FIS (Fidelity National Information Services) is one of the largest financial technology companies on the planet. It processes roughly 75 billion transactions a year and facilitates the movement of about $9 trillion in service to more than 20,000 clients. A company that size doesn't run on its own. It runs on a long bench of suppliers: software and cloud vendors, data and security firms, professional services, facilities, marketing, staffing, and the unglamorous operational categories that keep a global fintech upright.
That scale is the opportunity. It's also the filter. FIS isn't browsing for vendors. It's screening a registration funnel for suppliers who can prove they'll deliver consistent value without creating risk. Here's how the process actually works and where a diversity certification earns you a real look.
What FIS actually buysFIS is a fintech and payments processor, so the spend that matters most to it sits close to its product: cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data services, payment-network connectivity, fraud and compliance tooling, and the engineering talent to build all of it. Around that core is the normal enterprise purchasing of a company with offices and data centers worldwide: IT hardware, telecom, professional and consulting services, staffing, legal, marketing, travel, and facilities.
Be honest about which bucket you fall into. A regulated, security-conscious fintech treats a vendor that touches client payment data very differently from one that supplies office furniture. The closer your product sits to FIS's regulated workflows, the longer the vetting and the higher the bar on security, audits, and compliance documentation. If you're in a lower-risk category, the path is shorter, but you're competing against an enormous incumbent supplier base.
How registration actually worksFIS runs a public Supplier Information Portal at fisglobal.com/about-us/supplier-information-portal. It's the front door for current and prospective suppliers and it covers procurement, invoicing, and payments in one place. The portal includes a "Become a Supplier" path (at /about-us/supplier-information-portal/become-supplier) where you register your company.
In FIS's own words, the company is "committed to improvement of our procurement and supplier management programs by continually assessing and identifying current and potential suppliers who are committed to inclusion and diversity." Note the verb: assessing. Registration is not an application that gets approved on a timeline. It puts your company in the pool that FIS sourcing and category managers search when a need opens up.
Treat the registration form as a sales document, not a compliance chore. Use the exact category language a fintech buyer would search for. List your NAICS codes, certifications, security attestations (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS where relevant), and named clients of similar size. Vague self-descriptions get filtered out. Specific, verifiable capability with proof gets shortlisted.
FIS publishes regional accounts-payable inquiry contacts on the portal (for North America, ap.queries.us@fisglobal.com). That mailbox is for invoicing and payment questions, not a sales channel, so don't pitch into it. Use the supplier registration path for opportunities.
How to actually get noticed (or invited)Registering puts you in the database. It doesn't put you in front of a buyer. For a company FIS's size, the work happens after registration:
- Map the right category. Find out which FIS procurement category your offering lives in and use that vocabulary verbatim in your profile. Buyers search by category and capability, not by your company name.
- Lead with proof, not adjectives. A one-page capability statement with named comparable clients, contract sizes, security certifications, and differentiators beats three paragraphs of mission language. If you've served another large regulated financial institution, say so.
- Build a relationship before the RFP. Connect with FIS supplier diversity and procurement staff at industry events. The certifying bodies below all run matchmaker sessions where corporate members like fintechs send real buyers. That's where "invitation-only" categories actually get opened.
- Be ready to clear the security bar. Have your SOC 2 report, insurance certificates, data-handling policies, and incident-response documentation ready before you're asked. Slow documentation kills momentum with a regulated buyer.
FIS states publicly that it identifies suppliers "committed to inclusion and diversity" as part of how it assesses its base. Large financial institutions typically operationalize that through third-party-certified diverse suppliers, because a recognized certification is independent proof of ownership rather than a self-claim.
The certifications that carry weight with corporate buyers are the standard set:
- NMSDC (MBE) for minority-owned businesses
- WBENC (WBE) for women-owned businesses
- NGLCC (LGBTBE) for LGBTQ+-owned businesses
- Disability:IN (DOBE) for disability-owned businesses
- NaVOBA / SDVOSB for veteran- and service-disabled-veteran-owned businesses
If you qualify and aren't certified yet, that's the highest-leverage move you can make before approaching any Fortune 500 buyer. Certification doesn't win the contract. It gets your profile surfaced when a buyer filters for diverse suppliers, and it makes you eligible for the matchmaker pipelines where these deals start. Our NMSDC certification guide walks through the minority-business process step by step, and if you want to register the certifications across multiple agencies and corporate programs at once, CertifyAll handles the paperwork for you.
We could not verify on the public portal exactly which certifications FIS formally recognizes or the official name of its supplier diversity program. Confirm that directly with FIS supplier relations before you build your pitch around a specific program label. The five certifications above are the ones large corporate programs almost universally accept, so getting one is rarely wasted effort.
The Tier-2 side doorIf you can't land a direct (Tier-1) contract with FIS, there's a second route worth knowing. Most large corporations track Tier-2 spend: the diverse-supplier dollars that flow through their prime contractors. A prime vendor that sells to FIS often has a target to subcontract a percentage of that work to certified diverse businesses, and it reports those numbers back to FIS.
That means a certified diverse business can win FIS-related revenue without ever signing a direct FIS contract. The play is to identify the large primes already serving FIS in your category and pitch them as a subcontractor. For a smaller diverse firm, a Tier-2 relationship with an established prime is frequently faster to close than a direct enterprise contract and it builds the track record that makes a later Tier-1 bid credible.
We couldn't confirm a publicly named FIS Tier-2 program, so ask FIS supplier relations or the prime you're targeting whether second-tier reporting is in play.
Where to startIf you're certified and ready, register in the FIS Supplier Information Portal and build a profile a category buyer can find. If you're not certified yet, that's step one. You can browse and compare other corporate supplier diversity programs (many with clearer published certification requirements and matchmaker calendars) in our corporate program directory to build a realistic pipeline while FIS sits in your funnel. One enterprise buyer is a long shot. A dozen, worked in parallel, is a strategy.
