The FIS HiPo (short for “high potential”) Network is a collection of firms that have demonstrated substantial promise in the development of new tools and technologies that deliver purposeful innovation for our clients around the world.

“FIS has a responsibility to help our clients stay competitive today, while remaining cognizant of the rapid changes taking place in the financial services industry. The FIS HiPo Network expands the innovation strategy for our firm and has been developed to bring the realization of new innovations to market in an efficient and practical manner,” said Gary Norcross, FIS president and CEO.

The first members of the FIS HiPo network include six participants from the 2016 VC Fintech Accelerator.

Akouba - an online platform that enables improved processing of small business loans for regional and community banks

Bleu - a provider of Bluetooth-enabled wireless solutions to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital world, including merchant POS and retail sales management tools

Flutterwave - an infrastructure provider that enables merchants, payment service providers and Pan-African banks to accept and process payments on any channel

Fundseeder - a data and performance analytics, risk management, trading verification and investor connectivity platform for both regulated and unregulated traders.

Hexanika - an end-to-end data management and reporting solution harnessing big-data for tackling compliance and regulatory requirements for banks. The software brings cost savings up to 40% to the regulatory reporting process and improves accuracy and consistency in reporting.

LumoXchange - creator of the world's first localized currency exchange marketplace for global peer-to-peer payments

The FIS HiPo Network is open to fintech companies that have the opportunity and interest to meet burgeoning needs of the financial institutions that FIS serves and to develop the key integration points between technology platforms to facilitate efficient innovation. The six HiPo Network companies will be participating in FIS’ annual client conference FIS Connect April 10-13, 2017 in Orlando, Fla.

VC Fintech Accelerator 2017

Separately, FIS and the Governor of Arkansas, in collaboration with The Venture Center in Little Rock, AR, announced the dates for the 2017 VC FinTech Accelerator. Entering its second year, the VC Fintech Accelerator - Empowered by FIS, continues its commitment to innovation in the global financial technology industry.

Applications for the 2017 program are open now, and close on February 5, 2017. The program kicks off in Little Rock on May 8, 2017 and concludes on July 28th following a Demo Day to investors and industry on July 27, 2017.

“Arkansas is proud to partner with FIS to continue the VC FinTech Accelerator in 2017. This year’s program brought some of the world’s most exciting financial services startups and promising tech talent to our state and we are excited to see that relationship continue. It is great to see companies like FIS investing in innovation in Arkansas and we are excited to partner with them to increase the tech footprint in our state,” said Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas.

Norcross ended, “As evidenced by the return of the VC Fintech Accelerator in May of 2017 and our own ongoing R&D, technological innovation for the benefit of our clients remains a top-priority for FIS now and into the future.”