In a welcome sign of collaboration between banks and fintech firms, NAB is backing a hackathon which will kick-off Australia’s first fintech festival - Intersekt.

The hackathon will seek to find new ways for businesses to benefit from improved and smarter access to data to deliver great customer experiences.

As part of the hackathon, fintech firms will get access to NAB’s application programming interface (API) Developer Portal to come-up with new solutions which help small to medium businesses reduce administrative burdens and access new customer segments or markets.

The hackathon comes as the Australian Government ramps up its efforts to create an open banking framework by 2018.

In July, the government announced an inquiry into open banking and followed this by the publication of an issues paper in September.

The hackathon will run from 27-29 October. The winning team will receive $5,000 plus the opportunity to pitch at the Singapore FinTech Festival.

The runner-up will win $2,000 plus a range of other spot prizes to reward creative ideas.

FinTech Australia CEO Danielle Szetho welcomed NAB’s support of, and participation in, the hackathon.

“We thank NAB for its leadership and collaborative approach by getting behind this hackathon,” Ms Szetho said. “We see this type of collaboration between fintechs and banks as extremely important and quite frankly would love to see more of it.

“Partnerships between banks and fintechs are a great way to take advantage of upcoming regulatory reforms and harness the power of our financial data. They will also help us create a far stronger and more resilient Australian fintech industry which delivers improved financial services outcomes for customers.”

NAB Executive General Manager Digital & Innovation Jonathan Davey said NAB was looking forward to working with the fintechs to see what could be achieved to improve customer experiences through the sharing of data.

“We’re excited to be part of Australia’s first fintech festival and to be supporting a hackathon that is ultimately about collaborating on how we can come up with new ways to deliver fresh ideas that drive better experiences for customers,” he said.

York Butter Factory Sahand Bagheri Liaison Officer said: “Providing a platform for startups and banks to collaborate is a crucial part of the development of the Australian fintech sector.”

“I am glad to say that our ecosystem and the relationships within have matured to a stage where we are comfortable sharing data and real problem statements with each other.”

“Overtime, this type of open collaboration will improve the standard of products and services on offer for consumers and have a bigger impact on people's lives.”

Team hackathon registrations cost just $16.50.

Being held in Melbourne from 27 October to 3 November, Intersekt is Australia’s inaugural fintech festival.

Apart from the hackathon, it includes a two-day Collab/Collide Summit, two community days and a one-day blockchain event. The State Government of Victoria is Intersekt’s presenting partner, with other partners including York Butter Factory, Next Money and FinTech Victoria.