This year the global event is entirely virtual and its themes reaffirm the company’s mantra to help redefine finance for good. Prizes up for grabs include cash, platform certification fees waived, internship and coaching opportunities and the possibility to onboard projects into Finastra’s FusionStore app marketplace.

Finastra is making its open developer platform - FusionFabric.cloud, underpinned by Microsoft Azure - and over 130 APIs available. Participants are encouraged to:
Tackle systemic inequalities: Including banking the unbanked/underbanked, socially responsible investments and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG), building inclusive technology and driving financial literacy

Overcome COVID-19 challenges: Harnessing digital technology, embedding fintech across industries, finding new growth streams and managing risk in challenging times
Embrace technology-enabled change: Including establishing ecosystems beyond finance, cross-business intelligence layers with AI, reimagining transaction flows with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and integrating physical and digital experiences

Chirine Ben Zaied, Head of Innovation at Finastra said, “The pandemic has intensified some of the world’s most challenging issues such as poverty, inequality and exclusion. Digital infrastructure and technology are providing the platform to transform financial services, and we have the opportunity to create better, fairer and more inclusive outcomes for people, businesses and communities around the world. We are excited to see the innovative ideas that our global hackathon will generate.”

A number of banks, leading consultancies and technology companies are supporting this event including Accenture, BankUnited, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Capgemini and Google Cloud.

Natacha Baumann, Head of Innovation & Transformation, Program Director, Circular Economy & Financial Inclusion at BNP Paribas Personal Finance, a Finastra customer supporting the ‘hacking systemic inequalities’ category, said, “We’re proud to support this event which encourages innovation for good. Our mentors will be on hand to help hackers progress and we look forward to sitting on the judging panel when the projects start to come to fruition as there are bound to be some ideas that could have a significant impact on society.”

"Harnessing technology to drive change is the most powerful effort that we as financial technology leaders can embark on. The challenges of the pandemic have highlighted inequalities but also have created a push to make things better quickly. This hackathon can result in contributing to the overall welfare of global society and we at Capgemini are excited to be a part of it,” said Anirban Bose, CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services and Group Executive Board member.

Hackathon project submissions close on November 22, 2020, with winners announced in December, following live judging.

Accenture mentors will support a separate kids’ ‘hackathon’ stream, where young people ages 10-18 years old can get involved and submit their ideas around hacking systemic inequalities by video and presentations, contributing to a better world (no coding required).