The American Transaction Processors Coalition formally launched Wednesday with a panel discussion in front of 400 industry employees, chamber of commerce executives, university leadership and elected officials from Congress, the Georgia General Assembly and local governments across metro Atlanta.

More than 40,000 employees work directly for 70-plus Georgia-based transaction processing companies within an area known as Transaction Alley. These companies generated more than $30 billion last year, far exceeding other well-known Georgiaindustries like life sciences at $17 billion or film at $3 billion. Transaction Alley revenues equal that of the entire U.S. movie industry, and is dominated by Atlanta, just as Los Angeles dominates films.  

"The ATPC was started to fill a void in protecting, promoting and preserving the interests of Georgia's transaction processing industry through proactive public relations and government affairs activities at the federal, state and local levels," said Worldpay, U.S. President and CEO, Tony Catalfano. "Our goal in working with elected officials, industry leaders, universities and chambers of commerce is to create a fertile environment for corporate growth and workforce development that benefits all ofGeorgia."

The program featured an unprecedented collection of speakers, including: Atlanta MayorKasim Reed; Congressman Tom Price (R-GA); ATPC Executive Director H. West Richards; InComm CFO Scott Meyerhoff; and a panel with Catalfano, FIS Chief Administrative Officer/SVP Susan Lorenz, and Raymond James Analyst Wayne Johnson.     

"We were proud to host today's town hall to ensure that decision makers understand the pivotal role Transaction Alley companies play in developing products and providing technology services for the world's finance industry," said InComm CFO, Scott Meyerhoff. "Together these Georgia companies processed 85 billion, or more than 70 percent of U.S. credit card swipes, debit payments and gift card purchases last year for 15 million-plus merchants around the world."

Future financial transaction industry growth will be driven by U.S. and European product innovation and consumer demand in countries with low credit card penetration. Members of Georgia's Transaction Alley are all moving aggressively into global markets, especially as usage of cash and checks continues to decline.

"Transaction Alley is positioned to continue its dominance in this global marketplace," said ATPC Executive Director, H. West Richards. "It is imperative that the industry come together to ensure Transaction Alley's story is told locally and nationally so that the environment is right and the resources are available for this dominance to continue."