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Finastra has opened its fourth annual global Hackathon. Building on the success of its previous events—to redefine finance for good and build an unbiased FinTech future—this year’s launch coincided with International Women’s Day (IWD), aiming to inspire the FinTech space to be open by default.

This year the hackathon encourages engagement beyond the global FinTech ecosystem with a focus on financial sustainability, inclusion and empowerment. Participants are invited to submit projects under three key themes:

• Sustainable and inclusive finance. Financial inclusion and literacy, sustainable and green finance, circular economy, diversity, equity and inclusion, Sustainable Development Goals
• Embedded finance. Bringing financial services to other industries with Banking as a Service (BaaS)
• Decentralised Finance (DeFi): Digital assets, CBDCs, DeFi, Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and metaverses and Web3

Chirine BenZaied, Head of Innovation at Finastra said, “This is more than just a hackathon. It is a FinTech movement and we want to ignite a world of financial sustainability, inclusion and autonomy. We’re calling for FinTechs, banks, students and more to come forward with innovative ideas. The event is open to all. You don’t need to be a technical expert. We believe everyone has a role to play in redefining the future of finance. I’m excited that we’re launching our hack on IWD, as it underlines our commitment to inspiring women and girls in the STEM space, breaking bias and encouraging equity for all.”

Finastra is making its open APIs available via its FusionFabric.cloud development platform for the hack. A number of partners are also supporting this innovation on a global scale. These include Hong Kong Cyberport, Betacube, DeFi: Chainlink, DeFi Pulse, Google, Lloyds Banking Group, Mastercard, Microsoft, Scotiabank and Societe Generale – FORGE (for DeFi).

Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer at Hong Kong Cyberport, said, “As Hong Kong’s leading fintech hub housing nearly 400 fintech companies, Cyberport is delighted to be a key partner in this year’s ‘Hack for the Future.’ Cyberport and Finastra share a vision of cultivating technology talent. Backed by Finastra’s cutting-edge technology, this program will inspire FinTech start-ups, financial institutions and young people in Hong Kong and beyond to develop innovative FinTech solutions and promote finance for good, as well as offering valuable experience and credentials and inspiring participants to further develop careers in the FinTech sector.”

Daniel Maggs, Senior Manager, Digital Currencies, at Lloyds Banking Group, a Finastra customer supporting the hack, said, “We are excited to be involved with this important event that will inspire hackers around the world to innovate and bring ideas that could have real impact and potentially change people’s lives for the better, whether that’s access to finance, something that supports diversity and inclusion or the next big idea that could change the face of banking.”

Submissions close on the 10th of April 2022. Winners will be announced at the end of April. Prizes include scholarship programs, cash, and internship opportunities. There is also a special opt-in category for ‘Best Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Submission’, which encourages projects that support this theme.

Finastra is also hosting a youth hackathon for 10–18 year olds, encouraging the next generation to help change the world of finance.

To help drive innovation and explore new ideas sign up to hack here

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