{ "jurisdiction_id": "US-GA", "jurisdiction": "United States – Georgia", "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/", "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0", "date_modified": "2026-08-11", "schema_version": "world-payments-v1", "counts": { "modules": 14, "sourced_findings": 59, "source_register": 176 }, "modules": [ { "code": "W1a", "name": "Licensing, Authorisation & Market Access", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": true, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w1a-licensing-authorisation-market-access", "standing_position": "Georgia regulates money transmission under the Sale of Payment Instruments and Money Transmission Act (O.C.G.A. §7-1-680 et seq.), administered by DBF. The DBF's 2026 rule package became effective July 6, 2026, amending rules spanning banking, credit unions, money transmission, financial institutions, merchant-acquirer limited-purpose banks, installment loans, and litigation financing, and adopting new Rule 80-3-1-.07.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/money-transmission", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "licensing system", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/money-transmission", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statutory exemption", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/money-service-businesses/money-transmitters/new-money-transmitter-applicant", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "administrative rule", "source": "https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/80", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "pending legislation", "source": "https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/06/georgia-governor-updates-legislation-impacting-banking-and-financial", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "surety bond requirement", "source": "https://www.jwsuretybonds.com/blog/georgia-money-transmitter-license", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W1b", "name": "Conduct, Safeguarding & Financial Promotions", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w1b-conduct-safeguarding-financial-promotions", "standing_position": "Safeguarding rests on a surety-bond-plus-liquid-clearing-account model. Georgia enacted its first comprehensive privacy statute, SB 111 (Act 462), signed May 11, 2026, with substantive provisions effective July 1, 2026. A contested 'debanking' bill (SB57/SB341) status is unverified for the 2026 session. A surety-bond-minimum discrepancy ($100,000 vs $250,000) is flagged pending reconciliation.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "safeguarding rule", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/information-newly-approved-money-transmitter-licensees", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "surety bond", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/money-service-businesses/msb-frequently-asked-questions", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "conduct requirement", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/information-newly-approved-money-transmitter-licensees", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://www.recordinglaw.com/us-laws/data-privacy-laws/georgia-data-privacy-laws/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "2", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "pending legislation", "source": "https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/06/georgia-governor-updates-legislation-impacting-banking-and-financial", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W2", "name": "Stablecoins & Digital Money", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w2-stablecoins-digital-money", "standing_position": "Georgia has no standalone stablecoin/digital-asset statute; virtual currency money transmission is folded into the general MTL regime under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-690, which directs DBF to enact virtual-currency-specific rules balancing innovation and consumer protection. DBF actively enforces against unlicensed virtual-currency operators, most recently a January 2026 cease-and-desist against a virtual-currency kiosk operator.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-7-banking-and-finance/ga-code-sect-7-1-690.html", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statutory definition", "source": "https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-7/chapter-1/article-4/section-7-1-680/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "licensing guidance", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/money-transmission", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement order", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-01-16/order-cease-and-desist-issued-virtual-assets-llc-dba-crypto-dispensers", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W3", "name": "Operational Resilience & Critical Infrastructure", "confidence": "High", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w3-operational-resilience-critical-infrastructure", "standing_position": "Georgia has no standalone payments-specific operational-resilience statute analogous to DORA; resilience oversight flows through DBF's third-party service-provider examination authority over state-chartered banks/credit unions and federal FFIEC/BSA-linked cyber-incident reporting obligations. No GA-specific critical-third-party payments infrastructure regime was located beyond this bank-service-contract framework.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "administrative rule", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/2023-dbf-final-rulemaking-7-7-23-0/download", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "examination deference rule", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/2023-dbf-final-rulemaking-7-7-23-0/download", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "incident-reporting rule", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/2023-dbf-final-rulemaking-7-7-23-0/download", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W4", "name": "Scheme & Network Compliance", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w4-scheme-network-compliance", "standing_position": "Georgia is one of a small group of US states (with New York, New Jersey, Nevada, South Dakota, Nebraska) that caps card surcharges at the merchant's actual cost of acceptance and separately regulates 'convenience fees,' layered atop card-network (Visa/Mastercard) surcharge-cap rules and federal PCI DSS expectations enforced contractually by acquirers/networks rather than by state statute.