i2c Marks Year of Global Momentum as Financial Institutions Race to Modernize Payments

i2c Inc. has reported a significant surge in platform adoption as 88% of financial institutions accelerate their digital modernization timelines to compete with fintech rivals. By providing a unified banking and payments stack, the company is addressing the legacy architecture bottlenecks that currently hinder traditional banks from achieving the agility required in a shifting global market.

What was announced

i2c Inc. has detailed the performance of its PowerOne unified banking and payments platform, highlighting a period of growth driven by the industry's shift away from fragmented legacy systems. The company reported that 88% of financial institutions have accelerated their modernization efforts, citing legacy processing architecture as a primary obstacle. In response, i2c’s platform now provides technical operational readiness in more than 216 markets worldwide, maintaining a historical availability rate of 99.999%.

Over the past two years, the number of clients renewing or expanding their programs with i2c rose by 42%, while the company’s largest client portfolio saw a 46% increase. Key implementations include Belize Bank’s unification of its Mastercard and Visa portfolios and Crypto.com’s global card program expansion. Additionally, Republic Bank launched a digital-first consumer credit program in Guyana, and CoinZoom deployed an international crypto debit card program across 152 countries. BB Americas Bank also utilizes the platform to serve prepaid cardholders in more than 20 countries.

The platform’s infrastructure is supported by over 300 APIs and 100,000 pre-coded building blocks. To maintain this technical pace, i2c invests 1.5 million engineering hours annually into its systems, with 30% of its total workforce dedicated to research and development. The firm is also moving toward agentic AI, utilizing its unified data and workflows to enable intelligence across the entire platform rather than through siloed additions.

"This year’s momentum validates a belief we’ve held for more than two decades: the architecture beneath financial services determines how quickly you can adapt to what comes next,"

Amir Wain, Founder and CEO of i2c.

The companies involved

i2c Inc. is a global provider of banking, credit, and payment solutions that has operated for over 26 years. The company positions itself as an alternative to both aging legacy processors and newer, "composable" building-block startups by offering a single, unified global technology stack. This architecture is designed to eliminate the need for multi-vendor setups, which i2c argues cannot match its reliability standards. The firm works extensively with major payment networks; for instance, Belize Bank utilized the platform to manage both its Mastercard and Visa portfolios. i2c’s reach extends into the digital asset space through partnerships with firms like Crypto.com and CoinZoom. Another key client is Wealthsimple, a prominent financial services firm where Hanna Zaidi serves as Vice President, Payments Strategy & Chief Compliance Officer. The company also maintains a presence in the Americas through BB Americas Bank, which manages prepaid cardholders across more than 20 countries. i2c’s market position is further reinforced by its inclusion in the IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100 and its recognition as a leading vendor by industry analysts at Celent and Juniper Research.

What FF News has reported before

FF News recently covered i2c’s internal expansion with the report that i2c Inc. Appoints Mastercard Veteran Angeline Tang as Global Head of Client Success. This move highlighted the company's focus on deepening institutional relationships. In the broader payments ecosystem, FF News has tracked developments from i2c partner Mastercard, including how Mastercard Launches Stablecoin Security to Combat Fraud in Digital Asset Payments and the launch of new consumer features such as when Stoa Partners with Stripe and Mastercard to Launch Virtual Card Perks for Savers. Additionally, Mastercard’s research has indicated significant growth potential in emerging markets, as seen in the report Mastercard Report: Africa’s Digital Economy to Hit $1.5 Trillion by 2030 Amid Rising Cyber Threats.

What this means

The fact that 88% of financial institutions are accelerating their modernization timelines suggests a market reaching a breaking point with legacy infrastructure. For years, the industry has debated the merits of "best-of-breed" composable stacks versus unified platforms. i2c’s growth indicates that for many institutions, the complexity of managing multiple vendors is becoming a liability rather than an asset. As the sector moves toward agentic AI, the advantage may shift further toward providers who control the entire data and workflow stack. The pressure is now on pure-play composable providers to prove they can offer the same level of reliability and speed without the integration overhead that currently plagues the sector.