Given that startups and innovation labs often steal the spotlight from established companies, the Technology Association of Georgia is launching an awards ceremony honoring the use of financial technology in existing businesses.
The TAG ADVANCE Awards honor fintech’s real contributions to companies, bringing to light what is often hard to see outside an industry that is often as opaque as it is vital for commerce.
“The impact of FinTech isn’t always obvious,” said Sean Banks, partner of TTV Capital and chairman of TAG’s FinTech Society. “When technology works in our industry, it can often be reducing fraud, lowering the costs of transactions or even keeping companies compliant with federal regulations.”
The costs that these innovations reduce or the security they provide are often buried deep in the layers of transactions, where only regulators and industry professionals dare venture. Fintech is a discipline that doesn’t garner much attention until it doesn’t work, industry leaders say.
ADVANCE is aiming to change that, highlighting companies in a state whose corporate citizens process about 70 percent of payments in the United States. While efforts are being made to enhance startup activity in the space, these awards are what organizers see as a necessary supplement.
“Unlike startups, ADVANCE companies have customers, revenues and can demonstrate results that they are helping the financial industry move forward through innovation,” according to the awards’ nomination form.
Nominations are open till Oct. 15, and winners will be expected to show a substantial connection to Georgia.
Global Atlanta has had a special focus on payments in the last year, launching the Paying Atlanta Forward Special Report last December.
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