Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., generally known by its acronym FIS, is an American financial technology group headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it operates in financial infrastructure rather than consumer applications. Its clients rely on its solutions to run their banking systems, process transactions or manage investments. Its corporate website is fisglobal.com.
Built through acquisitions
FIS traces its roots in particular to Systematics, a banking IT company founded in 1968. However, the current group largely took shape through a series of deals in the 2000s. Fidelity National Financial’s acquisition of Alltel’s financial IT operations in 2003, followed by the merger with Certegy in 2006, helped shape this group specializing in banking technology and payments.
FIS continued its expansion with Metavante in 2009, then SunGard in 2015. The latter deal strengthened its presence in software for capital markets and asset management. In 2019, the acquisition of Worldpay significantly expanded its exposure to merchant payments. The group then changed strategic direction: in 2024, it sold control of Worldpay to the investment firm GTCR while retaining a minority stake.
Software at the heart of financial operations
FIS’s offering covers several layers of a financial institution’s operations. In banking, it includes account management systems, digital banking tools, payment processing and card-related solutions. These technologies must integrate with environments that are often based on legacy systems, while meeting expectations for availability, speed and security.
For capital markets, FIS provides software for investment management, transaction processing, treasury and risk management, among other areas. Its clients include banks, asset managers, insurers and corporate finance departments. The group combines software licenses, processing services, hosting and operational support, depending on the products and contracts.
Its business therefore relies on long-term relationships with organizations for which replacing a core system is a complex undertaking. Service continuity, regulatory compliance and the ability to connect disparate applications matter just as much as adding new features.
What now?
In April 2025, FIS announced an agreement to acquire Global Payments’ card issuer solutions business and sell its remaining stake in Worldpay to that company. This direction reflects a renewed focus on financial institutions rather than merchant payment acceptance. Beyond this reshaping of its business, its priorities include infrastructure modernization, the development of instant payments and automation. For FIS, adopting cloud computing and artificial intelligence must take into account the financial sector’s specific requirements for control, resilience and data protection.