Fintech growth attributed to access to great talent, lower cost of living in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fintech jobs in the Triangle are reaching new highs.
Fintech, or financial technology, describes the intersection of those two sectors and was popularized behind the success of former financial tech startups like Venmo, PayPal, and Coinbase.
In the Triangle, the industry's expanded to include large, mature companies that are choosing the area to build out their presence.
"There's great talent, a lower cost of living and still a great, great quality of life," said Kyle Touchstone, Raleigh's Director of Economic Development. "Who wouldn't want to be here?"
In Raleigh and the Triangle, major players in the global economy like Deutsche Bank, MetLife, Bank of America, and First Citizens Bank are in financial technology in the Triangle -- through the buildout of their mobile banking platforms or other digital investments in an increasingly digital world.
In Raleigh alone, economic officials say there are four thousand companies supplying about 60-thousand jobs that fall under the umbrella of fintech.
"I think that we've always been a region and a community that's focused on what's next, and innovation. And so companies can come here and they can grow," Touchstone said.
Touchstone added he hopes the growing presence of those large firms in Raleigh will help the city fill out some of its currently vacant office space downtown. It's growth that's coming from right here in the region.
"It's an amazing time to be an NC State graduate, and I feel that's true for all of the amazing colleges and universities here in our area," said Haley Huie, director of North Carolina State's Entrepreneurship Clinic.
Huie says the robust fintech job market is bolstered by rising rates of local college graduates choosing to work locally. In fact, Raleigh economic officials say since 2010, 64% of the Triangle's college graduates have chosen to stay here.
"There are so many industries that are booming here, everything from Disney investing in Epic Games, an Apple campus opening here, fintech again is a sector growing. People want to stay and they want to build a life and a career here," Huie said.
