There is a commercial running on TV these days that features a mother and daughter at the zoo. The mother shows her daughter how she can deposit a check in the bank simply by taking a picture of it. She then goes on to take a picture of a lion and the little girl, frightened that the lion will also be sent to the bank, yells for her mother to stop.

Technology has not yet progressed to the point where we can send real-life lions to remote locations with the click of a button on our phone, but the speed at which financial technologies are advancing is astounding. Much of the innovation is occurring right here in Georgia.

Did you know that more than 93 financial technology companies have operations in our state? Did you also know that more than 75% of credit card transactions are processed through companies located in metro Atlanta?

At TAG, we are very proud of our state’s growing footprint in financial technology and we constantly look for more ways to promote Georgia’s companies and the great innovation occurring here every day. One of the ways we do this is using various rankings and awards as “bragging rights” for our state.

This is why we’re encouraging Georgia’s financial technology companies to consider submitting for the 2012 FinTech 100 and Enterprise 25. This annual ranking, conducted by IDC Financial Insights, American Banker and Bank Technology News, showcases the leading global technology and service providers in the financial services industry.

The 2012 ranking will categorize and evaluate vendors based on calendar year revenues attributable to financial institutions for hardware, software, or services. Two categories of companies are ranked:

• FinTech 100 – includes vendors that derive more than one-third of their revenue from the financial services industry.
• Top 25 Enterprise Companies in FinTech – includes enterprise companies in financial services that are horizontal technology firms selling products and services across multiple industries and derive less than one-third of their revenues from financial services.

If you work for a company in the financial technology space, we encourage you to apply for the FinTech 100 awards. The application is available via this link: www.idc-fi.com/services/fintech100.jsp .  The deadline is June 29.

Additionally, TAG’s South Eastern Software Association is on the hunt for companies and their teams who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and built great software solutions that have a significant positive impact on their customers, their business or community. This year’s focus is on the financial technology industry, so we encourage those companies to apply for recognition.

Awards and nominations may be submitted online. The deadline to apply is August 15. Learn more about the awards here: http://www.tagonline.org/tag-southeastern-software-association.php.