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-13/chapter-1/section-13-1-15/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute summary", "source": "https://merchantcostconsulting.com/lower-credit-card-processing-fees/georgia-surcharge-laws/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "scheme rule interaction", "source": "https://merchantcostconsulting.com/lower-credit-card-processing-fees/credit-card-surcharge-laws-by-state/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement guidance", "source": "https://consumered.georgia.gov/ask-ed/2021-03-03/credit-card-surcharges", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W5", "name": "Payment Corridor Dynamics", "confidence": "Assessed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w5-payment-corridor-dynamics", "standing_position": "Georgia functions primarily as a domestic processing hub rather than a distinct cross-border corridor node: Atlanta-based processors clear a large share of total US card volume, and state-licensed money transmitters (Western Union, MoneyGram, Remitly, etc.) serve outbound remittance corridors from Georgia's immigrant communities. No DBF- or Fed Atlanta-published state-specific corridor/remittance-flow breakdown was located.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market data", "source": "https://georgia.org/center-of-innovation/georgia-world-leader-fintech", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market context", "source": "https://thedialogue.org/blogs/2025/04/the-state-of-the-remittance-industry-and-an-outlook-for-2025", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W6", "name": "Industry Structure & Commercial Dynamics", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w6-industry-structure-commercial-dynamics", "standing_position": "Georgia — branded 'Transaction Alley' — hosts one of the world's densest concentrations of payment processors and card acquirers, anchored by Global Payments (Atlanta) and the former TSYS (Columbus), alongside Fiserv/First Data, FIS, Worldpay, NCR and InComm. The sector underwent major 2025-2026 restructuring via the Global Payments/Worldpay/FIS three-way transaction.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market structure", "source": "https://georgia.org/industries/technology/fintech", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market structure", "source": "https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2019/05/08/what-makes-atlanta-the-fintech-capital-of-the-world/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "corporate filing", "source": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001123360/000112336026000004/exhibit99120251231.htm", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market structure", "source": "https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/01/georgia-is-a-payments-giant-a-blockbuster-deal-in-that-world-is-complete/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W7", "name": "Legal & Litigation", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w7-legal-litigation", "standing_position": "DBF actively enforces money transmission licensure and BSA/AML-adjacent obligations, exemplified by the November 2025 revocation of Fortress Trust's license and a January 2026 cease-and-desist against an unlicensed virtual-currency kiosk operator. Separately, the Northern District of Georgia federal courts have handled a major payments-adjacent Ponzi scheme prosecution, and the legislature is weighing a contested 'debanking' private-right-of-action bill.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement order", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-11-24/final-order-revocation-money-transmitter-license-issued-fortress-trust", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement order", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-01-16/order-cease-and-desist-issued-virtual-assets-llc-dba-crypto-dispensers", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement precedent", "source": "https://approvedlicensing.com/georgia-department-of-banking-and-finance-revokes-money-transmitter-license/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "criminal litigation", "source": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/financial-advisor-pleads-guilty-orchestrating-massive-380-million-ponzi-scheme", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "pending legislation", "source": "https://thecurrentga.org/2025/03/07/georgia-legislature-crossover-day/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W8", "name": "Merchant Acquiring & Risk", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w8-merchant-acquiring-risk", "standing_position": "Georgia's merchant-acquiring landscape is dominated by home-grown global acquirers, now consolidated further via the Global Payments/Worldpay transaction, operating under Georgia's actual-cost surcharge/convenience-fee disclosure regime enforced by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "merchant acquiring rule", "source": "https://merchantcostconsulting.com/lower-credit-card-processing-fees/georgia-surcharge-laws/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "market structure", "source": "https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2019/05/08/what-makes-atlanta-the-fintech-capital-of-the-world/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "corporate transaction", "source": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001123360/000110465926002705/tm262856d1_ex99-1.htm", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "consumer/merchant enforcement", "source": "https://consumered.georgia.gov/ask-ed/2021-03-03/credit-card-surcharges", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W9", "name": "Product Innovation & Market Development", "confidence": "High", "moved_this_cycle": true, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w9-product-innovation-market-development", "standing_position": "Georgia's product-innovation layer is driven by its private-sector fintech density (Transaction Alley) and academic/accelerator infrastructure (Georgia FinTech Academy, ATDC) rather than a state-run regulatory sandbox; adoption of the Federal Reserve's FedNow instant-payments rail among Georgia community banks/credit unions is proceeding cautiously alongside Zelle and RTP.