FIS Touts 6 More i/OS Core Banking Customer Wins

April 6, 2010 Alex Woodie

The battle for supremacy among providers of so-called “core banking” systems for community banks and credit unions continued last week when Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) announced it has landed six more customers of its i/OS-based HORIZON core banking system in just the first three months of the new year.

Competition in the de novo banking sector is starting to heat up as expectations of a big federal crackdown on the largest banks shifts attention and capital to smaller banks that could see a surge of new customers. The System i platform is well represented in this industrial category, with three solid i/OS software and services providers in the likes of FIS, Fiserv, and Jack Henry & Associates.

FIS, which was created when Fidelity National Financial spun-out its information service division in 2006, has been cranking up the marketing machine lately with loads of customer announcements. In late March, the Jacksonville, Florida, company announced it has landed six new HORIZON customers so far this year, which puts it on a pace to exceed the 16 HORIZON deals it inked for all of 2009.

One of those new FIS customers is Frederick County Bank, a community bank based in Frederick, Maryland. The bank’s president and CEO, Marty Lapera, says the HORIZON core banking system will support the bank’s plans for aggressive growth and expansion.

Frederick County Bank will replace its current core banking system with HORIZON, but a timeline for replacement was not given. The other five banks that have signed contracts for future HORIZON deployments during the publicly traded company’s first quarter were not identified.

While FIS didn’t name all the new customers, it doesn’t diminish from their importance. Anthony Jabbour, executive vice president for FIS’ Financial Solutions Group, explains the significance of the recent HORIZON customer wins.

“The momentum that FIS is experiencing with its highly integrated HORIZON platform translates to gaining additional market share,” Jabbour states in a press release. “FIS’ HORIZON is increasingly sought after by community banks who are interested in innovative core technology that will enable them to compete more effectively with larger banks.”