Financial Solutions Lab Announces $3 Million Competition to Tackle Consumer Financial
Security
Center for Financial Services Innovation and JPMorgan Chase call on innovators to submit
high-tech solutions to address consumers’ cash flow challenges
CHICAGO, February 24, 2015 — The Financial Solutions Lab at the Center for Financial
Services Innovation (CFSI) with founding partner JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announced a $3
million competition for technology innovators working to address consumer financial
challenges. This cross-sector initiative will identify technology-enabled financial solutions and
provide winners with direct and indirect support to test and expand the availability of their
products and services to consumers.
The challenge, opening today, will be the first in a series and invites innovators to submit
financial product and service solutions that help households better manage their finances on a
tight budget. Vulnerable consumers can get caught in a cycle of debt when relying on alternative
services, like payday lenders or check cashing institutions, while trying to make ends meet in
the days between when income comes in and bills are due. CFSI has identified the timing
mismatch between household income and expenses as one of the greatest financial challenges
facing low- to moderate-income families.
In fact, CFSI’s 2013 Financially Underserved Market Size Report found that Americans spent
$36.5 billion in one year on credit and transaction products to address this
challenge. Additionally, over one hundred million Americans struggle with balancing their
household finances[i] and forty-three percent of Americans struggle to pay their bills. [ii]
“Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet often juggling uneven income and
unpredictable expenses,” said Jennifer Tescher, CEO of CFSI. “Through the Financial Solutions
Lab we want to identify and support innovators who are working to meet consumer needs with
meaningful, scalable solutions. The Lab will help build the next generation of financial products
and services to improve consumer financial health.”
From February 24 until April 7, 2015, the Financial Solutions Lab will accept applications from
innovative entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations competing to receive up to $250,000 in
capital, along with national partnership opportunities, industry expertise, mentorship, and
cutting-edge consumer and design insights necessary to power the next generation of leading
financial services innovations. Solutions from approximately eight winning organizations will
embrace consumer-friendly design, promote consumer success, build trust, and create
opportunity in order to generate mutual benefit for providers and consumers.
Winners will be selected by an expert, cross-sector group including leaders from JPMorgan
Chase, CFSI, and strategic partners in human-centered design, behavioral economics,
community outreach and for-profit entrepreneurship. Winners will be announced at CFSI’s
Emerge Conference on June 11th.
“The personal financial security of individuals impacts the financial health of their household,
their community and the overall economy,” said Janis Bowdler, Head of Financial Capability at
JPMorgan Chase & Co. “That is why JPMorgan Chase is committed to supporting innovators
who share our goal of helping low- to moderate-income consumers better manage their daily
financial lives, improve resiliency and promote economic security.” JPMorgan Chase’s support
of the Financial Solutions Lab is a part of its broader commitment to helping people better
understand and manage their finances to secure their futures.
Financial Solutions Lab Led by Experts in Finance, Technology, and Human-Centered
Design
CFSI and JPMorgan Chase also today announced the Lab’s Advisory Council, a group of
industry leaders from the financial services, technology, academia, and investment community
who will provide overall strategic guidance and resources to Lab competition winners. In
addition to the strategic direction they provide on the Lab, the Advisory Council will play an
integral part in guiding the success of the winning innovations to ensure they meet the needs of
consumers and can be made widely available. They include:
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Paul Breloff, Managing Director, Accion Venture Lab
Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation
Jennifer Tescher, President and CEO, CFSI
Susan Ehrlich, Board of Directors, CFSI
Arjan Schütte, Founder and Managing Partner, Core Innovation Capital
Jonathan Mintz, Founding President and CEO, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund
Andrea Levere, President, Corporation for Enterprise Development
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation
Eldar Shafir, Scientific Director and Co-Founder, Ideas42
Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO
Barry Saik, SVP and GM, Consumer Ecosystem Group, Intuit
Dalila Wilson-Scott, President, JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Ben Knelman, CEO and Co-Founder, Juntos Finanzas
Ben Jealous, Partner, Kapor Capital
Ann Lamont, Managing Partner, Oak Investment Partners
Chris Bishko, Partner, Omidyar Network
Caribou Honig, Partner, QED Investors
Cheryl Porro, SVP of Tech and Product, Salesforce Foundation
Michael Barr, Professor of Law, University of Michigan
Suzi Sosa, Founder and CEO, Verb
"We know that the challenges posed by financial insecurity can have a profound impact on
individuals and families. I'm heartened by the Financial Solutions Lab's efforts to improve the
financial health of low-income people and impressed that they have begun with a focus on
household liquidity," said Eldar Shafir, the William Stewart Tod Professor of Psychology and
Public Affairs at Princeton University and Scientific Director and Co-Founder of ideas42, a nonprofit organization leading the applications of behavioral science to do social good and have
impact at scale.
"The Financial Solutions Lab is a great example of the practical application of human-centered
design to address the challenges everyday Americans face and to create real impact, “said Tim
Brown, CEO, IDEO. “I'm honored to be a part of this cross-sector group of experts and I'm
looking forward to working closely with the innovators who participate in the Lab.”
About the Financial Solutions Lab
The Financial Solutions Lab is a $30 million, five-year initiative managed by the Center for
Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) with founding partner JPMorgan Chase & Co. to identify,
test and expand the availability of promising innovations that help Americans increase savings,
improve credit, and build assets. The Lab will launch a series of competitions to identify
solutions to specific consumer financial challenges. It will provide incentives for entrepreneurs,
businesses, and nonprofits to enhance financial products and services that address these
challenges and improve consumers’ financial health. For more information, visit
finlab.cfsinnovation.com.
About Center for Financial Services Innovation
CFSI is the nation’s authority on consumer financial health. CFSI leads a network of financial
services innovators committed to building a more robust financial services marketplace with
higher quality products and services. Through its Compass Principles and a lineup of proprietary
research, insights and events, CFSI informs, advises, and connects members of its network to
seed the innovation that will transform the financial services landscape. For more on CFSI, go
to www.cfsinnovation.com and follow on Twitter at @CFSInnovation.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of
$2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial
services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction
processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the
world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan
and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at
www.jpmorganchase.com.
[i]
http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/bpea/papers/2014/wealthy-hand-to-mouth
[ii]
http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Corporate-Responsibility/document/FINAL_UNC_JPMC_White_Paper.pdf