In an increasingly dynamic and competitive payments environment, where customers—both retail and commercial—expect seamless, real-time, and personalised digital experiences, the strategic partnership between FIS and Episode Six is a timely response to this market shift. The launch of the FIS International Issuing Hub, a cloud-native, application programming interface (API)-first issuer processing platform, aims to give financial institutions the agility, configurability and compliance support they need to stay competitive and scale globally. Responding to a new era of digital payments “We are hugely excited by this partnership,” said Andrew Murray, head of international banking and payments at FIS. “It combines FIS’s global reach and distribution with Episode Six’s modern, modular platform. Together, we have built a future-ready issuer processing ecosystem that delivers speed, security and scale.” The initiative targets a wide range of institutions—from traditional banks to digital challengers—facing mounting pressure to improve time-to-market for new products while maintaining regulatory compliance and cost efficiency. Rethinking issuer processing from the ground up Legacy issuer processors often predate the smartphone era and were never built to support the flexibility now required in today’s digital economy. As John Mitchell, CEO and Co-founder of Episode Six, explained, “Many of the incumbent platforms were designed for a world that no longer exists. We founded Episode Six in 2015 to create an issuer processor from scratch—purpose-built to be agile, resilient and fully modular.” Episode Six’s proprietary platform, which underpins the FIS International Issuing Hub, was built cloud-native from inception. Rather than simply migrating a legacy system into the cloud, it leverages distributed architecture across 16 AWS regions to deliver location-agnostic services, enhanced scalability and robust resilience. This architecture is claimed to enable real-time performance, personalisation, and rapid deployment—capabilities that traditional systems struggle to achieve. “Our platform allows clients to deploy and adjust card products across different markets quickly and securely,” said Mitchell. “That includes credit, debit, prepaid, virtual, and one-time-use cards, all configurable via bundled APIs.” Expanding use cases across banking and fintech The FIS International Issuing Hub was built with flexibility to serve a wide spectrum of financial institutions, from established banks to agile fintechs and emerging digital-first players. While names of early adopters remain confidential, Murray confirmed that interest spans large banks looking to modernise infrastructure incrementally, regional issuers expanding cross-border capabilities, and fintechs launching innovative prepaid or virtual card offerings. Mitchell emphasised that the system is designed to support both traditional and non-traditional use cases: “Commercial credit, virtual card, business-to-business—those are all big ideas.” Prepaid variants and one-time-use cards also feature prominently. These use cases are particularly attractive in markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where issuers are seeking to rapidly scale new card propositions without overhauling their legacy cores. Unlike traditional issuer processors, which often impose long lead times and rigid configurations, the platform allows each client to tailor products for specific customer segments. Banks can differentiate themselves by offering unique credit lines for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), tailored spending controls for corporate card programmes, or embedded issuance for super apps and digital wallets. As Mitchell explained, “The product creation toolkit allows for configurations based on credit, debit, prepaid, virtual—across multiple geographies and currencies. And it is all accessible via APIs.” This multi-segment appeal positions the hub as a foundational component in broader digital banking strategies. Accelerating innovation with lower costs and faster speed to market A key value proposition of the platform is its dramatically reduced time-to-market. Mitchell highlighted that product changes that typically took more than 12 months on legacy systems can now be made in weeks—or even days—once integrated. “It is not only faster but also much more cost-effective,” he noted. “Changes can often be implemented by business analysts without waiting on large technology project teams.” The platform's design also avoids costly system overhauls. “It’s built to sit alongside existing core systems, not replace them,” said Mitchell. “That makes it particularly attractive for banks seeking modernisation without the risk and disruption of full migrations.” As a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based solution, the International Issuing Hub also lowers total cost of ownership by offering scalability based on usage volume and minimising upfront infrastructure investments. Regulatory agility and global compliance One of the biggest hurdles for modern issuer processors is managing regulatory complexity across jurisdictions. The International Issuing Hub was explicitly built to address this, according to Mitchell. “Compliance is baked into the system,” he said. “And when regulations evolve, clients can reconfigure the platform quickly to stay compliant. That is critical in markets like Southeast Asia where timelines for compliance changes are short.” Data residency concerns are addressed through the platform’s global cloud deployment, which allows sensitive data to remain in-country where required. The system’s configurability ensures alignment with local compliance standards, security frameworks, and audit trails. “If a bank is not compliant, they are first fined, then sanctioned or even more,” Mitchell said. “They can use the functionality of our system to help ensure they stay ahead of those risks.” Competing through speed, personalisation and ecosystem readiness The FIS International Issuing Hub enters a crowded issuer processing market—one populated by legacy providers and newer entrants. However, what sets this platform apart is the convergence of enterprise-grade infrastructure and API-first modularity, coupled with FIS’s global reach and regulatory expertise. Murray explained that the solution is not limited to card issuance alone: “From unmatched clearing and settlement to reconciliation, chargebacks, fraud and anti-money laundering (AML)—these are embedded capabilities. It is a full-stack platform that reduces friction across the lifecycle.” Unlike challenger platforms that focus on specific markets or use cases, the FIS hub caters to a broader swathe of clients—supporting embedded issuance for platforms, white-labelled programmes for partners, and multi-product portfolios for large banks. Mitchell added, “The size and scale with this level of flexibility and security is something unique in the marketplace.” He further noted that the platform can be deployed across jurisdictions without compromising compliance or configurability, something many cloud-native players still struggle with. In addition, the integration of business process outsourcing (BPO), digitalisation services, and operational support from FIS gives banks a plug-and-play ecosystem—a distinct advantage over standalone processors that require clients to stitch together third-party components. Looking ahead: roadmap and interoperability The platform’s current focus is on establishing a best-in-class issuer processing foundation, particularly for credit, debit, prepaid and virtual cards. Murray shared that the team is working towards a full go-live with early adopters by the fourth quarter of 2025. “We have done extensive preparation with pilot clients to ensure what we launch is the best fit for their markets,” he said. However, both Murray and Mitchell were clear that this is only the beginning. The architecture is designed to support ongoing evolution—whether in the form of new product categories or emerging payment technologies. Tokenisation, distributed ledger integration, and embedded finance are already in consideration. “The platform already supports tokenisation and is designed for lighter-touch integration with technologies like distributed ledger technology (DLT),” Mitchell said. “And because everything is API-based, the underlying tech layer can evolve without disrupting the customer-facing experience.” This future-readiness aligns with broader industry shifts. With central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), real-time account-based payments, and embedded lending becoming part of the conversation in many regions, the FIS platform is positioned to remain relevant by design. Its modular nature also ensures it can serve as a stepping stone into broader payment orchestration frameworks that combine issuing, acquiring and digital wallet functions into a single system. The road ahead in issuer processing Both executives see major shifts underway in global issuer processing. “The battleground is shifting to customer experience, speed and control,” said Murray. “What you can control is the tech stack and customer interface. That’s where innovation must happen.” “Modern customers—whether individuals or businesses—expect real-time, transparent, mobile-first solutions,” added Mitchell. “With this hub, we’re helping banks and fintechs deliver on those expectations while retaining compliance and resilience.” As digital finance continues to expand, the FIS International Issuing Hub positions itself as a scalable, resilient and flexible solution ready to support the next generation of financial services.
