Open Innovation is the most powerful business model of the century and it has the potential to create and foster the next new hubs of economic activity. The Money Event Challenges enable the creation and growth of vibrant ecosystems for Open Innovation in Commerce by bringing together local talent and technology at the intersection of Money and Mobility.

TME Challenges are designed to demonstrate the power of collaborative innovation in innovation hubs around the world, where APIs and SDKs from pioneering technology providers will be used to produce disruptive solutions in the world of money & commerce, with competitive participation from experienced professionals and students alike.

Charlotte is known for its financial services industry, and there is a vibrant technology and mobile ecosystem developing here as well. The Money Event is conducting at the Charlotte Challenge in the form of a hackathon to encourage the cross-pollination between technology and financial services in the city with involvement from a cross section of the stakeholders in the area: from decision makers at financial institutions, to technology companies & professional developers as well as students in the area.

We are also very encouraged by Councilman David Howard's rethinkCLT initiative (rehinkclt.com), which is aligned with our objective of raising awareness and engaging the community around innovation at the intersection of mobility and financial services. TME’s co-founder was part of the inaugural think-tank at rethinkCLT.

The Charlotte Challenge 2014: A digital shopping and payment experience for the mobile generation.

How can the mobile phone enhance a traditional retail shopping experience? Participants will be provided the building blocks to create a proof-of-concept for a mobile shopping experience that demonstrates how a consumer, retailer and advertiser can all benefit from mobile connectivity and digital payments.

- Thinaire will provide the SDK for detecting beacons and NFC engagement in the mobile app. Beacons and NFC tags will be available.

- SwipedOut will provide an API for payment simulation

- RapidOps will provide an inventory of advertising and promotional content

Benefits to Participants (Free of Cost)

An opportunity to experience building new money and commerce experiences on the latest platforms in the industry with support from technology professionals.

Access to industry experts, potential recruiters & investors, who will be speaking, attending or judging the entries.

Various prizes are also being offered, including free software worth $25,000 to every team that creates a startup from their concept in the hackathon. Special prizes will be awarded to the Winner and Runner-up teams. The winning team will also be awarded the grand prize of an opportunity to present their innovation at The Money Event in Las Vegas at Super Mobility Week alongside the leading thought leaders in the industry. If approved by the judges, sponsors and TME content board, 2 members of the team that wins the grand prize will receive complimentary registration including travel & hotel expenses.

Schedule:

10am (Sat July 12): Participant Check-in

11am (Sat July 12): Presentations from technology providers to competitors

12pm (Sat July 12): Teams begin development

12pm (Sun July 13): Teams end development

4pm (Sun July 13): Presentations to guests; winner selection and awards ceremony

Some of our sponsors/ supporters:

Saylent 

RapidOps

Thinaire

SwipeOut

QCrazy

University City Partners

Microsoft

Uber

Seismic  

Harris Teeter

ReThinkCLT

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For volunteering opportunities, please contact ak@themoneyevent.com

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact andrew@themoneyevent.com

For general information about The Money Event, please send an email to info@themoneyevent.com

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tme-hackathon-tickets-11477723179

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