The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said it will organise its first global hackathon “HARBINGER 2021 – Innovation for Transformation”, with the theme ‘Smarter Digital Payments’, for a month beginning November 15.
The central bank has invited participants to identify and develop solutions that have the potential to make digital payments accessible to the under-served, enhance the ease of payments and user experience, while strengthening the security of digital payments and promoting customer protection.
Specifically, RBI wants innovative ideas for four problem statements -- innovative, easy-to-use, non-mobile digital payment solutions for converting small-ticket cash transactions to digital mode; context-based retail payments to remove the physical act of payment; alternate authentication mechanism for digital payments; and social media analysis monitoring tool for detection of digital payment fraud and disruption -- in the payment and settlement systems landscape.
The hackathon is owned and sponsored by RBI and will be hosted on Application Programming Interface Exchange (APIX) platform.
The central bank said winners in each category of problem statements will get prize money of ₹40 lakh. The runner-up will get ₹20 lakh. “Participants from all backgrounds and geographies are welcome, albeit knowledge about the Indian payment systems market and consumers is preferred. Participants should be open to form an incorporated entity in India if they are adjudged winners of the hackathon,” RBI said in a statement.