Financial technology company FIS is opening its annual InnovateIN48 innovation program, which is traditionally held internally across FIS’ employee base, to U.S. colleges and university students.
This year’s inaugural InnovateIN48-Student Edition competition, which will take place over a 48-hour window from Aug. 27 to Aug. 29, invites students to submit creative solutions that use financial and commerce technology to advance financial inclusion in the U.S. Registration for the event is now open here. All students, at any U.S. college or university, are eligible to register.
“FIS is focused on nurturing the best talent in the fintech industry and putting their collective talents to work in advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests,” Sangy Vatsa, global chief technology and digital officer at FIS and InnovateIN48 executive sponsor, said. “What better challenge to tackle than expanding access to basic financial services to all citizens to create a more inclusive world? We look forward to seeing the innovation that bubbles up from this year’s competition. Let the games begin.”
Despite the progress made over the past decade in expanding the availability of high-quality, affordable financial services, millions of Americans continue to lack access to banking, money movement tools and other basic financial products due to a growing digital gap. The FIS competition provides an opportunity for college students interested in a career in financial technology to collaborate on innovative fintech solutions that can help bridge the digital gap among the unbanked and underbanked.
During the 48-hour technology development competition, student teams can work remotely to develop and present their ideas to a panel of judges that will include business leaders within FIS, national non-profit organizations and FIS sponsors. In addition to prizes, the winning team will gain entry into 1819 Innovation Hub’s Venture Lab Program, a pre-accelerator for startups. Winners will also receive priority interviews from FIS University for internships or full-time employment opportunities at FIS.
