Two of the final six winners, Saldo.mx and SnapCheck, came out of the San Francisco leg of the competition, hosted by Bank of the West and enter into the third and final phase of the hackathon
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of the West and parent company BNP Paribas announce the winners of the second phase of the BNP Paribas International Hackathon. Two of the final six winners, Saldo.mx and SnapCheck, came out of the San Francisco leg of the competition, hosted by Bank of the West.
The first phase, which took place during a 48-hour hackathon simultaneously in five cities – San Francisco, Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Rome – earlier this summer, brought together dozens of designers, developers and young startup teams from around the world to work towards one central theme: to enhance customer experience in banking. Bank of the West's San Francisco-based hackathon focused on the two categories of "Click & Mortar" and "Financial Literacy & Empowerment."
As part of the second phase of the three-phase competition, participants who made it through the hackathon at one of the five international cities this summer were invited to partake in a "Digital Bootcamp" that featured online mentoring by BNP Paribas professionals as well as working with mentors and experts in their local cities. This second phase took place from July until October, culminating with the competing teams taking part in "Demo Day" on November 10 in Paris, where they presented their projects to a panel of judges comprised of innovation experts and BNP Paribas and Bank of the West leaders. From there, six teams made the cut for the third and final phase of the competition.
The winning startups:
Now entering into the third and final phase, these teams will enter a four-month Incubation Phase, centered on honing and enhancing their projects. This will provide a unique opportunity to draw on greater resources including financial support, a tailored acceleration program, plus introductions to potential partners, in order to turn their ideas into real-world services and products designed to improve the customer experience. Each participating team will retain the intellectual property rights resulting from their work on the program.
"We are impressed by the work that has already been done by this innovative group of entrepreneurs, and are excited to see how the projects evolve over the next six months," said Andy Harmening, vice chairman for consumer banking, Bank of the West. "This international hackathon is a clear example of how both Bank of the West and BNP Paribas are pushing forward in the areas of innovation and finance with the goal of building a better experience for our customers - no matter where they live in the world."
Following the incubation phase, BNP Paribas, along with Bank of the West, will work closely with each start-up to test the viability of their solutions and determine how best to bring their ideas to life.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas has a presence in 75 countries with more than 185,000 employees, including 145,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its two core activities: Retail Banking & Services (comprised of Domestic Markets and International Financial Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia-Pacific. Follow us on Twitter at: @BNPParibas_pr.
About Bank of the West:
Bank of the West is a regional financial services company chartered in California and headquartered in San Francisco with $74 billion in assets as of September 31, 2015. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 offices in 22 states and digital channels. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 75 countries with 185,000 employees. Follow us on Twitter at: @BankoftheWest.
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SOURCE Bank of the West
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