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "product adoption", "source": "https://www.cuinsight.com/fednow-enters-year-three-with-increasing-users-volumes-and-competition/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "product infrastructure", "source": "https://www.frbservices.org/news/fed360/issues/071625/fednow-service-two-years-growth-innovation", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "innovation infrastructure", "source": "https://georgia.org/industries/technology/fintech", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "innovation infrastructure", "source": "https://atdc.org/industry/fintech/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "new regulated product category", "source": "https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/80", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W10", "name": "Consumer Protection & APP Fraud", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w10-consumer-protection-app-fraud", "standing_position": "Georgia lacked a comprehensive consumer privacy statute until Senate Bill 111 (Act 462) was signed May 11, 2026; consumer protection for payments previously rested on the sector-agnostic breach-notification statute (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-912, no fixed notice deadline), federal sectoral regimes (GLBA/HIPAA), and Attorney General enforcement of deceptive-practices and surcharge-disclosure rules. No dedicated APP-fraud reimbursement mandate (as under the UK's PSR) exists in Georgia; fraud recourse relies on federal Reg E/network chargeback mechanisms.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://www.recordinglaw.com/us-laws/data-privacy-laws/georgia-data-privacy-laws/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "2", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "statute", "source": "https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-10/chapter-1/article-34/section-10-1-912/", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "regulatory analysis", "source": "https://practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/data-protection-privacy-2026/usa-georgia/trends-and-developments/O24534", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "2", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "consumer disclosure rule", "source": "https://consumered.georgia.gov/ask-ed/2021-03-03/credit-card-surcharges", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement posture", "source": "https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-03-03/carr-secures-over-50-million-consumers-and-taxpayers-2025", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W11", "name": "AML/CFT & Financial Crime", "confidence": "High", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w11-aml-cft-financial-crime", "standing_position": "sentinel.-fed position: Georgia MSBs (money transmitters, check cashers) sit within the federal Bank Secrecy Act/FinCEN AML perimeter, with DBF layering state recordkeeping, SAR-adjacent, and large-currency-transaction rules atop it. DBF's recent enforcement actions (Fortress Trust revocation, Crypto Dispensers cease-and-desist) demonstrate an active supervisory posture at the licensing/AML boundary, consistent with historical precedent of BSA-linked license revocations.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "enforcement order", "source": "sentinel.dbf.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-11-24/final-order-revocation-money-transmitter-license-issued-fortress-trust", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": "Georgia operates under the federal BSA/AML framework administered by FinCEN and OFAC, with state-level MSB/money-transmitter licensing through the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Georgia has no independent beneficial-ownership registry; it relies entirely on the federal Corporate Transparency Act, which was narrowed in March 2025 to exempt domestic reporting companies. Georgia's low-cost, fast-formation LLC regime and its concentration of national payment processors ('Transaction Alley') create structural exposure alongside active federal enforcement.", "instrument_type": "assessment", "source": "FIM (sentinel.gi) per-JID baseline profile — United States — Georgia", "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": "Gap: sourcing-thinness", "instrument_type": "gap", "source": "FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-003)", "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": "Sanctions: OFAC divergence", "instrument_type": "sanctions_change", "source": "FIM (sentinel.gi) sanctions_change_register (issue FIM-BASE-SANC-001)", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": "Sanctions: national listing", "instrument_type": "sanctions_change", "source": "FIM (sentinel.gi) sanctions_change_register (issue FIM-BASE-SANC-003)", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": "Gap: legal-gap", "instrument_type": "gap", "source": "FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-002)", "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W12", "name": "Correspondent Banking, Settlement & Access", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w12-correspondent-banking-settlement-access", "standing_position": "Georgia's settlement/correspondent-banking access runs through the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Sixth District, headquartered in Atlanta), which supervises state member banks, operates the nationwide payment system including FedNow, and runs a community-development function addressing CRA-linked access for underserved communities. No Georgia-specific de-risking dataset was located.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "settlement infrastructure", "source": "https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/federal-reserve-system-atlanta.htm", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "supervisory access", "source": "https://www.atlantafed.org/what-we-do/banking-supervision-and-lending/banking-supervision-resources", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "access/inclusion function", "source": "https://www.atlantafed.org/community-development/about-us", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "correspondent/agency oversight", "source": "https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/2023-dbf-final-rulemaking-7-7-23-0/download", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "W13", "name": "Commercial Intelligence & Fintech", "confidence": "Confirmed", "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/united-states-georgia/#w13-commercial-intelligence-fintech", "standing_position": "The trailing-12-month window is dominated by the completion of the three-way Global Payments/Worldpay/FIS transaction, the largest recent restructuring of Georgia's payments industry, alongside continued DBF regulatory-driven market entries/exits (Fortress Trust, Crypto Dispensers) that reshape the state's licensed-entity landscape.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "commercial_event", "source": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001123360/000110465926002705/tm262856d1_ex99-1.htm", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": "commercial_event", "source": "https://www.fisglobal.com/about-us/media-room/press-release/2026/fis-completes-strategic-acquisition-of-global-payments-issuer-solutions-business", "source_url": null, "source_tier": "1", "retrieved_at": null } ] } ] }