Follow the Money, to Hot ‘Lanta

Follow the money. Always follow the money. And if you do, you will be led right through Atlanta, America’s transaction alley. FinTech companies first began flocking to ATL after state legislation was passed lifted regulations in 1987. Apparently Michael Jackson’s Bad album wasn’t the only noteworthy event that year. Fiserv, WorldPay, First Data, Cardlytics, Kabbage, BitPay, Sionic Mobile and many more call Atlanta home.

While north Georgia may not be the Capitol of FinTech; it certainly takes the cake in regards to payments and transactions given the aforementioned cluster, pro-business policies, and access to top-tier talent from Georgia Tech and Emory.

Now why is this at all relevant? Well for one, many are bullish on the global payments industry and for concrete reasons. As more humans “go online”, developing economies reach maturity, and society becomes increasingly cashless perhaps no geography stands to profit more than Atlanta so long as its FinTech companies correctly catch the wave. With an estimated $2.3 trillion on the table there’s big money to be made.