Four startups outside the Pacific Northwest won the fourth annual BECU Fintech Incubator Competition.
The incubator supports fintech startups and is a collaboration that combines the specialties of BECU, Washington’s largest non-profit credit union, and the University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs. Since its launch in 2018, it has supported 11 startups with mentorship, incubation rooms and training.
BECU expanded the competition to be nationwide during the pandemic, and this year’s winners are all based outside the Seattle area.
“We remain committed to expanding the fintech community in our region and continue to look for ways to support local start-ups,” the BECU said in a statement to GeekWire. “We also recognize that fintech startups from other parts of the country are helping to promote innovation in the financial industry and increase the economic well-being of our communities.”
Here is more information about the winning startups:
Asa Financial
Based in Provo, Utah, Asa offers a technology platform and marketplace that enables partnerships between fintech and traditional banking. Through this integration, fintechs can connect to the broader banking ecosystem to expand the customer base, and banks can use fintech resources to offer modern payment technologies and personalized experiences to their account holders.
Honeycomb Credit
Based in Pittsburgh, Honeycomb addresses the challenge small businesses face when it comes to getting traditional bank loans to grow. Honeycomb Credit enables these businesses to directly borrow capital from their own customer base and communities. The idea is to help both the business and the customers – the business gets the capital it needs, and the customers are offered competitive returns.
NetGiver
Based in Minneapolis, NetGiver is a charitable giving app for credit union members to enable donations to nonprofits with zero fees. NetGiver can be used by donors for all 501 (c) (3) nationwide, directly from their credit union account at no cost to them.
Pocket nest
Based in Michigan, Pocketnest is a platform aimed at and created by millennials and Gen-Xers to help them maintain financial well-being. It licenses the software to banks, credit unions, investment advisers, 401K plan sponsors and employee wellness platforms. Pocketnest also provides anonymous member insights to financial institutions so that they can better understand the needs of a younger audience.
