UBS announced this week that JFDI is joining an international network of partners seeking great early-stage FinTech businesses for the UBS Future of Finance Challenge, an open competition for entrepreneurs and technology startups around the world. UBS is looking for innovative and potentially disruptive technological ideas and solutions that will support the transformation of the banking industry.
The UBS Future of Finance Challenge will be delivered in collaboration with several of the leading Fintech crowd-working and accelerator spaces including London’s Level39 and JFDI, as well as the London-based innovation agency 100%Open. This collaborative approach offers commercial and technical expertise to the innovators participating in the competition, and provides them with access to the innovation pipeline of a leading global financial services firm at the same time.
Oliver Bussmann, Group Chief Information Officer at UBS said: “Digital disruption is driving an unprecedented transformation of our industry and radical new technologies present a unique opportunity for a step-change to our client offerings. Fostering an open and collaborative ecosystem between banks, technology firms and start-ups is critical to drive new innovation forward. I am very excited to be supporting the participants in this competition.”
UBS aspires to support the competition winners in their bid to commercialise and scale their ideas and technologies by leveraging on its significant global presence, deep expertise in global banking and eco-system of innovation partners. JFDI will provide support for regional launch events to be held in November in Singapore and immersion workshops, drawing on its newtork to connect participants in the competition with potential FinTech partners and companies in Singapore and rest of Asia.
JFDI co-founder and CEO Hugh Mason said: “Singapore’s financial sector is world class and the opportunity for FinTech startups here is clear. With serious money and players behind it,the UBS Future of Finance Challenge is a model for the kind of international collaboration that can give startups a global boost and we have every confidence it will attract some very strong startups.”
As the financial industry faces disruption and rapid technology change, UBS seeks to further progress by
searching for solutions to four challenges for banks going forward: delivering the ultimate client experience, offering superior products, building an efficient operating model and ensuring security in banking. By inviting entrepreneurs and startups to present their ideas, UBS also supports a more open and collaborative financial services industry.
Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Financial services companies must have a desire to understand how technology can help them adapt to changing economic forces and new client and employee behaviors. We aim to support the pioneers who are transforming our industry and work with them to provide even better services to our clients. I strongly encourage every ambitious Fintech startup to enter this exciting challenge.”
Rewards for the regional and global finalists include cash prizes and acceleration opportunities worth over USD $300,000 and over 300 hours of dedicated coaching and mentoring from UBS experts and partners.
Full competition details including the entry process are online and open now with a deadline of September 23, 2015.