FIS Launches Community Banking Subscription Service

Jacksonville-based FIS said its new solution, available via a flat fee, month-to-month subscription model, will allow qualifying community banks to choose from pre-defined, pre-priced bundled solutions comprising a range of core processing, payments processing, image and item processing, decision intelligence and regulatory compliance technologies.

The launch comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated demand for online and mobile banking offerings, with digitization set to remain a priority across the industry.

Earlier this month, market research group Forrester published a report showing how banks are focussing on direct-to-consumer, banking-as-a-service, marketplace-selling or platform operations to maintain profitability in a digital world.

InFirst Bank is among the many institutions to have signed such a deal in recent months, with a view to enhancing its digital offering and automating back-office services.

Rob Lee, head of global core and channels, Americas, at FIS, said the new offering would be “a game-changer” for many community banks.

“As a company with its roots in serving community banks, FIS understands the unique challenges these organizations are facing in positioning themselves for success amidst the current pandemic,” he added.

“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for our qualifying community bank clients to access the advanced technology they need to offer modern, differentiated products and services to their customers.”

ClearEdge will use FIS’s simplified pricing and contracting model, which the company launched in May this year for community banks and credit unions, to streamline the contracting process for those banks with limited resources.

FIS said its ClearEdge core banking contracts will have no required term lengths, liquidated damages and exclusivity requirements, as well as clearly defined fees around deconversion services.

Many of the solutions included in the ClearEdge bundles will be covered by FIS’ new service level agreement, which it expanded earlier in August.

On August 13, FIS announced it had doubled the number of cloud-based applications covered by its SLA, with the expanded agreement now covering 74 selected cloud-based banking and merchant solutions in the U.S. and U.K. Under the new terms, FIS reduced the designated service disruption period to 10 minutes.