Atlanta Aims to Boost ‘Transaction Alley’ with Fintech Task Force

Photo: BitPay's headquarters are located in Atlanta (Source: Bloomberg)

Atlanta, Georgia, has become the latest city where the municipality is putting an emphasis on growing its fintech sector through the creation of a new Fintech Task Force. A bridge between numerous industries, assistance for fintech firms can provide a catalyst to boost both the finance and technology eco-systems in cities.

Headed by Worldpay US President, Tony Catalfano, the fintech task force is being created through an initiative by the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) and the American Transaction Processors Coalition (ATPC). According to the MAC, the task force will be modeled after a similar one that was focused on the mobile industry in 2012. Among the current fintech initiative’s goals are to “attract and grow companies in the FinTech industry; develop a skilled workforce and grow innovation”.

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The initiative will be focusing on strengthening Atlanta’s financial transactions industry, which is the city’s largest fintech sector. Holding a strong position in the US’s overall payments industry, the local Atlanta eco-system is referred to as ‘Transaction Valley’. Among leading firms in Atlanta’s payment technology industry are Fiserv, FirstData, NCR and FIS.

According to the ATPC, more than 60% of the global payment processing companies are located in Atlanta. Additionally, 70% of US payments are processed through Georgia. With the task force being created, Atlanta aims to continue holding its dominant position in payment processing by helping local firms expand globally and roll out new payment technology.

Regarding this goal, H. West Richards, Executive Director of the ATPC, stated: “Georgia’s Transaction Alley is the FinTech capital of the world and we need to work hard to keep it that way. A focused plan to invest in people and generate investment in innovation will spur Transaction Alley’s growth and protect this vital Georgia industry. I believe one day we may look back on this initiative as the spark that helped to shape Georgia’s future as the next financial industry powerhouse to arrive on the world stage.”