Competition to play matchmaker between Wichita banks and tech startups

Technology startups from around the world will be competing for a second year in a row to win contracts with three Wichita banks.

Applications are now open for the 2021 NXTSTAGE Financial Technology Pilot Competition.

Last year, startups from 35 countries and 20 states vied for four contracts with Emprise Bank, Fidelity Bank and Intrust Bank.

Mary Beth Jarvis, executive director of the pilot program, described it as a “matchmaking competition” that pairs locally owned banks with innovative startups hungry to break into the banking and financial services market.

“Whether they could spell Wichita or had a prayer of how to get into a customer base in our region, you know, all these startups had to do was apply to the competition, and all of a sudden, they would get seen by prospective customers in our backyard,” Jarvis said.

She said one of the keys to the competition’s success is having partner banks that are willing to “lean into innovation” instead of just purchasing technology tools off the shelf.

“With the last competition, we experienced first-hand how the entrepreneurial spirit is powering the positive disruption of the financial services industry,” Fidelity CEO Aaron Bastian said in a release. “Since then, the needs of our customers have further evolved. For us, the innovation spotlighted by NXTSTAGE empowers our efforts to build a stronger technological backbone, deliver truly integrated experiences and cultivate a more robust startup ecosystem right here in our home town.”

Jarvis said she expects applicants’ technologies to range from tools for digital marketing to advances in analytics and the digital banking experience.

She said the coronavirus pandemic has broken down barriers that would have limited this kind of partnership in the past.

“We’ve basically eliminated geography and borders to a certain extent with regard to these kinds of technology pairings,” Jarvis said.

In April, NXTUS Inc. launched a sister program, the NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Pilot Competition, which aims to connect startups with Kansas organizations seeking to improve population health and tackle challenges to the growth and well being of communities.