TAG FinTech continues to gain support, adds additional Charter Gold Sponsor

ATLANTA, October 20, 2010 – The TAG FinTech Society of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) today announced that industry executives and  thought leaders from the state’s high-profile FinTech companies will lead panel discussions at FinTech Georgia 2010, the Society’s inaugural symposium to be held on November 8, 2010 at 103 West in Atlanta.  Topics to be discussed are Regulatory Changes and the New Economics of Payments, Data Breaches and the Impact on e-Commerce, and Globalization in the Payments Industry.  In addition, Gwenn Bezard, co-founder and research director at Aite Group, will present 10 Payment Companies to Watch and Georgia’s Position in the FinTech Universe.

TAG FinTech also announced that Raymond James is now the society’s eighth Charter Gold Sponsor, joining operating companies Elavon, Equifax, First Data, and TSYS and three firms that support FinTech companies – Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Porter Keadle Moore, and the Trade Credit Association of the US.  In addition to being a sponsor, the investment bank at Raymond James, specifically its Business Services & Financial Technology team, has generously supported the Society’s efforts to define the market’s ecosystems within the broader financial technology industry.

Panelists for FinTech Georgia 2010 include:

“We are excited to offer the FinTech community access to insights and

perspectives of respected industry leaders representing these successful FinTech companies,” said C. David Chambless, chairman of the TAG FinTech’s Steering Committee. “TAG FinTech’s mission is to build recognition of Georgia as the business center of choice for the world’s leading financial-technology providers. The support from the State’s FinTech companies and their executives has been tremendous and our upcoming event, FinTech Georgia 2010, promises to add to the momentum created by the Society’s efforts since launching in early 2010.

In addition, the Society announced that companies participating in the Emerging Growth Showcase during the event include AdvanceMe, Cardlytics, ControlScan, Coreserv, CRE Secure, ePayment, eRollover, FirstView Financial, FTRANS, FX Bridge, Interactive Advisory Software, Kabbage, Prime Revenue and Thanks Again.  Some 15+ venture capital firms from across the nation have indicated that they will attend the event to experience first hand what Georgia companies, both large and emerging growth, offer this important market.

FinTech Georgia 2010 will be held on November 8, 2010 at 103 West in Atlanta.  Additional information and registration can be found at http://tinyurl.com/24ylw58 .

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

TAG is a leading technology industry association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of the state's technology industry. TAG provides leadership in driving initiatives in the areas of policy, capital, education and giving, and also brings the technology community together through events, initiative programs and networking opportunities. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 27 special interest groups, or Societies, including Women in Technology (WIT). Additionally, TAG’s charitable arm, the TAG Education Collaborative, is focused on helping science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com.

About the TAG FinTech Society

TAG FinTech was founded in early 2010 to address the specific needs of companies, individuals, and investors serving the financial industry both domestically and abroad. Financial technology (or FinTech) encompasses products, solutions, services, and information providers which drive decisions, process payments, and facilitate transactions for financial institutions. Georgia FinTech company revenues are more than $34 billion annually, which places Georgia third in the nation behind New York and California. Together, the banking, insurance, and capital markets consistently spend more on technology than any other industry groupings. For more information about the TAG FinTech Society, visit http://www.tagonline.org/TAG-FinTech.php .

As we contemplated getting TAG-FinTech off the ground, we looked at the incredible list of FinTech companies in Georgia.  From the largest to the incubating, we have it all here.

Having it all could have been viewed as a challenge:  incubating companies vying for funding, early stage companies establishing their beachhead in a full field, big companies competing with everyone.  How do we find a common ground on which to build TAG-FinTech?

The best way to get anything done is to put a bunch of smart people in a room, give them some guidelines and some boundaries, and step out of the way.  Beginning with an organizational meeting in October, we held a first steering-committee meeting in December which led to monthly meetings.  From those meetings, we are developing a framework which allows competitors to cooperate, odd-fellows to collaborate, each to learn from each other, and all to band together for the collective whole.

An amazing spectacle.

Dave Chambless is Chair, TAG-FinTech and President, Abraxas Business Services.  Dave can be reached at dchambless@abraxas.biz

Atlanta has quietly become one of the capitals of the financial technology world. 

Consider the facts reported by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) in its recent Industry Report:

·        Georgia has 93 financial technology companies

·        These companies generated $34B in annual revenues

·        Georgia is one of the top three centers in the country for financial technology

How did we get here?  The answer is through a series of occurrences - - some planned and others happenstance.

Banking Growth – In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Atlanta enjoyed a significant growth in the number of banks.  We had a sizable regional banking presence --  First Atlanta, Trust Company Bank, Georgia Federal, Bank South, National Bank of Georgia.  These were just a few of the dozens of banking choices for Georgians. 

The banks attracted senior executives to our community with strong financial experience and built the foundation of our fintech environment.

Consolidation of Banks – Unfortunately, our banking success was spoiled in the ‘90s.  Our state’s banking laws precluded the aggressive acquisition of other financial institutions. 

By contrast, North Carolina enacted laws that permitted NCNB (now Bank of America), Wachovia and First Union to grow rapidly and buy banks in other states.  Georgia’s banking restrictions were constrictive, limiting the size of our state’s financial institutions. 

There were two significant consequences.  Georgia lost many of our leading banks through acquisition - - a bad thing since the headquarters of these banks moved out-of-state.

Talent Pool Expansion – The second outcome of bank consolidation had a silver lining - - talented bank employees and executives became available to start new businesses.  Dozens of banking executives were demoted from their previously senior positions to become part of a remote office or regional headquarters for a national bank now located in another state. 

The result was an experienced group of front and back office executives and technologists who were in Atlanta and didn’t want to move.

Entrepreneurial Expansion – This talent pool included a number of programmers, systems engineers and back office personnel with experience in developing, designing and programming sophisticated financial systems.  When the banking epicenter moved out of state, many of these executives took their financial technology experience and started new businesses or joined burgeoning ones.  The winners included CheckFree, First Financial Management, NDC, First Data and dozens of start-ups.

Ironically, if the big banks had grown in Atlanta, our fintech entrepreneurial expansion may have never occurred.  (Contrast our city with Charlotte, the beneficiary of big bank growth that never developed an entrepreneurial fintech community.)

Solid Foundation for Fintech Future – The ingredients for fintech growth in Georgia coalesced in the ‘90s - - executive talent, technology experience and an attractive community.  Many executives had come to Atlanta during the banking boom and planted their roots.  To remain in the area, they began their own entrepreneurial ventures and attracted other talented executives from the community.

Our future challenge in Georgia is to provide a solid foundation for growth of entrepreneurial fintech businesses.  We’ll explore the obstacles in an upcoming column.

This column is presented for educational and informational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice.

John Yates is the chair of the Technology Group of the Atlanta law firm of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP.  You can contact him at jyates@mmmlaw.com.