UBS Launches Fintech Competition Featuring Blockchain Technology

The overarching title of the challenge, UBS Future of Finance Challenge, encompasses a range of specific areas of interest for the Zurich based multinational. Participating startups and companies have the opportunity to win prizes worth a total of $300,000.

“Do you have ideas that could transform how UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, a leading investment bank and asset manager, serves its clients? Take part in our open innovation challenge and collaborate with us.”
— – The UBS Future of Finance Challenge

UBS describes a range of innovative approaches, and potentially disruptive technologies, that they would like to see respondents use. The suggested relevant approaches include Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, and Quantum Processing.

Alongside these bleeding edge technologies sits Blockchain Applications, Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies, and Distributed ledgers."We are looking for disruptive ideas," states the competitions documentation.

"We believe a healthy financial services industry should be open to transformation through collaborative innovation. UBS’s innovation teams around the world are already driving new concepts from ideation through prototyping into development. We’re inviting you to join this process by presenting your idea to our teams and then developing it with input and support from UBS."
— – The UBS Future of Finance Challenge

The competition covers four specific challenges that deal with security, efficiency, customer experience, and financial product development. UBS is looking for individual entrepreneurs, or startups, with less than $3 million in annual turnover and less than $10 million in funding. The winners of each category will take home $50,000 for first place, and their share of 300 mentoring hours from UBS. First place will also have the opportunity to access UBS resources, with the chance to partner and scale their submission.

UBS encourages those interested to apply before Sept. 23. The Swiss bank will then announce a list of 60 firms, and each chosen startup will compete in regional demo days, where they will pitch to a panel of judges. The top 12 businesses from the demo days will then proceed to the final, held in Switzerland, which will be in December this year.

“Ultimately our ambition is to help shape a more open and collaborative financial services industry and to jointly develop new solutions for our clients. We also hope that for those successful participants of the UBS Future of Finance Challenge we can offer a wealth of thought leadership and resources through our global reach. Above all, with our expertise, we hope to provide the opportunity to accelerate and to help you refine your ideas and bring them to fruition.”
— – Oliver Bussmann, UBS Group CIO

Earlier this year, UBS became the first global bank to create an innovation lab, at Level39, focusing on Blockchain and FinTech Innovations. The lab was led by a team of financial technology specialists looking at how UBS can further foster innovation as a key driver for business growth. As a leading global wealth manager, the bank are also working with and mentoring numerous financial startups working at the accelerator.

"We are moving away from a purely in-house innovation strategy, optimising collaboration opportunities with the growing FinTech business, start-up and investor community in an open and transparent way.”
— – Bussman

Level39′s parent company The Canary Wharf Group plc is founding sponsor of Innovate Finance, an independent not for profit membership organisation that has attracted more than 120 members ranging from seed startups to major global financial institutions. Founded in 2014, Innovate Finance’s first CEO was deputy head of the Level39 accelerator, Claire Cockerton. The membership list for the group includes Swift, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Mastercard and RBS.

The UBS competition is similar to the Innotribe Challenge, a FinTech competition currently being run by the global financial communication network, SWIFT. Innotribes four regional demo days have already been completed, with several blockchain and distributed ledger startups proceeding to final at Sibos 2015 later this year.

Earlier this year the British multinational bank Barclays also ran a FinTech startup accelerator, through a partnership with TechStars. Among its graduating class the accelerator featured two companies dealing with blockchain technology and bitcoin. Safello, a European Bitcoin exchange, and Everledger, a blockchain supply chain solution provider. Both announced partnerships with the bank, and are now in the midst of working with Barclays to launch products later this.