FIS, Venture Center announce 7th cohort for fintech accelerator program

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by Roby Brock ([email protected]) August 10, 2022 11:00 am 1,164 views 

Financial technology giant FIS and The Venture Center announced Wednesday (Aug. 10) the 10 companies selected for the 2022 FIS Fintech Accelerator program. The program based in Little Rock provides growth-stage fintechs with mentoring, training and a monetary investment to develop their solutions.

It is the seventh cohort for the fintech accelerator program.

“FIS’ Accelerator provides fintech startups with the guidance from leaders and subject matter experts, access to developers and clients, and a strategy to create a path forward with FIS,” said Elaine Duff, Head of FIS Impact Ventures Fintech Advocacy, FIS. “We’re thrilled to have these ten companies on board to explore their ideas and technologies while providing them with incredible tools and resources to build their businesses.”

The Accelerator is a key strategic pillar of FIS Impact Ventures, the corporate venture investment division of FIS that identifies and helps evolve new technologies. With 30% of this year’s cohort consisting of women founders, the ten selected companies and their technologies are:

  • Connect Earth – Green environmental impact banking
  • Equipifi – Buy now pay later
  • Neural Payments – P2P (peer-to-peer) payments
  • Nickels – Credit card debt management for financial wellness
  • Privacy Lock – Data privacy automation
  • Sardine – ACH money movement and crypto currency risk management
  • Sygno – Fraud transaction monitoring
  • Redactable – Cloud-based compliance
  • Tapcheck – Earned wage access for employee financial wellness
  • Themis – Regulatory compliance solutions

“Arkansas is globally recognized as a financial technology center. FinTech was created here, and with programs like the FIS Fintech Accelerator we continue to drive innovation,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “The future is coming, so banking and finance must evolve to meet the advancing technologies and provide better opportunities for customers. As we enter our seventh year partnering with Venture Center and FIS, Arkansas looks forward to hosting the next group of minds who will stir the coals of innovation.”

Arkansas is home to three publicly-traded bank holding companies with a multi-state presence as well as Stephens Inc., one of the largest investment banking firms located off Wall Street.

“We are excited to kick off the seventh year of our partnership with FIS and the State of Arkansas to produce the 2022 FIS Fintech Accelerator,” said Wayne Miller, Executive Director of The Venture Center. “Our work with FIS is more important than ever as digital transformation continues to revolutionize everything we do. This year’s cohort demonstrates what fintech partnership is all about, and the program is certain to be elevated as we work with the President of FIS Impact Ventures, Rob Lee, and his team, whose dedication to fintech advocacy, diversity and inclusion is perfectly aligned with our own goal to drive meaningful impact.”

Next week, The Venture Center will host a fintech summit in Little Rock called VenCent. It will feature a host of speakers and conversations regarding the state of fintech in Arkansas and globally.