BANKING SAAS - WHY FIS WAS THE CHOSEN PARTNER IN 2016

2 Banking SaaS - Why FIS was the chosen partner in 2016

With the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) March 2020 deadline for issuing new bank licenses quickly approaching, many small financial banks (SFBs) will soon face a similar conundrum that their counterparts did in 2016 when RBI last issued new licenses. At that time, many SFBs found themselves facing new opportunities. Yet they were also challenged by a complex and critical question: How to swiftly and cost-effectively accommodate the more robust and complex technology stack the transition to fully regulated banking institution would require.

As banks like Suryoday SFB, Fincare SFB, ESAF SFB, RGVN (North-East) SFB and Janalakshmi SFB began to explore options for technology partners and their respective solutions, many weighed two options: Outsourcing banking and/or payments needs to a hosted solution or adopting a more robust, on premise technology stack. Here’s a closer look at why 40 percent of the SFBs who were granted licenses to become fully regulated banking institutions by RBI in 2016 made the decision to partner with FIS’ expert global team and leverage its hosted solutions.

WHY FIS WAS CHOSEN AS PARTNER TO THE MAJORITY OF INDIA'S SMALL FINANCIAL BANKS GRANTED LICENSES IN 2016

Hosting That Enables Growth and ScalabilityTime and technology strategy is of the essence once SFBs learn they’ve been chosen to become a fully regulated banking institution by RBI. A significant part of this process requires that SFBs have the means to swiftly enable a complex and robust infrastructure that includes modernized digital banking and payments capabilities and addresses security and regulatory complexities many SFBs have not previously faced. As a result of the cost, time and resource requirements on-premise solutions now demand of banks in our rapidly changing, complex and converged financial ecosystem, an increasing number of these institutions have opted for a hosted solution. In fact, this aligns their technology strategy with broader and global industrywide trends toward outsourcing and consolidation; many financial institutions are now leveraging hosted solutions to drive cost optimization and improve vendor risk management and cybersecurity.

Banking SaaS - Why FIS was the chosen partner in 2016 3

Such was the case back in 2016, when FIS successfully onboarded the majority of those SFBs who held newly granted bank licenses and chose to use a hosted solution like FIS Banking Software as a Service (Banking SaaS). In addition to helping these SFBs seamlessly cope with their new demands in a way that was both cost and operationally efficient, it empowered them with speed to market and the scalability they needed to grow their business and offer new product capabilities.

In December 2016, Shrihari Bhat, Head of International Sales, FIS Banking Solutions explained to "The CEO Magazine" how FIS became partner to so many of India’s banking providers: “FIS’ engagements with Bandhan Bank and the new small finance and payment banks have enabled us to prove our capability in delivering end-to-end banking and payments technologies in the Indian market. The integration of our acquisitions into our market strategy also extends what we already view as the most comprehensive solution offering in the fintech space. We are making huge investments well ahead of time, anticipating technology shifts. The technology shift is happening,” said Bhat.

FIS’ wealth of experience in delivering hosted solutions on a global and local scale ensured it successfully onboarded and supported the majority of India’s banks who were granted licenses in 2016 and chose a hosted solution – many of which remain partners to this day. When asked why FIS was selected as a technology partner by "The CEO Magazine", Baskar Babu, co-founder and CEO of Suryoday, said it needed a robust technology platform and agile partner to provide a superior customer experience. Following a rigorous evaluation exercise and based on demonstrated experience providing best-in-class technology solutions, ability to scale and commitment to customer success, the bank chose FIS and said its “decision has been vindicated.”

As of 2019, FIS is the only fintech vendor in the Indian market that can provide both

banking and payments technology in a comprehensive, end-to-end,

hosted solution.

To learn more about FIS Banking SaaS, visit https://empower1.fisglobal.com/Banking-SaaS.html

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