Visa Launches Payment Innovation Competition for Fintech Start-Ups
Friday,12/06/2015|17:57GMTby
Andy Traveller
Six finalists will be granted access to various potential funders to support their concept's development.
Bloomberg
Calling all start-ups and Payments entrepreneurs! Visa Europe Collab, Visa Europe’s international innovation hub, and The Accelerator Network announced this week the launch of a competition to spark, develop and evolve ideas for innovative payment products and services.
Visa Europe Collab and The Accelerator Network have announced the launch of a competition for innovative payment products and services.
The competition is divided into three broad categories, each “with huge scope and potential to shape the future of the payments landscape” (Niamh de Niese, Director of Innovation Delivery at Visa Europe Collab). The first, Digital Me, seeks personal digital data storage solutions that both ensure privacy and easy access to the right data at the right time.
The second category is titled Data Me, which will encourage solutions allowing easy control over the sharing of personal data with sites and stores. Finally, the Group Payments category is looking to make payment for something as a group easier.
Judged on the level of innovation, proof of concept, and evidence of commercial interest, the six finalists will be granted access to Visa partners, member banks and retailers, as well as to The Accelerator Network in order to support their development; not to mention an invitation to Tel Aviv for the final judging.
The winning team will go on to develop proof of concept for their idea over a 100-day process, from scoping, iteration and qualification through to market testing and design.
Offering these businesses the chance to work with ... the team’s wealth of industry experience, and the company’s connections ..., will be invaluable in helping them scale their businesses.
As Ian Merricks, chair of The Accelerator Network, stated: “Offering these businesses the chance to work with Visa Europe Collab with the team’s wealth of industry experience, and the company’s connections with more than 3,000 European member banks and financial organisations, will be invaluable in helping them scale their businesses.”
This competition announcement resonates with the recent hype surrounding the future of payment systems. Indeed, in a recent interview with Finance Magnates, SafeCharge's CFO, Ali Khwaja, emphasised the significance of electronic payments, which are undergoing 18-20% annual growth. Estimates used by Khwaja pinned electronic payments in the UK and US markets at around 35%.
As such, much focus has been placed on the development and application of new technologies; Blockchain being the most widely lauded. It comes as no surprise then that Visa is keen to get a slice of the action.
Don’t miss the competition’s deadline: Friday 31, July. Entries can be submitted here.
Calling all start-ups and Payments entrepreneurs! Visa Europe Collab, Visa Europe’s international innovation hub, and The Accelerator Network announced this week the launch of a competition to spark, develop and evolve ideas for innovative payment products and services.
Visa Europe Collab and The Accelerator Network have announced the launch of a competition for innovative payment products and services.
The competition is divided into three broad categories, each “with huge scope and potential to shape the future of the payments landscape” (Niamh de Niese, Director of Innovation Delivery at Visa Europe Collab). The first, Digital Me, seeks personal digital data storage solutions that both ensure privacy and easy access to the right data at the right time.
The second category is titled Data Me, which will encourage solutions allowing easy control over the sharing of personal data with sites and stores. Finally, the Group Payments category is looking to make payment for something as a group easier.
Judged on the level of innovation, proof of concept, and evidence of commercial interest, the six finalists will be granted access to Visa partners, member banks and retailers, as well as to The Accelerator Network in order to support their development; not to mention an invitation to Tel Aviv for the final judging.
The winning team will go on to develop proof of concept for their idea over a 100-day process, from scoping, iteration and qualification through to market testing and design.
Offering these businesses the chance to work with ... the team’s wealth of industry experience, and the company’s connections ..., will be invaluable in helping them scale their businesses.
As Ian Merricks, chair of The Accelerator Network, stated: “Offering these businesses the chance to work with Visa Europe Collab with the team’s wealth of industry experience, and the company’s connections with more than 3,000 European member banks and financial organisations, will be invaluable in helping them scale their businesses.”
This competition announcement resonates with the recent hype surrounding the future of payment systems. Indeed, in a recent interview with Finance Magnates, SafeCharge's CFO, Ali Khwaja, emphasised the significance of electronic payments, which are undergoing 18-20% annual growth. Estimates used by Khwaja pinned electronic payments in the UK and US markets at around 35%.
As such, much focus has been placed on the development and application of new technologies; Blockchain being the most widely lauded. It comes as no surprise then that Visa is keen to get a slice of the action.
Don’t miss the competition’s deadline: Friday 31, July. Entries can be submitted here.
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Charlotte reflects on the Summit so far and talks about the culture inside fintech banks today. We look at the pressures that come with scaling, and how firms can hold onto the nimble approach that made them stand out early on.
We also cover the state of payments ahead of her appearance on the payments roundtable: the blockages financial firms face, the areas that still need fixing, and what a realistic solution looks like in 2026.
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In this conversation, we sit down with Drew Niv, CSO at ATFX Connect and one of the most influential figures in modern FX.
We speak about market structure, the institutional view on liquidity, and the sharp rise of prop trading, a sector Drew has been commenting on in recent months. Drew explains why he once dismissed prop trading, why his view changed, and what he now thinks the model means for brokers, clients and risk managers.
We explore subscription-fee dependency, the high reneging rate, and the long-term challenge: how brokers can build a more stable and honest version of the model. Drew also talks about the traffic advantage standalone prop firms have built and why brokers may still win in the long run if they take the right approach.
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A concise look at where compliance, onboarding, and AI-driven processes are heading next.
In this interview, Remonda Z. Kirketerp Møller, founder of Muinmos, breaks down the state of AI in regtech and what responsible adoption really looks like for brokers. We talk about rising fragmentation, the pressures around compliance accuracy, and why most firms are still in the early stages of AI maturity.
Ramanda also shares insights on regulator sandboxes, shifting expectations around accountability, and the current reality of MiCA licensing and passporting in Europe.
A concise look at where compliance, onboarding, and AI-driven processes are heading next.
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We start with Aydin’s view of the Summit and the challenges brokers face as fraud tactics grow more complex. He explains how firms can stay ahead through real-time signals, data patterns, and early-stage detection.
We also talk about AI training and why compliance teams often struggle to keep models accurate, fair, and aligned with regulatory expectations. Aydin breaks down what “good” AI training looks like inside a financial environment, including the importance of clean data, domain expertise, and human oversight.
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Finance Magnates met with Paul Margarites, Exness regional commercial director for Sub-Saharan Africa, during a visit to the firm’s office opening in Cape Town. In this talk, led by Andrea Badiola Mateos, Co-CEO at Finance Magnates, Paul shares views on the South African trading space, local user behavior, mobile trends, regulation, team growth, and how Exness plans to grow in more markets across the region. @Exness
Read the article at: https://www.financemagnates.com/thought-leadership/exness-expands-its-presence-in-africa-inside-our-interview-with-paul-margarites/
#exness #financemagnates #exnesstrading #CFDtrading #tradeonline #africanews #capetown
Finance Magnates met with Paul Margarites, Exness regional commercial director for Sub-Saharan Africa, during a visit to the firm’s office opening in Cape Town. In this talk, led by Andrea Badiola Mateos, Co-CEO at Finance Magnates, Paul shares views on the South African trading space, local user behavior, mobile trends, regulation, team growth, and how Exness plans to grow in more markets across the region. @Exness
Read the article at: https://www.financemagnates.com/thought-leadership/exness-expands-its-presence-in-africa-inside-our-interview-with-paul-margarites/
#exness #financemagnates #exnesstrading #CFDtrading #tradeonline #africanews #capetown
