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Citi’s Accelerator Ropes in Fintech Startups for Digital Economy Solutions

Citi hosted a virtual three-day Mega FinTech Accelerator featuring teams from 12 fintech firms who presented solutions for the digital economy. The three areas of focus were Seamless Payments and Receivables, Future of Open Banking as well as Data Empowerment.

Designed to explore and accelerate the delivery of innovative solutions for clients, the Mega FinTech Accelerator was held with a primary focus on three countries namely Australia, China and Korea.

Led by the Treasury and Trade Solutions Innovation Lab in Singapore, over 40 problem statements were identified. The Citi Innovation Lab in Singapore is part of Citi’s Global Innovation Lab Network.

A total of eight problem statements across the event’s three themes were selected to align with the priority areas of the participating geographies. The 12 finalists were selected after an initial outreach to over 3,500 fintechs globally and from a shortlist of 140 firms.

In the lead up to the event which took place in early November, the Innovation Lab team along with over 100 colleagues across Treasury and Trade Solutions and other Citi business units in the region mentored and worked together to develop Proofs of Concept with the selected fintechs.

Scott Southall

“Citi’s engagement with fintechs is significant and growing. Initiatives like the Mega FinTech Accelerator complement our global network and extensive product development efforts by solving for last-mile gaps and providing tangible value to our clients. The problem statements we chose to focus on represent consistent themes across multiple markets. As the payments landscape continues to evolve at an ever faster pace, partnership with fintechs become increasingly important,”

said Scott Southall, Asia Pacific Head of Innovation, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi.

Across each theme, a fintech of the day was named, recognising the potential impact and effectiveness of their solution. In addition to that, various finalists were also recognised for leadership in client-centricity, scalability and user experience.

In Seamless Payments and Receivables, Australian fintech Azupay stood out on the back of a solution which enables businesses to use QR codes to accept and reconcile payments in real-time from their end consumers by leveraging Australia’s new payments platform.

Meanwhile, India-based fintech Omniscient was named Open Banking fintech of the day for its Liquidice® product solution. Liquidice® is a multi-entity, multi-bank, open banking solution that facilitates a single view of banking accounts and cash forecasts. It also enables automated fund movements for account balancing and cash concentration in real-time.

Data Empowerment fintech of the day was Chinese firm Hexasino. Leveraging AI, Hexasino showcased a system that enables users to set customisable inspection rules based on new and updated regulations that are automatically captured by the system. The system enables simplified and efficient regulatory requirement updates and auto-compliance for payment transactions.

Following the Mega FinTech Accelerator, Citi will further assess the potential viability of the earmarked solutions, with the possibility of forging formal partnerships in the future.

Featured image credit: Unsplash