Applications are now being accepted for the FinTech Innovation Lab New York, a 12-week program co-founded by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City that helps early- and growth-stage financial technology companies accelerate product and business development through collaboration with top financial services and venture capital firms.
The FinTech Innovation Lab is designed for entrepreneurs developing disruptive technologies for the financial services industry, including in banking, capital markets and insurance. Now in its 13th year, the Lab has helped establish New York City as a competitive fintech hub for enterprise technology innovation.
Applications for the 2023 class are available online here and due by Dec. 1.
Following feedback from senior executives at participating financial institutions, this year’s Lab is seeking companies leveraging innovative technologies in eight major areas:
- Data: Alternative and synthetic data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) based insights, unstructured data, new data sources, fraud management in insurance, and data privacy;
- Digital Client Engagement: Client acquisition and retention; product customization; and experience personalization;
- Future of Work: Talent sourcing, onboarding, engagement and retention; virtual and hybrid experiences;
- Inclusion & Diversity: Financial wellness and inclusion (un- and under-banked), and diversity;
- Metaverse/Web 3.0: Distributed ledger technology, blockchain, digital assets, cryptocurrency solutions, decentralized finance and insurance; smart contracts, customer experience, digital twins, and e-commerce enablement;
- Payments: Global commerce, foreign exchange transactions, and infrastructure modernization;
- Risk and Compliance: Automation, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, digital identity and security solutions, and records management; and
- Sustainability: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG); carbon solutions; risk identification, reporting and mitigation; sustainable investment; and education solutions.
Through a competitive process, chief technology officers and senior technology executives from the more than 40 participating institutions will select the 2023 class. Applicants must have a working beta version of their technology that is ready to be tested for either the institutional or retail market.
The Lab will then partner the selected companies with senior-level executives from the participating financial institutions, who will help them develop and refine their technologies and business strategies through a series of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions, user-group sessions and networking opportunities, including with leading technology luminaries. The program will begin in April and culminate in June with a Demo Day, where the class will present to an audience of venture capitalists and financial industry executives.
“While fintechs are reimagining every corner of financial services, achieving scale is tremendously difficult,” said David Treat, a senior managing director at Accenture and co-chair of the FinTech Innovation Lab New York. “Through guidance from executives at leading global financial services firms, the lab helps them rethink what’s possible, test new products and accelerate their innovations to unlock value for the industry and customers.”
Rick Barto, a managing director in Accenture’s Insurance industry group, said, “Insurance customers want the same personalized and seamless digital experiences that they receive from other service providers, from policy purchase through to claims. In collaboration with carriers, insurtechs are helping to drive industry reinvention, leveraging AI and other technologies to provide greater customization, faster claims response times and improved underwriting capabilities across all insurance categories.”
Maria Gotsch, co-founder of the FinTech Innovation Lab New York and president and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City, said: “The FinTech Innovation Lab has established New York as one of the most attractive cities for fintechs to set down roots and grow. Over the last thirteen years, lab participants have gained access to the world’s leading financial institutions, learning first-hand what’s top of mind for the banking, insurance and venture capital sectors. We look forward to seeing what innovative solutions the 2023 class brings, particularly as sustainability and digital currency become major focus areas for the financial industry.”
Since its founding in 2010, the FinTech Innovation Lab New York has assisted entrepreneurs from 99 technology companies. These program graduates have created more than 2,000 jobs and raised more than US$2.2 billion in venture financing, and 24 of them have been acquired.
