Nesta Challenges’ Open Up 2020 Challenge has named the 15 FinTechs to secure funding for solutions that use Open Banking to transform how people across the UK manage their finances.

Run in partnership with Open Banking Limited (OBL), the prize has awarded each of the different solutions £50,000 of the £1.5 million prize pot. Three of them will also receive an additional £50,000 based on their solution’s emphasis on financial inclusion.

Out of the 107 entries received, the judging panel selected the most promising concepts to move on to the final round. Many of these are already live in market, collectively reaching close to six million people, but through the Challenge these companies hope to support 13.5 million people across the UK in all areas of personal finance.

Over the next eight months, the finalists will work with Nesta Challenges and OBL to develop their solutions, also receiving non-financial support including marketing, business mentoring and service design. Between three and four finalists will go on to be named winners in July 2020, receiving a further £150,000 to 200,000 each to invest in their idea.

Chris Gorst, director of challenges at Nesta Challenges, said: “The financial services sector has been slow to respond to society’s evolving needs, whether it’s better serving the UK’s renters, fraud prevention for the vulnerable, or helping those with an unpredictable income manage their finances and get a mortgage.

“The Open Up 2020 finalists are addressing this by using open banking to make it easy for people to overcome some of the real-life issues they are dealing with every day,” he added.

The 15 finalists are:

1. Canopy – a portable digital rental identity which helps renters improve their credit score, as well as access financial wellness products such as deposit free insurance which offers the same protections as a cash deposit, except for eight weeks instead of five.
2. Cleo – an artificial intelligence (AI) based assistant with a sense of humour which helps Generation Z and Millennials budget, save and track their spending.
3. Creditspring – an affordable credit subscription service offering small interest free loans for short term credit.
4. Currensea – the first travel debit card that connects to customers' existing bank accounts, offering competitive exchange rates and saving on bank charges when spending abroad.
5. Kalgera – a personal finance platform for older or vulnerable people, which uses neuroscience and AI to detect and predict financial vulnerability to help prevent fraud.
6. Mojo Mortgages – will combine credit and Open Banking data to determine if a customer is mortgage ready, providing personalised advice on how they could improve their score.
7. Moneybox – helps customers save and invest for their future via a range of products including ISAs, savings accounts and pensions.
8. Moneyhub – a financial management platform that empowers people to do more with their money by offering actionable insights to improve financial wellness.
9. Plum – an AI assistant that boosts bank balances through automated savings, easy bill switching and investments.
10. Portify – a holistic credit builder for workers with unconventional earnings patterns, which analyses earnings and spending behaviours to prevent overdraft and interest payments.
11. Sustainably – a platform making it easy for businesses and consumers to do good as part of everyday life by rounding up transactions and donating to charities.
12. Toucan – helps people who need extra help managing their money because of impairments like dementia or mental illness, allowing them to securely share spending alerts or financial information with someone they trust; typically a carer.
13. Tully – a digital debt adviser for those struggling financially, providing online budgeting, debt advice, flexible repayments and money coaching to alleviate financial stress.
14. Updraft – a solution which automates decisions involved in managing money, designed to help Millennial users clear their overdraft, pay off their credit cards and save more.
15. Wagestream – allows employees to stream a proportion of their income as it’s earned, save directly from their salary, track wages and get impartial, financial education in real-time.

Kalgera, Toucan and Wagestream are the companies receiving £100,000 because of their focus on financial inclusion.

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