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We celebrate innovation from all around the world. Discover where the most disruptive banking projects come from !

Discover the initiative

Submit your Innovation
Stay tuned, the 2021 deadline will be announced soon
Since its launch in 2013, the Banking Innovation Awards have served as a catalyst for innovation in the retail banking sector and have helped banks build better disruptive strategies.
The 7th edition submitting period is now open!
Simply submit your most innovative projects now to enter the 2021 competition. You can even start submitting your project now and finalize it later.

Voting process
Nominees for each category will be shortlisted by the Efma Innovation Committee.
Efma members and non-members from financial institutions only visiting the website will vote for the 7 standard categories (excluding the Global Innovator category). To do so, they will establish a podium ranking of Gold, Silver, and Bronze, among the 6 nominees per category.
Voters will take into consideration the following criteria:
Originality / Impact / Universality

The award ceremony
Our yearly ceremony was held in Paris on October 16th. Celebrating the best banking innovators worldwide, it is a unique opportunity to discover the best banking innovators from around the globe.
Only nominated institutions are invited to attend the event. If your innovation is a finalist, you will be contacted by our team. However, a live broadcast is open to all who wish to view the event.
Information for the 2021 awards will be released soon.

Check out the 2019 CIG Awards Winners !
See who made it to the top last year and learn from the best case studies.
Testimonials

It’s amazing to see how your initiatives and work compare to other leaders in the space, and what you can take from their experiences to use it in your own work.
- JACKSON DAVEY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA

We’ve got to learn a lot today about global innovation, best in class practices and experiences from banks and financial institutions from all over the world. Just hearing the insight from both Accenture; global specialists; It provides a ton of content and insight that we can all carry back home to our organizations.
- PETER POON, HEAD, DIGITAL PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, BANK OF MONTREAL

Really nice to hear from across the industry, and really hear about best practice for areas where we might not be big players, and that really sparks ideas on our side as well. The process of actually submitting an idea genuinely moves the business forward.
- ANDREW MCCURRIE, HEAD OF MARKET INSIGHTS, DISCOVERY

Our award, recognised our achievement at an industry level on an international stage. This gave us, as a team, a lot of credibility amongst our peers. It showed our colleagues what we were doing was not only important but also possible… in other words the award was recognition that we are, by doing things differently, able to deliver disruptive and game changing capabilities to our clients… and that’s not something we are saying but rather international organizations like Efma.
- ARNO VON HELDEN, HEAD: FOREX SOLUTIONS/CIB GLOBAL MARKETS, STANDARD BANK GROUP




2021 Award Categories

Innovations that use data, analytics and AI at scale to improve the bank’s offerings, experiences and operations.
#CustomerAnalytics #ArtificialIntelligence #DataMonetization #DataDrivenPersonalization

Innovations that transform the bank’s awareness generation, positioning, lead management and conversion, and related customer communication.
#ContentPersonalization #ContentOptimization #NicheCustomerTargeting #NewCampaignConcepts #BrandAwareness #ProximityMarketing #Prospecting&Retargeting #Online&OfflineTrafficGeneration

Changes to work, the workforce and the employee experience. This includes the use of data, technology and new approaches to how employees are supported by machines and upskilled, and how work is organized, performed, measured and managed.
#WorkforceEmpowerment #HumanTouchinCustomerRelationship #DiffusedDigitalCulture #GamificationForBeahaviouralChange #ContinuousLearning #EmployeeExperience #DigitalLearning #DigitalHR

The creation and/or application of innovative technology that substantially enhances customers’ banking experience and/or develops new sources of revenue for the industry. This category is reserved for banking start-ups and spinoffs, and technology firms working within the banking industry, whose innovations are stage-one funded, have a market release proposition, and/or have completed a successful market proof of concept.
#Fintech #Attackers #Neobanks #Agile #PlatformBanks #IncumbentsThatLaunchNeobanks

Breakthrough concepts that dramatically enhance or transform the products or functions which generate revenue for banks, such as credit, payments, open banking and others.
#ValueAddedServices #NicheOrientedOffering #NewProducts #DigitalPlatform #CustomerOriented #OpenBanking #API #ThirdParties #MobilePayments #NFC #AccountToAccount #InvisiblePayments

Significant enhancements in the bank’s distribution channels and its management of customer communications, engagement and relationships.
#DistributionModelInnovation #Omnichannel #DigitalTransformation #DigitalSales #ExperienceMeasurement #GeolocatedServices #SeamlessExperience #NewBranchLayout #MobileSales #SocialSales #DigitalSME #DigitalCorporate

Innovations that advance the bank’s social purpose and its commitment to being a good corporate citizen and a true ally of its customers.
#UniversalDesign #BarrierFreeBanking #Unbanked #Underbanked #MicroCredit #SocialCrowdfunding #GreenBanking #Transparency #SocialImpact #EnvironmentalImpact
Our partnership and values
A global non-profit organization, established in 1971 by banks and insurance companies, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. Over 120 financial groups in 133 countries are Efma members.
Headquarters in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Andorra, Stockholm, Bratislava, Dubai, Milan, Montreal, Istanbul, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 506,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries.

The Team
Don't hesitate to contact us !

