Garanti’s payment method team wins the Open Talent Ideas contest
In a complex environment with interest rates at an all-time low, what business models make sense for both banks and customers? Finding the best idea that answers this question was the challenge for Open Talent Ideas, and the Garanti payment method team - BBVA’s bank in Turkey - won.
BBVA launched the competition in February, to attract the most innovative ideas, presented by the people with the desire to tackle the challenges facing the financial industry in the future. Yesterday, the 10 finalists presented their idea to a committee of experts comprised of members of BBVA’s senior management.
The winning idea was GarantiStore, a mobile app able to identify products automatically. Through image recognition techniques or by scanning bar codes, the app recognizes the product the user wants to purchase, immediately allowing them to purchase it online.
The idea was the work of Reha Emekli, Ozcan Yahsi, Ozgur Sanli, Sabri Kantar and Dogukan Tizer - all members of Garanti’s payment method team. Garanti is the Turkish bank in which BBVA has a 49.85% stake. Once again, Garanti’s team has demonstrated why it is a pioneer and digitization leader in Turkey.
Representatives of the Garanti team receiving the award.
The cash prize is 10,000 euros, and the winners also received advice from BBVA’s senior management to develop their idea.
More than 300 ideas were contributed from 49 different countries. The 10 best were selected and then defended before a jury comprised of BBVA’s top management. The 10 finalists also had the opportunity to debate the future of the financial industry in a complex environment where interest rates are expected to remain low for an extended period of time.
Marisol Menéndez, Head of Open Innovation at BBVA, thanked everyone who attended for their participation and enthusiasm when sharing their ideas.
The Open Talent Ideas initiative is part of BBVA’s open innovation process, which includes other competitions like Open Talent.