Athens, Greece. Alpha Bank has opened applications until September 20 for its FinQuest 2026 innovation competition, inviting startups, fintech companies and scale-ups from across Europe to submit banking-sector solutions.
European focus and AI themes
The competition has a stronger European focus this year, with Alpha Bank inviting startups operating across the continent to address challenges facing the financial services industry.
Artificial intelligence is central to FinQuest 2026, with proposals accepted in four thematic areas.
AI First Banking & Value Transformation covers solutions using artificial intelligence, automation and advanced analytics to transform banking operations, improve productivity, support decision-making and create measurable business value.
Fraud Zero & Digital Trust seeks technologies for fraud prevention, cybersecurity, digital identity and trust in the digital banking ecosystem, while maintaining a seamless customer experience.
Next Generation Customer Experience focuses on personalised, simple and integrated services across physical and digital channels, including conversational AI, hyper-personalisation and digital onboarding.
Open Innovation & Emerging Technologies targets technologies that can create new opportunities and sources of value for the financial sector and accelerate banking innovation.
Winner’s opportunities
The overall winner will be able to develop a pilot project with Alpha Bank, working with its business and technology teams to assess the solution in a real banking environment.
The winning team will also gain access to key business stakeholders and may explore a broader commercial partnership with the bank.
The winner will receive a €15,000 cash prize to support further development of its solution.
