The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) tech lab, FDITECH, launched a first-of-its-kind tech sprint to explore new technologies and techniques that could expand banks’ capabilities to meet the needs of unbanked individuals and households.
In the agency’s latest survey of household use of banking and financial services, it found more than seven million households remained unbanked, with Black, Hispanic, American Indian, or Alaska Native households significantly more likely to be in that number.
“While most people deal with money every day, many are still unbanked,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in a release. “This tech sprint is a public challenge to reach that ‘last mile’ of unbanked Americans.”
The tech sprint challenges participants to identify better resources and tools to help banks get unbanked households into the banking system and to keep them banked. Specifically, the FDIC asks, “Which data, tools, and other resources could help community banks meet the needs of the unbanked population in a cost-effective manner, and how might the impact of this work be measured?”
Banks, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, private sector companies, and other stakeholders are invited to participate. Once registration opens, interested parties will have two weeks to submit applications to participate. Those selected will attend a kick-off meeting and then have approximately three weeks to work on their proposed solutions. At the end of the sprint, FDITECH will host a ‘Demo Day’ for participants to present their work and a panel of experts who will evaluate submissions.
“Community banks have deep roots in their communities but often lack access to the resources that would allow them to reach those who remain outside our banking system,” Sultan Meghji, FDIC chief innovation officer, said. “We are challenging those who participate in our tech sprint to identify the untapped data and innovative tools that can help community banks overcome those vexing obstacles to a more inclusive banking ecosystem.”