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Money 20/20 USA: Ohio Shows How Financial Services and Fintech Companies Thrive in the Midwest
Traditionally, the financial services industry in the U.S. has mostly made its home on the coasts in cities like New York and San Francisco.
But the winds of change are blowing across the Midwest, especially here in Ohio.
As the Managing Director of Financial Services at JobsOhio – the state’s private, non-profit economic development organization – I’m responsible for leading our efforts to stay on top of industry trends and technological advances. I recently had the privilege of showing financial services and fintech companies, large and small, the rich benefits they can enjoy by doing business in Ohio at Money 20/20 USA in Las Vegas. The event is one of the industry’s largest and most exciting annual gatherings, chock full of insight and inspiration from experts and change-makers.
It was the perfect setting to show people how they can succeed in Ohio, one of the country’s most business-friendly states.
As the fourth-largest financial services economy in the United States, these companies can find long-term success and the latest in trends and technology through Ohio’s commitment to innovative technology.
Fintech and insurtech are changing the way companies do business across the industry. Traditional companies, start-ups, and everyone in between are expanding their focus and investing deeper in new ways of doing things, such as creating better, faster, and safer payment methods. This shift has led to the rise of technology companies operating like banks or insurance companies. Ohio's large financial institutions have recognized the opportunity to innovate by investing in or developing new fintech solutions.
At Money 20/20 USA, it was clear that Ohio has built a home for these companies to experience long-term success and a bustling innovation ecosystem to help achieve these technology goals.
And Ohio is definitely open for business.
The Buckeye State is a considerable player in the industry, and many companies are moving here to take advantage of:
- 4th-largest Financial Services sector in the U.S. (2022 Real GDP). Companies either based here or with a considerable presence include JP Morgan Chase, Nationwide, PNC, Progressive, Huntington, Fifth Third Bank, and many others.
- Tied #3 in top 50 Bank HQs (by asset) - S&P Capital IQ (2021)
- #5 in number of Fortune 500 and 1000 headquarters in the U.S. - Fortune Magazine
- 7th-largest U.S. financial services workforce at 255,000 - Lightcast/Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021)
And the cost of doing business in Ohio is monumentally less than historically expensive cities on the coasts.
As for innovation, the environment we’ve cultivated has been responsible for some incredible industry collaboration on major industry challenges. Innovation resources include:
- JobsOhio’s R&D center grant program helps foster Fintech innovation
- Innovation Hubs/Startup Service Providers
- Centers of Excellence
JobsOhio is invested in the success of Ohio's fintech and insurtech community. Our unique funding model, which includes ownership of the state liquor enterprise and using a portion of the profits for economic development, makes Ohio’s economy more resilient and incentivizes companies of all sizes and stages to operate in the state. We work with companies and economic development leaders across the state to ensure long-term success and sustained growth in our thriving financial services ecosystem.
Ohio's financial services sector is embracing the fintech revolution to show businesses the advantages of doing business here, and JobsOhio is committed to supporting this growth.
Ron Rock
Managing Director, Financial Services
JobsOhio