The FinTech 100

The last 18 months has seen large and small banks fail, others go on government-funded life support, and still more bleeding red ink. But the technology vendors that serve the industry "turned lemons into lemonade," as Financial Insights senior research analyst Karen Massey put it. The FinTech 100, American Banker, Bank Technology News and Financial Insights' annual ranking of the largest technology vendors serving the financial services industry, found that many players showed continued strength.

And the bar got higher. The smallest company on the 2009 list had financial services revenue of $53.4 million; in 2008 just $36 million was enough to place a company in the ranking. This is in a time when overall technology spending in the industry declined, evidence that bank CIOs are concentrating their spending with the largest vendors as they seek both stability and savings in the scale.

The 2009 FinTech 100 list ranks companies based on their calendar year 2008 revenue from financial services, leaving the combination of Fidelity National Information Services (No. 3) with rival Metavante (No. 10) out of consideration for this year's list. And though the revenue of the merged company couldn't be considered because of timing, it's clear that the deal was the biggest event in the FinTech space in a decade or more. That's why you'll find Frank Martire and Gary Norcross, the leaders of the new Fidelity, on the cover of this year's FinTech 100 issue.

Congratulations to all 100 companies on the FinTech 100, as well as the Top 25 Enterprise Companies in FinTech. It was a challenging year and your continued performance has earned you accolades and the respect of the industry.

FinTech Vendors Turn Lemons Into Lemonade

We've all had a tough year but here's some good news: in a year where there were huge structural changes and consolidation in financial services, the top 100 financial technology firms actually saw their revenue grow.

Methodology

Financial Insights relied on a number of sources to gather the data used in the sixth edition of the FinTech survey.

The Rankings

Top 100 Companies in FinTech & Top 25 Enterprising Companies in FinTech

Spotlight on the Top 10

This year's FinTech Top 10 includes core processors, ATM vendors, payments giants, outsourcers and a new entrant — lending technologist LPS. Here's a look at how they got there.

Robbins' Rules

Daniel Robbins, senior vice president and director of retail operations at Atlantic Southern Financial, is on a mission to cut expenses and improve customer service. Communication and automation are the heart of the strategy.

How to Harness Risky Business

Those firms that have invested in both human decisioning and advanced analytics are, and will be, the survivors.

Mobile Takes a Breather

Adoption slows in face of recession, but providers' innovations lend wide acceptance an air of inevitability; iPhone's success provides a stable, successful platform for mobile banking.

The Core of the Matter

Union Bank is undertaking the biggest core replacement project in the U.S. in years. If the Infosys platform lives up to its promise, other banks may have little choice but to consider following suit.

The Technology Behind Web Persuasion

Author Susan Weinstein says there's more to Web design and usability than meets the eye.

Making the Call on Outsourcing

Outsourcing bank processes like risk management is in vogue, but isn't without its own inherent problems.

Capturing Savings Online

Teller capture is a bigger IT commitment than branch capture, but the ROI can be more appetizing. And the scanners are getting cheaper, too.

An 'In' With Generation Y

Mobile money transfers have shown promise with the demographic in a variety of tests. Those conducting the tests say they've learned a lot about this crowd's likes and dislikes.

2009 FinTech 100 Company Index