The Green Sheet Online Edition
August 8, 2009 • 09:08:02
A silver anniversary for Fiserv
Milwaukee-based payment solutions provider and processor Fiserv Inc. celebrated its 25th anniversary on July 31, 2009. Fiserv was founded in 1984 when Tampa, Fla.-based Sunshine State Systems Inc. and First Data Processing Inc. in Milwaukee combined to form the first national financial services company.
For the past quarter century, Fiserv has grown - through more than 150 acquisitions - from a $20 million organization with 350 employees serving small banks and credit unions to a $4.7 billion Fortune 500 company with 20,000 employees. Fiserv went public on Sept. 25, 1986; since then, its stock has risen from $1.10 per share to approximately $48 today.
"We had a great idea - to focus on data processing for banks and build from our foundation of regional operations to create a nationwide enterprise," said George Dalton, the company's co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1984 to 2000. "Now, 25 years later, Fiserv is far exceeding anyone's expectations."
Fiserv-ing the globe
In 1991, Fiserv entered the commercial bank, international and credit union core account processing markets with its acquisition of Citicorp Information Resources Inc.; this led to expanding into London and Singapore.
The company entered the online bill pay and electronic bill presentment market in 2007 with the purchase of CheckFree Corp. Today its footprint has grown to 250 locations in 40 countries worldwide with over 18,000 clients. Fiserv has been recognized numerous times for its stability, growth and contributions to the financial services industry, including:
- A number one ranking in 2005, 2007 and 2008 on the FinTech 100 list of technology partners serving the financial services industry
- In 2008, top honors for Fiserv from the Information Week 500 in the Banking and Financial Services category
- The 2008 Microsoft Inc. Global Independent Software Vendor - Partner of the Year
- A seventh place spot on The Chartis RiskTech 100 global list of top risk technology firms on functionality, core technology, organizational strength, customer satisfaction and market presence
- A number two overall ranking in the 2008 Bank Technology News top 25 most innovative people, companies and technologies category
- International information technology research firm Celent's top rating for Fiserv's retail Internet banking platform in 2008 and 2009
Branded for commitment
In February 2009, Fiserv introduced a "go-to-market strategy" in which all of its business units were branded Fiserv. This was designed to bring one name to the market and optimize client access to the company. "The bridge between our first 25 years and the next 25 is our commitment to serving clients," said Jeffrey Yabuki, Fiserv's current President and CEO. "We know the real advantage is the quality of our people and their commitment to excellence ... and we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead."
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