FIS® (NYSE: FIS), a global leader in financial technology, today announced continued momentum across its banking franchise as financial institutions navigate three trends that are reshaping the industry: a resurgence in new bank launches, accelerating industry consolidation, and growing demand for progressive modernization.

These trends are creating one of the most significant infrastructure decision cycles the banking industry has experienced in decades. From newly chartered banks to institutions created through merger activity, to the largest banks pursuing progressive modernization, financial institutions are reevaluating the platforms that safeguard money at rest, the deposits, accounts, and balances at the heart of the banking relationship, while positioning for growth, innovation and operational resilience over the next decade.

FIS believes it is uniquely positioned to benefit from each of these market shifts.

New banks are launching and FIS is winning

After more than a decade of limited de novo activity following the financial crisis, regulators have taken steps to encourage new bank charters, publicly reaffirming the importance of new entrants to the long-term health and competitiveness of the banking system. FDIC records show a growing number of applications and approvals for newly chartered institutions over the last two years.

FIS signed five de novo banks in the first half of 2026, underscoring its relevance with the next generation of financial institutions. Among the applicants for a de novo bank charter is Mercury, the fintech trusted by over 300,000 startups and entrepreneurs. Having received conditional approval from the OCC for a national bank charter and approval for FDIC deposit insurance , Mercury selected FIS as its core banking platform as it continues the process of standing up a fully licensed, FDIC-insured bank. The win reflects a broader trend: new institutions require modern, scalable and highly regulated infrastructure from day one.

“We are modernizing our platforms and delivering new capabilities that are winning business from new entrant banks to large, established incumbents. This enables a flexible, modern, technology stack without sacrificing the resilience and regulatory rigor expected from a banking platform,” said Peter Boyer, Co-President of Banking at FIS.

Consolidation is accelerating and FIS is often the platform institutions choose to scale

Industry consolidation has reemerged as one of the defining trends in banking. U.S. bank M&A activity strengthened in 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, with July 2025 posting the highest monthly deal count since 2021 and median closing timelines for deals announced in 2025 falling to 131 days, down from 185 days in 2024. Market analysts expect that trend to continue throughout 2026.

As banks merge, one of the most consequential decisions becomes selecting the technology infrastructure capable of supporting the combined institution.

FIS recently secured the core banking relationship for a newly created institution with more than $100 billion in assets. The win highlights an important competitive advantage for FIS: when banks consolidate, they frequently look to proven infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale integrations, complex operations and continued growth.

FIS’ strategic core platforms support some of the largest and most sophisticated institutions in the world and have historically benefited from consolidation trends that require operational scale, resiliency and execution certainty.

The largest banks want modernization without disruption and FIS’ enterprise platform strategy changes the equation

Historically, banks pursuing modernization often faced a difficult tradeoff between investments in innovation and investments in technology.

FIS is changing that equation through its enterprise platform strategy, designed to help financial institutions modernize progressively rather than through costly and disruptive “rip-and-replace” transformations.

This approach enables banks to incrementally adopt modern capabilities, including AI, simplify integration, improve resiliency and accelerate innovation while preserving the stability of their existing core environments. The strategy combines the scale and trust of FIS’ installed core franchise with a more flexible, component-based modernization model.

Two top fifteen U.S. banks have completed proofs of value, demonstrating growing interest from the largest institutions in an evergreen modernization path that delivers value faster and with lower execution risk.

Core Banking Is More Than Core Banking

FIS’ momentum extends beyond core platforms. The core remains the operational center of the bank, successful core relationships frequently lead to adoption of additional banking solutions across digital, payments, lending, data and account origination.

Recent examples include a significant commercial digital banking win with a major leading global financial institution and several large account originations wins, reinforcing the company’s ability to expand relationships beyond the core and drive long-term wallet-share growth.

“Banks are moving through a period of rapid change, with rising expectations for resilience, speed, digital capability and modernization without disruption,” said Stephanie Ferris, CEO and President, FIS. “FIS is built for this moment. Our core banking franchise, scale and enterprise platform strategy position us to help institutions launch, consolidate and modernize with the infrastructure they need to move faster and compete with confidence.”

About FIS

FIS is a financial technology company providing solutions to financial institutions and businesses. We unlock financial technology to the world across the money lifecycle underpinning the world’s financial system. Our people are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests, by helping our clients to confidently run, grow, and protect their businesses. Our expertise comes from decades of experience helping financial institutions and businesses of all sizes adapt to meet the needs of their customers by harnessing where reliability meets innovation in financial technology. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a member of the Fortune 500® and the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index. To learn more, visit FISglobal.com. Follow FIS on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.

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