Bankathon
During the 2016 Bankathon, Aareal Bank Group's teams developed very promising digital prototypes in the context of the EU Payment Services Directive 2.
During the 2016 Bankathon, Aareal Bank Group's teams developed very promising digital prototypes in the context of the EU Payment Services Directive 2.
Pizza cartons, energy drinks and lots of bankers in hoodies: 85 participants in 24 teams competed in the Bankathon programming contest (9-11 October 16), including three teams from Aareal Bank Group. ”I never would have thought that so many innovative ideas and prototypes can be developed in only 30 hours”, Daniel Höfelmann, team Innovation Management, says. ”That was agility at its best: no extensive planning, just doing. The ideas just came gushing out, nonstop.”
This year’s Bankathon topic was Payment Services Directive 2. In groups of four, the participants’ goal was to develop prototypes of a digital product within 30 hours of continuous work and then to present their product in a live demo. Aareal Bank Group’s employees developed three prototypes: an integrated administration, control and projection solution for rental contracts and cash flows of commercial properties with numerous rental units (”Block Mall”, based on blockchain technology and ”Mall 4.0”) as well as an application for the cash management optimisation of different accounts (“OneTouchCash Management”).
”What fascinated me most about the Bankathon – in addition to the actual ‘speed prototyping’ – was trying out new application programming interfaces (API) and technologies as well as discussing them with other coders”, Höfelmann adds. ”A programming contest like this makes people bond; we have already discussed continuing our collaboration with other participating teams from fintechs and start-up companies. But the best thing is that these prototypes we developed have potential. They can be refined, and can generate additional value for Aareal Bank Group. That motivates us to come back next year.”
But the best thing is that these prototypes we developed have potential. They can be refined, and can generate additional value for Aareal Bank Group.
