Center for Financial Services Innovation and JPMorgan Chase call on
innovators to submit high-tech solutions to address consumers’ cash flow
challenges
Company Website:
http://finlab.cfsinnovation.com/
CHICAGO -- (Business Wire)
The Financial Solutions Lab at the Center for Financial Services
Innovation (CFSI) with founding partner JPMorgan Chase & Co. today
announced a $3 million competition
for technology innovators working to address consumer financial
challenges. This cross-sector initiative will identify
technology-enabled financial solutions and provide winners with direct
and indirect support to test and expand the availability of their
products and services to consumers.
The challenge, opening today, will be the first in a seriesand
invitesinnovators to submit financial product and service
solutions that help households better manage their finances on a tight
budget. Vulnerable consumers can get caught in a cycle of debt when
relying on alternative services, like payday lenders or check cashing
institutions, while trying to make ends meet in the days between when
income comes in and bills are due. CFSI has identified the timing
mismatch between household income and expenses as one of the greatest
financial challenges facing low- to moderate-income families.
In fact, CFSI’s 2013
Financially Underserved Market Size Report found that Americans
spent $36.5 billion in one year on credit and transaction products to
address this challenge. Additionally, over one hundred million Americans
struggle with balancing their household finances[i] and
forty-three percent of Americans struggle to pay their bills.[ii]
“Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet often juggling
uneven income and unpredictable expenses,” said Jennifer Tescher, CEO of
CFSI. “Through the Financial Solutions Lab we want to identify and
support innovators who are working to meet consumer needs with
meaningful, scalable solutions. The Lab will help build the next
generation of financial products and services to improve consumer
financial health.”
From February 24 until April 7, 2015, the Financial Solutions Lab will
accept applications from innovative entrepreneurs and nonprofit
organizations competing to receive up to $250,000 in capital, along with
national partnership opportunities, industry expertise, mentorship, and
cutting-edge consumer and design insights necessary to power the next
generation of leading financial services innovations. Solutions from
approximately eight winning organizations will embrace consumer-friendly
design, promote consumer success, build trust, and create opportunity in
order to generate mutual benefit for providers and consumers.
Winners will be selected by an expert, cross-sector group including
leaders from JPMorgan Chase, CFSI, and strategic partners in
human-centered design, behavioral economics, community outreach and
for-profit entrepreneurship. Winners will be announced at CFSI’s Emerge
Conference on June 11th.
“The personal financial security of individuals impacts the financial
health of their household, their community and the overall economy,”
said Janis Bowdler, Head of Financial Capability at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“That is why JPMorgan Chase is committed to supporting innovators who
share our goal of helping low- to moderate-income consumers better
manage their daily financial lives, improve resiliency and promote
economic security.” JPMorgan Chase’s support of the Financial Solutions
Lab is a part of its broader
commitment to helping people better understand and manage their
finances to secure their futures.
Financial Solutions Lab Led by Experts in Finance, Technology, and
Human-Centered Design
CFSI and JPMorgan Chase also today announced the Lab’s Advisory Council,
a group of industry leaders from the financial services, technology,
academia, and investment community who will provide overall strategic
guidance and resources to Lab competition winners. In addition to the
strategic direction they provide on the Lab, the Advisory Council will
play an integral part in guiding the success of the winning innovations
to ensure they meet the needs of consumers and can be made widely
available. They include:
-
Paul Breloff, Managing Director, Accion Venture Lab
-
Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation
-
Jennifer Tescher, President and CEO, CFSI
-
Susan Ehrlich, Board of Directors, CFSI
-
Arjan Schütte, Founder and Managing Partner, Core Innovation Capital
-
Jonathan Mintz, Founding President and CEO, Cities for Financial
Empowerment Fund
-
Andrea Levere, President, Corporation for Enterprise Development
-
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation
-
Eldar Shafir, Scientific Director and Co-Founder, Ideas42
-
Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO
-
Barry Saik, SVP and GM, Consumer Ecosystem Group, Intuit
-
Dalila Wilson-Scott, President, JPMorgan Chase Foundation
-
Ben Knelman, CEO and Co-Founder, Juntos Finanzas
-
Ben Jealous, Partner, Kapor Capital
-
Ann Lamont, Managing Partner, Oak Investment Partners
-
Chris Bishko, Investment Partner, Omidyar Network
-
Caribou Honig, Partner, QED Investors
-
Cheryl Porro, SVP of Tech and Product, Salesforce Foundation
-
Michael Barr, Professor of Law, University of Michigan
-
Suzi Sosa, Founder and CEO, Verb
"We know that the challenges posed by financial insecurity can have a
profound impact on individuals and families. I'm heartened by the
Financial Solutions Lab's efforts to improve the financial health of
low-income people and impressed that they have begun with a focus on
household liquidity," said Eldar Shafir, the William Stewart Tod
Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University and
Scientific Director and Co-Founder of ideas42, a non-profit organization
leading the applications of behavioral science to do social good and
have impact at scale.
"The Financial Solutions Lab is a great example of the practical
application of human-centered design to address the challenges everyday
Americans face and to create real impact, “said Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO.
“I'm honored to be a part of this cross-sector group of experts and I'm
looking forward to working closely with the innovators who participate
in the Lab.”
About the Financial Solutions Lab
The Financial Solutions Lab is a $30 million, five-year initiative
managed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) with
founding partner JPMorgan Chase & Co. to identify, test and expand the
availability of promising innovations that help Americans increase
savings, improve credit, and build assets. The Lab will launch a series
of competitions to identify solutions to specific consumer financial
challenges. It will provide incentives for entrepreneurs, businesses,
and nonprofits to enhance financial products and services that address
these challenges and improve consumers’ financial health. For more
information, visithttp://finlab.cfsinnovation.com.
About Center for Financial Services Innovation
CFSI is the nation’s authority on consumer financial health. CFSI leads
a network of financial services innovators committed to building a more
robust financial services marketplace with higher quality products and
services. Through its Compass Principles and a lineup of proprietary
research, insights and events, CFSI informs, advises, and connects
members of its network to seed the innovation that will transform the
financial services landscape. For more on CFSI, go to www.cfsinnovation.com and
follow on Twitter at @CFSInnovation.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services
firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is
a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and
small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing,
and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States
and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and
government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information
about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
[i]http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/bpea/papers/2014/wealthy-hand-to-mouth
[ii]http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Corporate-Responsibility/document/FINAL_UNC_JPMC_White_Paper.pdf
Contacts:
CFSI
Kathleen Smith Shelton, 312.881.5868
Sr. Associate,
Marketing Communications
ksmithshelton@cfsinnovation.com
Source: CFSI
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