The SWIFT Institute has launched its third annual student challenge focusing on data protection.
Aimed at challenging students in all levels of further education, the SWIFT Institute Challenge encourages young scholars to come up with solutions to current global industry challenges in the financial sector.
The 2018 competition will address the issue of data privacy in an Open API (application programming interfaces) environment, specifically, how to keep personal information safe. The SWIFT Institute Challenge is available to any recognised university or further educational establishment based in Australia.
>See also: Open banking – Who’s data is it anyway?
With the Australian government’s plans to foster competition and support a growing FinTech community by introducing secure data-sharing, major lenders will have to provide more detailed information about their customers to credit agencies.
In this context, APIs have been deemed as the most trustworthy and tested technology to facilitate secure and reliable access to customers’ account and payment information.
Entrants will be required to identify a solution that would help secure personal information in an open environment. Applicants must submit a written report of no more than 1,000 words and will be judged by financial industry practitioners.
Peter Ware, Director of the SWIFT Institute comments; “The issue of how to keep personal information safe in an open environment is increasingly a question that banks are trying to tackle as open banking becomes more prevalent. This competition will challenge students to provide innovative solutions to this global industry issue. We look forward to seeing the practical concepts that are offered.”
>See also: Open banking: the quiet revolution
Dr Leila Fourie, CEO of Australian Payments Network said; “The use of open APIs in payments must be accompanied by a robust governance framework as well as appropriately strong authentication to ensure that only approved parties have access to data. As an industry, it is crucially important that we maintain the right balance between security, privacy and commercial incentives to ensure that customers continue to benefit from the burgeoning data economy. We encourage entrants in the Challenge to think about enabling the benefits of open data while at the same time helping consumers maintain privacy.”
The top eight applicants will be announced in July 2018 with the final presentations taking place on 24 October 2018 at Sibos in Sydney. Applicants will be judged on the innovative attributes of their solutions, and their practical application to the banking sector and its customers. The SWIFT Institute will support each of the eight finalists with presentation coaching ahead of the showcase. The winning concept will receive a cheque for AUD 30,000.
