Visa, SBA To Host Small Business FinTech Hackathon

Visa and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are hosting a small business (SMB) hackathon later this month to promote the development of small business solutions.

Reports in FedScoop said the event, part of Small Business Week, will offer the winner a $10,000 prize for its solution designed for SMBs. Other, smaller prizes will also be up for grabs. The publication said this is the SBA’s first hackathon as part of its Small Business Week celebration.

The hackathon will link innovators with APIs from Visa, the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and others to develop solutions to solve finance-related challenges faced by entrepreneurs today.

“Small businesses are critical to the local economies and communities throughout the United States,” the SBA’s event description reads. “Their owners are passionate about their trades, but they often don’t have enough time for the day-to-day financial elements of running a small business.”

That includes access to business credit, cash flow management, payments, payroll and accounting, the event’s website says.

“Help business owners focus more on their true passion by reimagining small business financial management,” the description continues. “Make use of APIs from Visa, the U.S. government and third parties to build a game-changing new tool.”

The hackathon will run from April 27 through April 29.

Hackathons have become a popular way to promote FinTech innovation, particularly as financial institutions develop their own APIs and encourage developers to use their tools in new ways.

U.S. Bank, Standard Chartered and Citigroup have all recently launched their own APIs, with U.S. Bank one institution turning to hackathons for employees and external developers to develop new solutions using U.S. Bank infrastructure. The financial institution recently held its “Think Big, Hack Small” hackathon, with Mastercard’s APIs available for developers as well.