Nesta Challenge invites application for Open Up 2020 open banking solutions. Open banking has the potential to revolutionize financial services, transforming and opening up the UK banking industry by giving people control over their financial data in order to access innovative products tailored to them. Since it launched in 2018, open banking technology has opened the door for new fin-tech innovators to create cutting-edge tools for everything from budgeting, debt management, comparing/switching banks, automating savings, and more.

The UK is the acknowledged world leader in open banking, with many other countries – including Australia, Canada and the rest of the EU – now implementing similar initiatives.

This wave of innovation holds particular promise for people partially or entirely excluded from access to fair financial services, including:

• the 1.5m UK consumers who don’t have a bank account
• the 1m+ consumers every year who need debt advice
• the 50%+ of consumers who are not confident making financial decisions

Nesta Challenge: Open Up 2020 Prize

The total prize fund for the Nesta Challenge: Open Up 2020 is £1.5m. The winners will receive the prize as:

• 12 to 15 Finalists will receive an award prize grants of £50k each
• 3 of these Finalists will be awarded a further £50k each for demonstrating the clearest alignment with the financial inclusion goals of Open Up 2020 (see below: Financial Inclusion & Resilience)
• 3 to 4 Winners, chosen from the Finalists, will receive prize grants of £150k to £200k each

Who is eligible for the Nesta Challenge Open Up 2020?

The technology product or app you enter into Open Up 2020 (“the Product”):

1. Must be aimed at directly serving UK consumers (B2C, “business-to-consumer”), or, if the Product does not directly serve UK consumers, it powers products or services that are themselves directly serving UK consumers (B2B2C, “business-to-business-to-consumer”). B2B (“business-to-business”) products are not eligible. However, Only Products that will benefit UK consumers will eligible.
2. Must target a total potential market of at least hundreds of thousands, ideally millions of consumers.
3. Must be launched in the UK market at the time of application, or on track to full public launch on or before 31 January 2020. ‘Pre-launch’, ‘closed Beta’ as well as other ‘testing’-stage Products not on track to meet this deadline will not be considered.
4. Must use the Open Banking Implementation Entity (“OBIE”) API endpoints and conform to the OBIE Read/Write standards (“the Standards”) to programmatically access digital bank account data and/or payments functionality, even if in practice the Product does so indirectly by using the AISP or PISP capability of an authorized Technology Service Provider (“TSP’). Evidence of usage of OBIE API endpoints and conformance to the Standards may be sought by the judges as a condition of acceptance onto Open Up 2020.

How to apply for the Open Up 2020 Challenge?

Candidates can apply for the Open Up 2020 Challenge only if they meet the eligibility criteria. Moreover, the candidates should complete and submit the online application form. Further, the candidates should submit the application form before the deadline.

Deadline

Interested candidates must apply for the Nesta Challenge: Open Up 2020 until October 2, 2019. Applications arriving after the deadline are ineligible for the challenge.