B2B SaaS Provider · vs · Advertiser / Brand · B2C Consumer App / Platform
FIS vs Starling
Structured technology and market comparison · 2026
Direct Feature Comparison
FIS · vs · StarlingFinancial software and payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises.
UK digital bank with BaaS APIs and core-banking SaaS.
Analyze all overlapping signals and tech stacks for FIS and Starling
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Comparison Analysis
What is the main difference between FIS and Starling?
When comparing FIS and Starling, both platforms operate within the Payment Gateway & Orchestration ecosystem. FIS is positioned as Financial software and payments infrastructure for banks and enterprises, whereas Starling focuses on UK digital bank with BaaS APIs and core-banking SaaS. Decision-makers evaluate both solutions when orchestrating their commercial monetization and technology stack.
What are the top alternatives to FIS and Starling?
When evaluating FIS and Starling, enterprise buyers also consider other platforms in Payment Gateway & Orchestration. You can discover the full competitive landscape and evaluate other alternatives by viewing their respective footprint profiles on Polaris7.
How do the corporate scale, structure, and headquarters of FIS and Starling compare?
FIS is headquartered in US (founded in 1968) with >5,000 employees. Starling is based in GB (founded in 2014) with 1,001–5,000 employees. Complete ownership, subsidiary trees, and corporate affiliations are documented across Polaris7.
Market Signals
Recent Market Signals & Activity: FIS vs Starling
Documented market movements, strategic partnerships, product releases, and regulatory developments mapped across Polaris7.
FIS
Recent Signals
- ·SEC APIfinancials
10-Q Financial Filing Analysis for FIS (2026-08-04)
Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) reported robust financial results for Q2 2026, driven significantly by the closing of the Issuer Solutions acquisition from Global Payments and the divestiture of its remaining minority stake in Worldpay. Second-quarter consolidated revenue reached $3.38 billion, up 29% YoY, while operating income grew 24% YoY to $507 million. In the first half of 2026, net earnings attributable to FIS surged to $2.60 billion, propelled by a $2.2 billion estimated pre-tax gain recorded on the Worldpay minority interest sale. Operating cash flow for the six-month period improved to $1.21 billion compared to $839 million in the prior year.
- Q2 2026 revenue increased 29% year-over-year to $3.38 billion, with Banking Solutions revenue growing 44% to $2.48 billion following the Issuer Solutions acquisition.
- FIS recognized a preliminary pre-tax gain of $2.2 billion on the sale of its remaining 45% Worldpay equity interest, leading to H1 2026 net earnings attributable to FIS of $2.60 billion ($5.03 per diluted share).
- Operating cash flow reached $1.21 billion for the first six months of 2026, while total debt expanded to $21.2 billion following $7.7 billion in new borrowings used to finance the Issuer Solutions transaction.
Starling
Recent Signals
- ·Linas NewsletterAI & Banking Technology
Starling Bank's Sovereign AI Still Relies on Google and NVIDIA
Starling Bank, a British challenger bank, has announced plans to train a banking AI model on UK sovereign cloud infrastructure. However, the claim of being the 'first' is qualified by the fact that the model has not yet been trained on real customer data and that other lenders already run similar models. Moreover, the so-called sovereign setup still routes customer data through Google Cloud before reaching UK-owned provider Civo, raising questions about true sovereignty. The model is intended to power fraud detection from early 2027 and later an AI assistant. The article also highlights the bank's dependence on NVIDIA for computing and Google for AI models, underscoring the challenges of achieving full digital sovereignty.
- Starling Bank claims to be building the first banking AI model on UK sovereign cloud.
- The model has not yet been trained on real customer data.
- The model is scheduled to power Starling's fraud detection from early 2027.
- ·https://martechseries.com/feed/CTV
Starling Launches CTV Supply-Side Platform from Stealth
Starling, a new connected TV (CTV) supply-side platform (SSP), has officially launched, emerging from stealth with backing from MBL Partners and strategic investors. Founded by Michael Bassik, who also serves as Executive Chair and Acting CEO, the company addresses fragmentation and lack of show-level data in CTV advertising. Starling works with publishers including AMC, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount, Telly, and Xumo to offer program-level intelligence and custom audience segments via private marketplace deals. Its approach uses privacy-compliant methods like data clean rooms and audience modeling to avoid VPPA violations, though it declined to name data partners. The leadership team includes Sean Miller (COO/CFO), Reshmi Nair (CTO, ex-Magnite), and Wil Danielson (CRO, ex-Nexstar). With about 20 employees, Starling supports emerging formats like pause ads and home-screen placements, aiming to provide transparent, scalable advertising solutions.
- Starling is a CTV-focused SSP, launched with about 20 employees and backing from MBL Partners and strategic investors.
- Founded by Michael Bassik (Executive Chair/Acting CEO), with team including Reshmi Nair (CTO, ex-Magnite) and Wil Danielson (CRO, ex-Nexstar).
- Partners with publishers like AMC, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount, Telly, and Xumo for premium inventory.
- ·The DrumAgency-Client Relationship
Agencies and brands disagree on service delivery, study finds
New research by The Drum and iResearch Services, presented at The Drum Live, reveals a significant gap between how agencies and brands perceive agency performance. While 77% of agency leaders believe they deliver what brands want, only 23% of brand marketers agree, and 47% actively disagree. The study, based on a global poll of 600 senior marketers (averaging $346M in revenue), also found that over three-quarters of brand marketers expect to bring brand strategy in-house by 2030, whereas less than half of agency leaders agree. Additionally, AI is a growing focus: 59% of brand-side marketers rank deep AI expertise as the most in-demand agency skill, and 71% expect AI to significantly shape workflows by 2030, with 45% predicting a human-AI hybrid model. Despite AI-driven efficiency expectations, 80% of marketers still foresee rising marketing costs by 2030. The Drum Live panel, featuring industry leaders like Michele Rousseau and Ajaz Ahmed, emphasized the need for agencies to challenge briefs and deliver cultural insight.
- 77% of agency leaders believe they deliver what brands want, but only 23% of brand marketers agree (47% actively disagree).
- The Drum and iResearch Services' 'Mind The Gap' report surveyed 600 senior marketers globally (director level+), with an average company revenue of $346M. The report was released on September 25, 2026.
- 80% of brand marketers expect brand strategy to be handled in-house by 2030, compared to 49% of agency leaders.
Compare their exact ecosystem overlaps.
Explore all deep relationships in Polaris7. Discover exactly which mutual clients, integrated technologies, and overlapping partners FIS and Starling share across the market ecosystem.
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