After a “transformative” 2019, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) is moving towards bigger growth—and investments—in 2020.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS provides technology solutions for merchants, banks, and capital markets firms around the world. The company reported a 23 percent boost in revenue in 2019, with much of that success resulting from the company’s merger last year with eCommerce and payments company Worldpay.
FIS has continued making deals this year, starting off 2020 with a partnership with London FinTech Liberis to offer SMBs an alternative funding source by enabling FIS merchants in the U.S. to receive loan approvals in minutes through its Worldpay Working Capital solution. In addition, FIS teamed up with Union Bank on a next-generation core banking platform, extending a partnership with PayPal to become the first non-bank payments processor to integrate with PayPal’s Pay with Rewards, and leveraged its Real-Time Lending Platform to enable financial institutions to process loans under the CARES Act.
The company has also been working to help FinTech startups off the ground via its annual FinTech Accelerator program and innovation labs around the world. And now it has announced plans to invest $150 million over the next three years in early to growth-stage FinTech startups with a focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital enablement and automation, data and analytics, security and privacy, distributed ledger technology, and financial inclusion.
The funding also comes with an active partnership with these companies, with FIS providing proprietary access, operating expertise, diverse customers, and channel partners.
“At a time when many other fintech firms are scaling back their investments, FIS is deepening its commitment to stay at the forefront of innovative technologies that can help our clients accelerate digital transformation and emerge even stronger from the current pandemic,” said Asif Ramji, chief growth officer of FIS. He added that FIS Ventures was created to identify and launch “innovative new technologies that advance the way the world pays, banks and invests.”
The company revealed that Nigeria-based fintech startup Flutterwave will be the first investment made by FIS Ventures.
