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A Portuguese software developer and platform serving financial institutions has selected Atlanta for its entry point into the U.S. market.
ebankIT, based in Porto, Portugal, localized its presence in the United States last year, according to its website, but announced only Sept. 10 that had picked as its headquarters the city known as Transaction Alley.
EbankIT aims to help banks keep up in the innovation race against disruptive pure-play fintechs that offer innovative features and slick interfaces to woo customers.
“Humanizing” the user experience and harmonizing it across platforms and devices helps banks onboard and retain customers in the commercial and retail sides of the banking business, eBankIT executives have said. The company also offers a solution tailored to the membership model of credit unions.
The announcement is key for Atlanta, which remains a payments juggernaut but has at times had to overcome a perception that it lags other cities when it comes to the much larger fintech sector.
With its concentration of legacy payments providers, Atlanta is not particularly known as a hub for banks, which are slowly embracing the idea of working with — and sometimes acquiring — the companies that threaten to upend their business models.
EBankIT did not say in a news release how many people it would hire locally and where its office would be located in the metro area. Global Atlanta has reached out for comment and will post an update after the company responds.
“This strategic move not only enhances our ability to deliver cutting-edge digital banking solutions to financial institutions across the U.S. but also strengthens our position as a global leader in the FinTech industry,” CEO Renato Oliveira said in a news release.
Hillery Champagne, executive director of Fintech Atlanta, said that even in its short time in Atlanta, the company has already become an active member of the community, participating in signature programs like Run It by the Buyers, the next iteration of which happens Oct. 2 at The Home Depot’s headquarters.
According to Fintech Atlanta, more than 42,500 people in Georgia work some 245 fintech companies with a significant presence in the state generating combined revenues of $72 billion.
In addition to Porto and Atlanta, EbankIT has offices in Vancouver, London and Berlin.