together digital onboarding, portfolio data, customer communications and identity controls on newer platforms.

Tech Mahindra employs more than 147,000 people across over 90 countries and serves more than 1,100 clients, according to company figures. Avant's smaller scale suggests the transaction is aimed more at specialist depth than size, with the target offering concentrated experience in payments and wealth technology.

Clients are expected to benefit from broader domain expertise, greater delivery scale and solutions tailored to industry requirements. The acquisition comes as financial institutions increase investment in automation, cloud platforms, data intelligence and secure customer experiences.

According to Tech Mahindra, Avant was founded in 2017 and built its business around payments and wealth management platforms, alongside AI-led work.