Visa Collab Europe and The Accelerator Network have jointly launched a contest to find innovate solutions to challenges around payment processes.
The competitions consists of three innovation categories and participants can enter through the Accelerator Network website. The deadline for entries is 31 July. The categories are:
- Digital Me: My problem is I get sick and tired of re-keying my data for everyone I engage with. How can each of us keep our data private to us, under our care (or that of a trusted party that we designate either as a central store or federation of smaller stores as suits me) and allow access to it only when we want to?
- Data Me: Imagine that I have my personal data details in my personal store (or stores); the problem I have is that I need to share it when I’m buying goods or signing up to services but I want to do this with control. How you could package and push my personal data from my personal data store to sites with whom you need to register/”transact”?
- Group Payments: More and more frequently we group together to buy something; be it a holiday a present for granny or a leaving present for Annie from Customer Service. The problem is that it’s a pain! Can you devise the means to take the pain away?
The six shortlisted ideas and an overall winner will be revealed at a live judging event in September at the Visa Europe Collab Tel Aviv hub. Winners will be selected by The Accelerator Network and Visa Europe Collab from a list of finalists to be announced in August.
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A separate Audience Choice prize will also be awarded to the finalist that receives the most votes from attendees on the night.
Accelerator Network chair Ian Merricks called London “one of the most exciting cities in Europe for financial technology innovation”.
“We’re seeing more and more fintech entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas coming through our doors,” he continued.
“Offering these businesses the chance to work with Visa Europe Collab with the team’s wealth of industry experience, and the company’s connections with more than 3,000 European member banks and financial organisations, will be invaluable in helping them scale their businesses.”
Further reading: New crowdfunding campaign to increase start-up success
