Visa Europe Collab and The Accelerator Network announce startup competition finalists

Each of the six finalists submitted their idea, to one of three categories, looking to solve a problem that will make the payments process easier for consumers. With solutions ranging from a wearable biometric authentication device through to a group payment app, the finalists in each category are:

• Digital Me: how can we keep our data private to us and under our care? Biowatch SA offers private and personal three-factor authentication systems based on a worn vein biometric strap or watch clasp to secure a user’s physical and digital access to transactional services. Ukkobox is a cloud file protection service that creates a private data protection layer between the existing storage providers and the user’s device using cryptography to prevent invasions and provide redundancy ensuring 100% availability.

• Data Me: how can we easily push personal data to sites we need to transact with? Trunomi solves KYC and data sharing challenges for the financial industry with technology to create and manage consent to use customer data. The technology allows financial institutions to realise the potential of data via the power of consent. Sentrycs (Identity-Management Software-as-a-Service) enables non-intrusive web, mobile and IoT access and online transactions to free consumers from passwords or dongle carrying.

• Group Payments: how can we make the process of buying things together easier? Flendr is a platform for social payments, from collecting repayments for a group activity you’ve booked through to raising money for local causes amongst friends and family. Paybox is a social payment network that simplifies the process of group payments and provides special tools that enable to you to collect, spend and manage payments collectively.

All finalists will be invited to the Visa Europe Innovation Exchange in Tel Aviv on 9 September, 2015, an event that will connect local startups to the broader European startup support eco-system. During the event the overall winner will be given the chance to speak on stage, pitching their ideas to expert European retailers, banks, top-tier corporations and investors.