Core provider Fiserv’s market strategy continues to focus on bank partnerships and fintech acquisitions as revenues grow and development picks up speed.

Financials were in line with expectations, Fiserv Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano said during today’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Adjusted revenue was $4 billion, up 11% year over year. Financial technology revenue clocked in at $771 million, up 4% YoY, and payments and network revenues grew 8% YoY to $1.54 billion.

Gross payments volume (GPV) for Clover, the company’s payments platform, grew to $201 billion, a 50% YoY increase, while Zelle transactions grew by 71% YoY.

Fiserv will continue to leverage partnerships and acquisitions to fuel growth, Bisignano said, noting Monday’s announcement that it will acquire cloud banking solution Finxact.

“Yesterday, we announced the definitive agreement to acquire the remaining ownership interest in Finxact,” he said. “This is the investment in next-generation financial technology that supports our strategy to innovate for our clients and broaden our total addressable market.”

Other moves mentioned include partnerships with $41 billion Valley Bank and $5.5 billion Great Southern Bank, along with the November 2021 acquisition of turn-key payments provider NetPay. There were nearly 50 core partnerships announced during the quarter, Bisignano said.

Technology spend was up in 2021, spread across technology infrastructure, acquisition integration and real estate development. For the latter, the company plans a return to office which will be bolstered by a New Jersey-based “innovation and technology hub,” Chief Financial Officer Bob Hau said during the call.

“As we bring our organization back into the office after a couple years of working from home, we’re building out what we think are world-class collaboration spaces to respond to what employees want,” Hau said. “You heard us earlier in the year announce our innovation and technology hub in north central New Jersey. That will be built out and occupied later this year.”

Shares of Fiserv [NASDAQ: FISV] were trading at $99.54 as of market close, down 6% from market open.

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