Ok guys, before you say anything, hear me out. I know you’re not into banking – that’s why you took your talents to Silicon Valley instead of Wall Street! But believe it or not, finance can be tech savvy, too! Think about it: if you were handling so much money, you’d need the best tech out there – to get that money from (and to) your customers, give them new ways to spend it, and secure it, so all that moolah doesn’t get jacked.
So with that in mind, Capital One wants YOU to build a kick-ass financial tech app (or service). Now, you may be asking, “how the hell can I bring innovation to finance?!” But it’s been done before! For inspiration, check out these three financial innovators, then mix and match to come up with something TRULY outside the box.
1. Simple disrupts banking with integrated goals, budgeting
Simple started up simply (no pun intended), with a simple concept: empower banking customers. One of the ways they’ve done this is with goals – right from the app, you can set goals. Save for a new car, a nice vacation, or just to eat out at a nice restaurant – just tell the app how much you need, and by when, and it’ll gradually “hide” that money from you in a goal.
Then, when you’re ready, tap into the goal, and splurge away – or keep saving.
2. Venmo lets you pay your friends on the spot
Venmo is a game changer. It lets you pay your friends back – no pesky banks or transaction fees to go through. And now, you can pay people near you, without adding them as a friend. So if you want to pay your kooky roommate back for all those beers at Toronado, but don’t want him knowing where you’re spending your money, Venmo’s got your back!
3. Square: the one that started it all
Of course, we can’t forget about Square! Another Jack Dorsey special, Square started the financial innovation revolution with the Square Reader, a little white dongle that let pop up stores and food trucks everywhere accept credit cards, without expensive equipment and merchant accounts. Square continues to push the envelope with Square Wallet, so you can pay for your artisan coffee straight from your phone – no card required!
WOW! So now what?
Oh, right – YOU need to build a game changing financial app. Now that you have some ideas, mix and mash them with Capital One’s Rewards API. It’s not required, but think of the possibilities – being able to send rewards to your friends, or easily tracking your rewards through an in-app dashboard. Go nuts!
If it’s got enough bleeding edge, Capital One will give you all sorts of goodies, like up to 1,500 rewards points, and a Pebble Smartwatch for everyone in your team. Get inspired… and build something SICK at AngelHack Silicon Valley!
