Following the very successful application phase with 336 submissions from 56 countries, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has been working intensively with five start-ups starting from October 2017 as part of the fintech acceleration program “Elevator Lab”. The focus was on the fields of Big Data Analytics (Gauss Algorithmics), Branch of the Future (Moxtra), Payments & Transactions (SONECT), RegTech (360kompany) and SME Banking (Asteria). During the proof of concept phase, five pilot projects were developed and successfully tested in Austria and four markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

“We will continue the successful cooperation that we started with Elevator Lab. We are now switching from the pilot phase to the implementation phase and are planning to make these innovations permanently available to our 16.5 million customers in Austria and CEE. Our organization has gained valuable experience through Elevator Lab, which helps us today to be ideally positioned for tomorrow’s banking business," outlines Johann Strobl, CEO of RBI, the next steps.

Elevator Lab starts second round on 1 May 2018

The success and the findings from Elevator Lab convinced RBI that it was the right decision to open up to cooperation with start-ups. Therefore, the RBI Group will start a second round of applications on 1 May 2018. What is new this time is that seven RBI network banks, namely those from Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Romania, Russia and Slovakia, will target the fintech ecosystems in their markets with regional "Elevator Lab Challenges". In addition to a start-up workshop at a visit to the Elevator Lab in Vienna, the respective winners will also receive a "wild card" for the semi-final of the group-wide Elevator Lab and the chance to be invited to Vienna for the final of the TOP 15 in September 2018.

About 360kompany (www.kompany.com) | Austria
360kompany offers real-time access to authoritative, audit-proof company information covering 100 million companies in over150 jurisdictions powering KYC, AML, and EDD checks. Its service can improve or automate the verification of businesses (cross-border) based on real-time, authoritative and audit-proof company information directly from commercial registers, UBO directories and PEP/sanctions lists, allowing a streamlining of onboarding and compliance processes as well as due diligence processes in various fields.

About Asteria (www.asteriainc.se) | Sweden
Asteria is a new and easy way to truly understand business cash flow and to make more data driven decisions and to reduce administration. Asteria’s software is integrated into the customer’s and bank’s software. Through the software, businesses can increase earnings, cut costs and stay one step ahead of their competition.

About Gauss Algorithmic (www.gaussalgo.com) | Czech Republic
Gauss Algorithmic is a leader in data integration, advanced analytics and data related research in the CEE region. Its technology expertise ranges from big data integration, processing and enrichment to predictive analytics and cognitive computing. The company’s mission is to help businesses making right decisions and creating a competitive advantage using Gauss Algorithmic’s capability to analyze the past, understand the present and leverage Artificial Intelligence to uncover future outcomes.

About Moxtra (www.moxtra.com) | USA
Moxtra, a leader in mobile-first embeddable collaboration services, offers an embeddable, omni-channel client engagement platform for financial services companies. Using Moxtra’s technology, clients and bank agents can collaborate around documents using secure messaging, e-signatures, voice layered-over content and real-time meetings.

About SONECT (www.sonect.ch) | Switzerland
SONECT is a location-based match making platform that connects those who want to withdraw cash with those who want to deposit cash (e.g. a shop owner). This way, the shop owner not only reduces the cash management efforts but also earns money and increases footfall, consumers can withdraw cash at the click of a button on their smartphone wherever they are, and banks can save up to 50 per cent in running their ATMs while generating new revenue.

About RBI
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 14 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the RBI Group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in leasing, asset management or M&A.

In total, nearly 50,000 employees service 16.5 million customers through more than 2,400 business outlets, the majority thereof in CEE. RBI's shares are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The Austrian Regional Raiffeisen Banks own around 58.8 per cent of the shares, the remainder is in free float. Within the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, RBI is the central institute of the Regional Raiffeisen Banks and other affiliated credit institutions and renders important services in this function.