When people and businesses around the U.S. need to conduct an online transaction, they go to Georgia.
More specifically, their payment passes through a Georgia-based company that is part of Transaction Alley, where 70% of all transactions in America pass through daily.
How significant is that? Consider this: 118 billion transactions annually go through Georgia. So many financial technology (fintech) companies have located here that the state has rightfully earned the nickname “Transaction Alley.”
More than 170 fintech firms call Georgia home and cumulatively generate annual revenue of $72 billion.
“Metro Atlanta is a global fintech and payments industry capital, so it is the right place to expand our business. We are pleased to tap into the deep fintech talent pool, industry coalitions, business-friendly environment and supportive university system in the region.”
— Barry McCarthy, President & CEO, Deluxe
This is why Tony Catalfano, CEO of Worldpay, recently said, “Atlanta is the epicenter of financial services technology with access to innovative talent, infrastructure and creative business, which positions us best for continued growth.”
The roster of fintech operations in Georgia reads like a Who’s Who of the financial world. ACI Worldwide, Equifax, Fiserv, First Data, FIS Global, LexisNexis, NCR, Verifone, LendingPoint, E-Trade, CoreLogic and Lumen are just a handful of the firms staging significant operations and hiring top talent in metro Atlanta and beyond.
The talent pool and other resources here are a major driver of expansions and relocations. On Sept. 29, Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, announced it was creating a 123,000-sq.-ft. office at 1200 Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta and creating 1,000 jobs in Georgia.
“Atlanta brings together a wealth of expertise and talent with entrepreneurial spirit and a deep sense of community culture,” said Michelle Gethers-Clark, chief diversity officer and head of corporate responsibility at Visa. “We are thrilled to enhance our long-term presence in Atlanta — an expansion that comes with a commitment to invest in Atlanta’s diverse talent pool by fostering the next generation of leaders through rewarding career development and growth opportunities.”
Visa will be hiring people skilled in management, software development, risk and security, finance and more.
Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick welcomed Visa’s commitment by saying, “Metro Atlanta is the global hub of the fintech and payment processing industries as a result of years of strategic ecosystem support and the collaboration of many partners. Visa will no doubt benefit from initiatives like FinTech Atlanta, the FinTech Academy, and FinTech South as well as the diverse and industry-specific expertise of our metro Atlanta workforce.”
Georgia FinTech Academy is a collaboration between Georgia’s fintech industry and the 26 public institutions of the University System of Georgia. It was launched as a talent development initiative to power the future of the global economy. It is an online talent development platform that allows learners to access the specialized educational experiences necessary to enter the fintech sector regardless of where they live in the state or what school they attend.
An executive who played a key role in establishing the Georgia FinTech Academy — Barry McCarthy, president and CEO of Fortune 1000 firm Deluxe — runs a company that is expanding its own fintech footprint in Georgia.
70% of all financial payments in the U.S. pass through Georgia.
Source: GDEcD
Deluxe announced last year that it would invest over $10 million and create 709 jobs at a new Fintech and Customer Innovation Center in Sandy Springs. “The Deluxe Payments and FinTech businesses are growing rapidly, even during a global pandemic,” said McCarthy. “Metro Atlanta is a global fintech and payments industry capital, so it is the right place to expand our business. We are pleased to tap into the deep fintech talent pool, industry coalitions, business-friendly environment and supportive university system in the region.”
The new offices at 5565 Glenridge Connector will hire people skilled in software development, product and program management, innovation, data analytics and artificial intelligence.
