ATLANTA & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--British and American government, business, and other influential leaders today announce formal creation of the “P20” and its inaugural meeting to be held in Autumn 2017, the first Transatlantic payments initiative of its kind. The P20 will convene 20 of the most influential leaders in the payments industry and top United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US) government officials and regulators annually to: highlight the importance of payments and Financial Technology (FinTech) to the world economy; the vital role played by London and Atlanta; and provide a long-term opportunity for a Transatlantic partnership intended to promote growth of the industry globally through improved regulatory frameworks, economic development, innovation, financial inclusion and overall cooperation.
The P20 is a direct response to the ever-increasing need for greater regulatory clarity, consumer security, and innovation collaboration as it applies to the payments industry and related aspects of FinTech. The P20 will serve as a forum for thought leadership and action, along with best practices across many areas including regulatory and compliance frameworks, and pressing issues like cybersecurity, innovation and how FinTech can achieve greater financial inclusion for people in developing economies around the world. The P20 Annual Meeting will rotate between London and Atlanta, with the inaugural session taking place this October 9th and 10th in London.
The inaugural meeting will be led by the P20 “leadership delegates” who will drive programming, presentations and outcomes. The event will also welcome participation from approximately 120 invited senior leaders representing relevant government agencies and offices, industry advocacy groups, academia, FinTech innovators, and payments industry executives from across the globe.
“The P20 is the latest platform intended to provide greater access to talent, technology and business opportunities for Atlanta’s Transaction Alley companies, and this process would not have gotten off the ground without the help of one of the ATPC’s founding sponsors, Holland & Knight, LLP,” said H. West Richards, American Transaction Processors Coalition Executive Director. “The unified support for P20 from Georgia’s political leaders will ensure that both the public and private sectors are pulling in the same direction as we collaborate with new partners in London on critical issues for our industry, the economy and global payments best practices.”
“I am proud to support the P20 initiative to strengthen the ties between the City of Atlanta and the City of London. Atlanta is home to a strong and diverse workforce, and processes more than 70 percent of all payments in the United States each year,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “Our two cities are major international financial technology hubs, and building stronger relationships between government and business leaders here and in the United Kingdom offers tremendous potential for the exchange of ideas, as well as trade and investment opportunities.”
Proposed goals for the inaugural conference will include some of the following:
- Recognize the unique and important position the payments industry holds in global commerce, and the associated responsibilities of industry and government
- Identify industry and policy challenges requiring attention during the next 10 years, and develop an agenda of short- and long-term goals
- Create a vision and framework for working together to promote financial inclusion through streamlining regulatory frameworks, improved security and innovation
“I am excited to be supporting the American Transaction Processors Coalition to establish the P20, an important and timely initiative between the UK and US,” said Alastair Lukies CBE, Chairman of the P20 Advisory Board and UK Prime Minister’s Business Ambassador for FinTech.
Mr. Lukies further stated, “To have Atlanta and London as a rotating venue for the business leaders across the globe in the payments industry, working with U.S., UK and EU leaders in regulatory, compliance and innovation is a powerful combination. This will ensure that consumers, all over the world, benefit from customer-centric innovation and economies benefit from improved systemic stability and security.”
The P20 mission charter is being crafted to address the improvement of regulation, innovation, cybersecurity, education and financial inclusion on a global scale.
“I was delighted to be in Atlanta recently, which is recognized as the payments processing capitol in America as well as a leading global FinTech city, as we made preparations to launch the P20 meeting,” said Mark Garnier MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the UK Department for International Trade. “Atlanta is the perfect financial and transaction sectors partner for London, and the P20 is a reflection of our commitment.”
Mr. Garnier added, “Gathering together the top global payments companies with regulators and legislators from the UK and the US, the P20 will be a valuable forum for payments executives to discuss the biggest issues facing the industry. With over 20 British companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, our two nations share a strong business bond and this kind of collaboration in key sectors will help further strengthen these ties.”
“As Georgia continues to solidify its status as a national leader in business, the FinTech sector relies heavily on our state to meet the growing demands of an evolving society,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. “International relationships like P20 provide an opportunity for our state to continue its dominance in payments, where more than 60 percent of the U.S. FinTech market is located. We look forward to sharing insights and best practices into how our robust infrastructure, skilled workforce and accessible resources play a huge role in the success of this industry in Georgia, and the industry’s expanding role around the world.”
About London
- London is the financial services capital of the world and dominates payments in Europe. London boasts nearly 40,000 Financial Services companies employing more thank 60,000 workers in the FinTech sector alone; a large portion of which support the payments industry.
About Atlanta
- Atlanta is the payments capital of the U.S., processing 75 percent of $7.4 trillion in annual payments while employing the lion’s share of the FinTech workforce of nearly 40,000.
About P20
- Highlighting both London’s and Atlanta’s success in payments will help to further burnish London as the continued definitive financial capital of the world and Atlanta as the payments capital of the U.S.
- Collaborating will promote policies and economic development opportunities that provide honest, secure and reliable payments to the rest of the world – a vital step in helping to lift many places in the world out of poverty.
- The P20 will serve to open a vital and expandable London/Atlanta Transatlantic corridor that will provide numerous collateral benefits to both cities and nations.
- P20 will help drive future growth: payments processors on both sides of the Atlantic have grown by 10X in the last 15 years, working together to carry payments to the rest of the world presents a clear opportunity to grow the industries by 20X or 30X, inuring to the benefit of both citizens and shareholders.
