Atlanta has emerged as one of the most important centers for the U.S. payments industry, with companies operating in the region processing trillions of dollars in transactions each year. The concentration of major payment processors, financial technology companies, and related businesses has helped establish the city as a significant fintech hub. Atlanta payments processing encompasses a substantial share of the nation’s credit, debit, and gift card transactions, creating thousands of jobs while attracting additional investment from companies seeking access to an established pool of payments expertise.
That concentration could become even more valuable as the payments industry evolves. Mobile payments, prepaid products, cybersecurity, and other financial technologies require specialized talent, giving Atlanta an opportunity to build on its existing payments infrastructure. Efforts involving universities, business organizations, incubators, and government agencies could help ensure that the region develops the workforce necessary to support continued fintech innovation.
This article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution identifies that Atlanta processes trillions of dollars annually:
“Trillions of dollars flow across payments systems managed by Georgia companies every year.
Making a payment is an easily forgotten but necessary act — starting with the swipe of a plastic card or maybe the tap of a smartphone app — that makes Georgia a champion in the world of financial technology and a vital cog of capitalism. And leaders in Georgia want to keep it that way.
In recent years, the payments and financial technology industries have moved from relative afterthoughts to an industry at the forefront of state and local business recruiting and retention efforts. It complements other key Georgia industries, such as cyber security, telecommunications and health care information technology.
The state is working to craft university curricula to help mold the next generation of the “FinTech” workforce to help develop new technologies and services as payments move to mobile devices.
“We have become an innovation center in the United States,” said Chris Carr, Georgia’s economic development chief.
About 70 percent of the debit, credit and gift card transactions in the U.S. each year are processed by companies with major Georgia operations. It’s an industry that helps directly employ more than 40,000 people in the Peach State, according to the American Transaction Processors Coalition.”
This large percentage of processing is driven by several large processors, with the newest transaction type being gift cards driven of course by InComm which is adding an additional 275 jobs in Atlanta:
“Georgia has been a payments and banking hub for decades and the state is home to some of the largest financial technology firms in the world, including First Data, Global Payments and TSYS. NCR is a dominant ATM, cash register and travel kiosk maker.
Among the headline-grabbing recruitment efforts of the past year are Worldpay US’s expansion of its Atlanta hub and NCR’s planned move from Gwinnett County to a new Midtown Atlanta campus.
On Wednesday, gift and prepaid debit card powerhouse InComm announced it would add 275 jobs in metro Atlanta.
InComm is a pioneer in the gift card world and started in Atlanta in 1992 as an early provider of prepaid long distance telephone cards. The company’s business has evolved and it now counts Apple and Best Buy among its more than 500 merchant clients and employs 1,800 worldwide.
InComm’s headquarters in the American Cancer Society building downtown is just a few miles south of NCR’s future headquarters and not far from Worldpay’s U.S. hub in Atlantic Station. Worldpay recently started a FinTech incubator program at Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.
“What we are doing right now is we are collaborating in a very special way,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said.
Hala Moddelmog, the CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said the new FinTech task force is modeled after one created to promote Atlanta as a leader in mobile communications, based off the strength of companies such as AT&T’s Atlanta-based mobility division.
“We almost always catch people off guard that almost three quarters of all transactions with credit, debit and gift cards go through this region,” she said at a FinTech panel Wednesday.”
While regulations are often what drives payment suppliers to congregate in a specific state, it is unclear what started this payment growth in Atlanta but it is clear that the concentration of payment talent living there now will continue to attract new payment firms, especially if educational programs and incubators are successful in churning out new talent.
Atlanta’s strength in payments is not tied to a single company or segment of the industry. Major firms including processors, payment technology providers, and prepaid companies have established substantial operations in the region, creating an ecosystem that can attract additional businesses and skilled workers. Expansion by existing companies also reinforces Atlanta payments processing as an important source of employment and economic development for Georgia.
The presence of so many established payments companies creates another advantage: a deep pool of experienced professionals who understand the technology, operations, security, and regulatory requirements behind financial transactions. For a payments company considering where to expand or establish operations, access to that existing expertise can be as important as traditional economic incentives.
Educational programs and fintech incubators could strengthen that advantage further by developing new talent and encouraging startups to remain in the region. As payments continue moving toward mobile devices and other digital channels, Atlanta has an opportunity to translate its longstanding role in transaction processing into a broader leadership position in financial technology. The combination of established companies, industry expertise, workforce development, and collaboration could help the city maintain its prominent role as the payments industry continues to change.
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group
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