Transaction Alley: Why 70% of U.S. Payments Flow Through Georgia
Georgia processes 70% of all U.S. financial transactions and 118 billion transactions annually. Here's how Atlanta became the undisputed capital of payments technology.
Transaction Alley: Why 70% of U.S. Payments Flow Through Georgia
Every time you swipe a credit card, tap your phone to pay, or transfer money online, there's a good chance that transaction flows through Georgia. The state processes an estimated 70% of all U.S. financial transactions—a concentration of payments infrastructure that has earned the region the nickname "Transaction Alley."
The Scale of Transaction Alley
The numbers are staggering:
- 70% of U.S. payment transactions processed in Georgia
- 118 billion transactions flow through the state annually
- 6 of the 10 largest U.S. payment processing firms headquartered here
- $72 billion+ in annual revenue from Georgia's top 50 fintech companies
- 200+ companies in the fintech corridor
The Major Players
Fiserv
One of the world's largest payments and financial technology companies, Fiserv maintains significant operations in the Alpharetta area. The company provides payment processing, account processing, and financial services technology to thousands of financial institutions.
Equifax
While known primarily as a credit bureau, Equifax is fundamentally a data and analytics company that plays a critical role in financial transactions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax's risk assessment tools help determine whether transactions should be approved.
FIS (Fidelity National Information Services)
Though headquartered in Jacksonville, FIS has substantial Georgia operations. The company provides technology solutions to financial institutions and businesses, including payment processing and banking software.
NCR Corporation
Historically known for ATMs and point-of-sale systems, NCR has evolved into a software and services company focused on digital commerce. The company maintains a significant Atlanta presence.
Global Payments
Based in Atlanta, Global Payments provides payment technology and software solutions to businesses worldwide. The company processes billions of transactions annually.
Verifone
A leader in payment terminals and systems, Verifone maintains operations in the Atlanta metro area, contributing to the region's hardware expertise in payments.
Visa's Atlanta Expansion
In a notable move, Visa announced plans for a 123,000-square-foot office at 1200 Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta, creating 1,000 jobs in Georgia. This expansion from the world's largest digital payments company validates Atlanta's position as a payments capital.
Why Georgia?
Historical Foundations
Georgia's dominance in payments has roots stretching back decades. The state attracted early payment processing operations due to its central location, business-friendly environment, and telecommunications infrastructure.
Transportation Hub
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, makes Georgia globally accessible. For a industry that serves clients worldwide, this connectivity matters.
Talent Concentration
With major payments companies concentrated in Georgia, the state has developed deep expertise in payments technology. Engineers, product managers, compliance specialists, and executives with payments experience cluster in the region.
Business Environment
Georgia consistently ranks among the most business-friendly states. Low taxes, reasonable regulations, and state support for business attraction create favorable conditions for financial technology companies.
Network Effects
Perhaps most importantly, concentration breeds concentration. When you're building a payments company, you want to be where the payments experts are. You want to be where the clients are. You want to be where your next key hire lives. Georgia's existing concentration makes it the obvious choice for new payments ventures.
University Pipeline
Georgia Tech's engineering programs produce talent well-suited for fintech. The university's emphasis on practical application and its location in Atlanta creates a direct pipeline from education to industry.
Alpharetta's Role in Transaction Alley
While Transaction Alley spans the Atlanta metro area, Alpharetta plays a distinct role. The city's concentration of enterprise technology companies means many payments firms have substantial Alpharetta operations.
The intersection of payments (processing transactions) and enterprise software (the systems that initiate and track transactions) is particularly strong in Alpharetta. Companies here often bridge the gap between payment networks and business applications.
The Fintech Innovation Layer
On top of the established payments infrastructure, a layer of fintech innovation is growing. Startups are addressing opportunities in:
Alternative Payments
Beyond cards and ACH, companies are building new payment rails for specific use cases—B2B payments, cross-border transactions, cryptocurrency integration.
Fraud Prevention
With billions of transactions comes billions of fraud attempts. Georgia companies are developing AI-powered fraud detection, identity verification, and security solutions.
Embedded Finance
The trend toward embedding financial services into non-financial applications creates opportunities for companies building the APIs and infrastructure that enable this integration.
Buy Now, Pay Later
The explosion of installment payment options requires technology platforms to manage underwriting, payment processing, and merchant integration.
Banking Infrastructure
Fintech companies need banking partners and infrastructure. Georgia is home to companies providing Banking-as-a-Service and related capabilities.
Challenges and Competition
Transaction Alley faces competition from other regions:
San Francisco
The Bay Area hosts numerous fintech startups and established financial technology companies. The venture capital concentration creates advantages for funding.
New York
Proximity to Wall Street and traditional financial institutions gives New York natural fintech advantages.
Austin
Texas is attracting fintech companies with its business environment and tech ecosystem.
International Competition
London, Singapore, and other global financial centers are building fintech ecosystems that compete for talent and investment.
However, Georgia's established position—the existing infrastructure, talent, and corporate presence—provides durable advantages that are difficult to replicate.
The Future of Transaction Alley
Several trends will shape Georgia's payments future:
Real-Time Payments
The transition to real-time payment systems creates both challenges and opportunities for Georgia's payments infrastructure.
Digital Currency
Whether central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, or cryptocurrency integration, digital currency evolution will require payments infrastructure adaptation.
Cross-Border Commerce
Growing international e-commerce creates demand for payments solutions that handle multiple currencies, regulatory environments, and payment methods.
AI and Machine Learning
From fraud detection to customer service to underwriting, AI is transforming every aspect of payments. Georgia's payments concentration positions it well to lead this transformation.
Open Banking
APIs that allow authorized third parties to access financial data are changing how financial services are delivered. This shift creates opportunities for Georgia companies.
Conclusion
Transaction Alley isn't just a nickname—it's economic reality. Georgia's concentration of payments infrastructure represents decades of accumulated advantage that continues to attract more investment, more companies, and more talent.
For Alpharetta, being part of Transaction Alley means access to an industry cluster unlike any other. Companies here can tap into payments expertise, find customers among the major processors, and build on infrastructure that handles billions of transactions.
The 70% statistic isn't just impressive—it's transformative. It means that innovations developed in Georgia have immediate pathways to massive scale. It means that expertise gained here is relevant everywhere. And it means that Alpharetta's tech ecosystem is connected to the financial arteries of the American economy.
The Transaction Alley corridor spans the Atlanta metro area, with significant concentration in Alpharetta, Midtown Atlanta, and the Perimeter area.