Today marked the BBVA Open Talent 15 Competition, which is a search for innovative companies in the following areas:
- Mobile banking
- Payments and money transfers
- Cryptonetworks
- Alternative lending
- Risk analysis
- Wealth and Investment management
- Financial inclusion and education
- Fraud management
Hosted at the Microsoft Technology Center, the event featured 17 companies pitching for a panel of judges to determine the best. The winners go on to face companies from Europe and Latin America for the opportunity to win a cash prize and launch a project with BBVA Bank.
Competition was fierce, as all of the presenters brought their A-game for the event. Of particular note were presentations by ClearServe, Bitwage, Token, DRAFT and SizeUp. All were really excellent.
However, at the end of the day, two winners were selected. And the winners were…
…ModernLend and LendingFront!
It’s hard to argue with either selection. Even though they are both in the lending space, they proved to have really innovative businesses and gave great presentations.
Tomorrow, Finovate Fall kicks off! We’ll have more coverage here, or follow us on twitter at @cstmrinc and @rory_holland to stay on top of events as they happen.