Rise FinTech Awards 2020

Nominate a startup for the Rise FinTech Award

Are you, or do you know, a FinTech startup disrupting and reshaping financial services? Entries for this year’s Rise FinTech Award, one of the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards, are now open. Give your favourite startup the recognition it deserves for helping to build the future of our industry.

Nominations close at the end of Friday, 3 July 2020.

See some time-saving tips for writing nominations below.

About the Award

The Barclays Entrepreneur Awards are in their fifth year, and celebrate exceptional individuals and companies that drive industry and society forward through innovation and achievement. The Rise FinTech Award is the only international category and recognises startups that lead the way as FinTech disruptors in challenging the way things are done.

The Award, conferred by a panel of judges, is a major accolade in the FinTech industry, and the 10 shortlisted companies are invited to the Awards dinner in London.

Rise FinTech Award criteria

Disruption

How does the product or service revolutionise the way the financial services industry operates? What makes the startup transformative?

Impact

In the last 12 months, how have clients seen value through cost efficiencies, payment processing, infrastructure, user experience or other similar benefits?

Scale

How has the user base grown? Is there potential to expand into new markets in the next three years? How does the startup’s vision for the next three years support this?

Diversity

What is the startup doing that demonstrates its commitment to building varied workforces or breaking down barriers? In what ways has the leadership championed diversity and inclusion?

Past winners

Previous winners of the Rise FinTech Award include Trunomi (2017) and Shieldpay (2018). Last year, Chainalysis won for uniquely disrupting finance and minimising societal harm by enabling the tracking of criminal activity. The judges commended the company for its potential to become a crucial part of finance’s ‘core plumbing’, enabling the growth of cryptoassets and addressing some of the challenges in Know Your Customer requirements and fraud prevention.

Read more about 2019’s winner, runner-up and honourable mentions in the Q3 2019 Rise FinTech Report.

Tips for writing nominations

Before you access the nomination form, you’ll need to quickly create an account on the Barclays Entrepreneur site. Provide your contact details and create a password – the usual drill.

Plan ahead. Give yourself time to think about the Award criteria and how your nominee meets them. Drafting responses for the nomination form on paper first might be easier.

Learn from Funding Xchange, who received a Highly Commended recognition in the 2019 Awards.

Things to consider when completing the form:

• Tell a story. Remember, the judges won’t know the startup or what they do. How did the business start? What inspired the founder? What has it achieved and where is it going?
• Be concise and clear. Keep your responses succinct and make sure they answer the question. Use bullet points.
• Focus on achievements. Highlight how you think the startup has contributed to the industry and succeeded with their offering, the impact they’re having and what sets them apart from others.
• Use data. Facts and figures show the judges how the business has performed and is developing.
• Seek feedback. Ask around. Get someone to review your draft responses before you submit the nomination form.

What happens next?

• Friday 3 July: Entries close
• August: Shortlist announced
• September: Rise FinTech Award winner decided
• October: Winner announced

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