Finastra names Hack to the Future winners

Finastra has named the winners of its annual hackathon: Hack to the Future. The virtual event saw hundreds of ideas, proof of concepts (POCs) and apps submitted, from across the world, around the themes of reducing systemic inequality, hacking through COVID-19 and embracing technology-enabled change.  

Shortlisted teams presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges from banks, fintechs, universities and industry experts. Judging was based on a submission’s ability to solve a real and pressing need, its feasibility and use of technology, and its commercial potential. Winning ideas and POCs benefiting from a range of prizes offered by Finastra and hackathon supporters, such as cash, incubation opportunities and coaching, include:

·       Hacking systemic inequalities: Nest Egg – a gamified banking app for kids that incorporates financial literacy and brings unbanked or underbanked children into financial services

·       Technology-enabled change: AI-Powered Mortgage Advisor – using machine learning to predict mortgage loan approval, for a faster turn-around for applicants

·       Hacking through COVID: FinFlo – Filipinos can acquire fast loans digitally, enabling locals impacted by the pandemic and in need to apply without leaving home or visiting a bank

Furthermore, prizes including incubation and internship opportunities were also awarded for the following categories:

·       Best youth idea: FinED – uses principles of gamification and state-of-the-art technology to impart financial literacy

·       Best student submission: Handpay – a payments platform designed to address banking exclusion for people with disabilities

·       Best SME/corporate banking submission: Romulus for Trade Finance – automates reconciliation of trade finance documents vs Swift communication

·       Best in MEA region: Banking4U – a platform that harnesses a customer’s mobile money transaction data to determine loan eligibility

·       Best environmental impact: ESG AI – smarter sustainable investing through data and Deep Learning

·       Best user experience: ESG AI – smarter sustainable investing through data and Deep Learning

·       Best social impact: Fusion CreditSense – leveraging APIs and machine learning to create creditworthiness and micro-loan prediction models, based on a user’s transaction history

·       Best submission from a fintech: The Responsible Investors – scoring Finastra ESG Funds using fintech, AI and Natural Language Processing through FusionFabric.cloud

Chirine Ben Zaied, Head of Innovation at Finastra said, “It has been incredible to see over 4,500 global registrations from schools, universities, startups and fintechs – all with the common goal of hacking for good. This has been our most impactful hackathon to date, generating some truly inspiring apps and ideas that have the potential to redefine financial services and drive change. Our thanks to the huge number of collaborators, sponsors, and partners who supported the hackathon through judging, prizes and mentorship; it is testament to the importance of bringing the industry together to build innovative solutions with purpose and impact.”