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AROUND 100 ‘dreamers, thinkers and doers’ from across the region took part in a 30-hour challenge in Bahrain to find innovative ways for the digital payment world to expand … and the chance to walk away with big money prizes.
The American Express Middle East ‘Hack @ The Track’ hackathon was held at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and the challenge was set to find creative, simple and impactful ways to make digital payments that were more convenient, accessible and relevant.
A total of 25 forward-looking solutions were developed, leveraging technological advancements such as machine learning, predictive algorithms, chatbots, natural language processing and blockchain that the organisers believe can serve today’s and future connected consumers.
Held in partnership with IBM and powered by Angelhack, the event was one of the highlights of ‘unbound – Bahrain’, the Bahrain edition of the International Innovation Festival in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Board.
Mazin Khoury, CEO of American Express Middle East said, “It was exciting to be surrounded by some of the dreamers, thinkers and doers in the Middle East who are shaping the future of digital payments, whilst also making a substantive contribution to the burgeoning Fintech sector here in Bahrain.”
As a member of the judging panel, he added: “It was inspiring to evaluate so many innovative solutions and prototypes all of which showed great potential. I would encourage everyone who took part in this event to continue innovating and experimenting with new technologies that embrace the move to a cashless future.”
The grand prize of $20,000 went to team PaySync, a funds transfer solution leveraging blockchain technology. Team Stipeno took the $10,000 second prize for its concept for an app which allows parents to work with minors to best manage their allowances and understand spending management, while team Varo was awarded the third prize of $5,000 for a blockchain-enabled digital solution to onboard and verify customers identity.
The winning teams scored the highest average in simplicity, creativity, impact and design, evaluated by a panel of judges featuring four organisations recognising the importance of technology and the value they believe it brings to the payments space.
Alongside Mazin, the panel also consisted of Dr Simon Galpin, MD at Bahrain Economic Development Board, Walid Faza, COO & partner at Wamda Capital and Daniel Seal, CEO of unbound Global.
