BIS and RBI Announce G20 TechSprint 2023 Winners

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have recently unveiled the winners of the G20 TechSprint 2023 challenge in a prestigious award ceremony held in Mumbai. This initiative, launched by the RBI last May under India’s G20 presidency, sought to foster innovative solutions that enhance cross-border payments.

Problem Statements and Winning Solutions:

Problem Statement #1: Combating Financial Crimes

Winner: Team Secretarium Ltd. (UK)

Solution: Transaction Monitoring and Privacy Protection

- Utilized secure privacy technology to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism, tax evasion, and sanctions evasion.
- Emphasized protecting anonymity and privacy in financial transactions.

Problem Statement #2: Enhancing Liquidity in Cross-Border Payments

Winner: Team Millicent Labs (UK)

Solution: Hybrid Decentralized Exchange for CBDCs

- Introduced a hybrid decentralized exchange for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
- Included automated market makers and traditional order books to optimize liquidity and minimize volatility risks.

Problem Statement #3: Developing Multilateral CBDC Platforms

Winner: Team Knox Networks (US)

Solution: Multilateral CBDC based on File-Based Digital Assets (FBDAs)

- Proposed a multilateral CBDC solution using File-Based Digital Assets (FBDAs).
- Addressed the need for efficient cross-border CBDC platforms.

Shortlisted Teams:

Problem Statement #1: Combating Financial Crimes

Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF)
Global Screening Services (GSS)
Mastercard Technology Private Limited
Monetago
PayGlocal
Secretarium Ltd
United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

Problem Statement #2: Enhancing Liquidity in Cross-Border Payments

Ajna Inc.
Baton Systems Inc.
Dian Nofitri/Clever
Groww
Millicent Labs
Partior
Uniswap Labs

Problem Statement #3: Developing Multilateral CBDC Platforms

Currency Network Ltd
FortisNet Ltd
Kevin Zhang
Knox Networks
Parfin
Polly Bauumler
Zerone Microsystems Pte. Ltd

Judges Panel:

Dilip Asbe: Managing Director and CEO, National Payments Corporations of India (NPCI)
Bryan Zheng Zhang: Co-founder and Executive Director, Cambridge Centre for Alternatives
Yvonne Tsui: Senior Fintech Director, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Andrew McCormack: Chief Operating Officer, Al Etihad Payments
Andre Reslow: Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Harish Natarajan: Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
Violaine Clerc: Executive Secretary, Financial Action Task Force
Peerapong Thonnagith: Deputy Director, Bank of Thailand