From $120m to $20m in less than ten years: how not to do business

Source: getty images

So, as FIS is busy with the takeover of fellow US vendor Sungard, the latter is shedding business that is not likely to be of any use to the new owners. Thus, the core banking software unit – known as Ambit Core Banking – has been sold to rival banking technology provider, Silverlake Axis.

Nothing unusual, one might say, businesses are bought and sold all the time. True, but how many large international fintech firms have managed to lose $100 million of business value in less than ten years?

FIS purchase of Sungard – is big always beautiful?

FIS has made its biggest acquisition to date, splashing out $9.1 billion on fellow US vendor Sungard. But with both companies already having large, complex structures and numerous product portfolios (due to their earlier M&A activities), is there a danger of creating a convoluted, near impassable maze?

Is the US core banking sector finally saying yes to outsiders?

Statue of Liberty. Source: featherboa

The US core banking software sector has always been notoriously difficult to gain a foothold in for the non-domestic vendors. The local heavyweights – FIS, Jack Henry and Fiserv – have over the years acquired smaller players and have ended up with numerous systems under their corporate umbrellas. These companies have also been traditionally close to the regulators, making the case for a bank or credit union to select a non-US vendor difficult to justify.

Why are P2P payments slow on the uptake in the US?

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After speaking with Chris Burfield from FIS about the vendor’s recent person-to-person (P2P) payments project at US-based Everbank, a question arose: why are these types of services slow on the uptake in the US?

FIS's takeover of Clear2Pay: what’s the story?

Brussels, home of Clear2Pay

The pool of independent companies in the payments processing space has shrunk yet again, with Clear2Pay being taken over by US fintech giant, FIS. The official announcement, of course, praises the €375 million acquisition, with Clear2Pay stating that ‘the combination of these two companies will be uniquely qualified to deliver true payment systems convergence’. Which translates into plain English as FIS will have an even larger portfolio of payments systems and solutions, some complementary, some competing.