This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition

Jacksonville, Florida – Does Jacksonville’s character change over time? What is its reputation?

In the 20th century, Jacksonville was known as the state's banking headquarters, with three major bank headquarters located downtown.

According to News4JAX news partner Jacksonville Daily Record, there are 72 banks headquartered in the River City, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation database.

Fintech refers to companies that provide financial services and service products that rely heavily on technology.

Jacksonville has the potential to become the fintech capital of the region, if not the country.

Check out the latest information: JAXPORT brings more jobs to Northeast Florida than you know

“I think a lot of American financial services companies are innovating,” said Joe Testa, a participant in the “This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition” discussion. “It's growing. There's now an explosion of different opportunities for consumers to connect with merchants and for financial institutions of all kinds to be part of that value chain.”

Testa believes Jacksonville is becoming “an increasingly important hub for the industry.”

H. West Richards and Testa are members of the American Transaction Processors Coalition.

“There is insurance company technology associated with fintech,” Richards said. “Making insurance products easier for consumers to use, etc. So fintech is a very broad term, and it's technology that supports financial services.”

Related: Financial technology company Nimbus moves headquarters from Miami to Jacksonville

The payments industry seems qualified and ready to expand in this space.

“People don't really think of it as an industry. They don't think of it as a business. They think of it just as a utility,” Testa said. “You pay for something in a store or online. You don't think about the work behind performing that transaction. And there are tens of thousands of people in the U.S. with specific base areas, including here in North Florida. A disproportionate number of people are responsible for making that effort a reality.”

This episode focuses specifically on the payments industry, but also more broadly on the region's workforce, the future of stablecoins, and other related issues.