Industry Spotlight FINANCIAL SERVICES

The financial services sector in Georgia includes:

• Credit intermediation and related services

• Funds, trusts and other financial vehicles

• Insurance carriers and related activities

• Securities, commodity contracts and other financial investment activites

Most employees within this sector work with insurance carriers or credit intermediation establishments, accounting for 80% of the financial sector payroll in Georgia.1

Since 2018, there has been steady growth in the fields of credit intermediation and related services and insurance carriers. These fields grew steadily since 2018, but began to stagnate in 2020.1

There was a 4.1 percent increase in the number of employees in the financial services industry from 2018-2019. The payroll growth in the same period grew 14 percent, signifying higher pay in the growing field.1

Within the financial services sector, one area to watch is fintech. According to Forbes Advisor, fintech, short for financial technology, is any type of technology used to augment, streamline, digitize, or disrupt financial services. Fintech includes a wide variety of financial concepts, from something as simple as a mobile check deposit, to peer-to-peer lending and crypto exchanges. 4

The fintech field is experiencing a boom and Georgia is reaping the benefits. The top 50 Georgia-based fintech companies generate annual revenue of more than $72 billion.5 In addition, more than 30,000 professionals in Georgia, and 130,000 globally, are employed by Georgia based Fintech firms.5 Of particular note, 70 percent of all fintech transactions on a global scale pass through Georgia.5

This industry continues to evolve, therefore the future impact of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology is difficult to estimate.

The fintech industry is also beginning to share the market with some traditional banks which provide new, digital-friendly banking services and integrate digital payments, microfinancing and robo-advisor services to existing bank accounts.6