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Financial inclusion 07 Aug 2015

Credit-score fintech start-up wins BBVA Open Talent 2015 Financial Inclusion Award

Destacame.cl, a Chilean start-up that allows users to build a credit score based on their history of paying utility bills, has won the BBVA Open Talent 2015 Special Financial Inclusion Award. As part of their award, Destacame.cl will present their product at September’s Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum, held in September in Maputo, Mozambique.

BBVA Open Talent 2015 - Regional Finals

The company will also participate in September’s BBVA Open Talent 2015 finals, whose full list of finalists was also unveiled.

Launched in July 2015 by MIT graduates Jorge Camus and Sebastian Ugarte, Destacame.cl was created to help individuals who have no credit history and so are excluded from mainstream financial institutions. Destacame.cl  is an online tool that uses a customer’s payment record for everyday bills such as electricity and gas to build up a credit profile that will help them successfully apply for services such as loans and mortgages. Data from the service is already being used by 3 major Chilean financial institutions.

BBVA's Head of Easy Banking & Financial Inclusion, Carlos López-Moctezuma said: “Destacame.cl’s  service is an innovative answer to the question of how to widen access to financial services, and was a clear and worthy winner of the Special Financial Inclusion Award”.

At present there are 2 billion adults who are unbanked worldwide, which represents 38% of the total adult population. In emerging markets, such as Latin America, almost of half of the adults (49%) are unbanked, according to the 2014 Global Findex survey. The AFI and the BBVA Group - who signed a strategic accord in July - are both firmly committed to increasing global financial inclusion levels and making a positive impact on the lives of the poor.

Jorge Camus, Destacame.cl’s Managing Director, commented: “To win the BBVA Open Talent 2015 Special Financial Inclusion Award so soon after launching can only help Destacame.cl raise awareness of our  mission to widen access to credit.”

BBVA Open Talent announces finalists

The full list of finalists - including Destacame.cl - for September’s Open Talent 2015 finals can be found here.  Now in its’ 7th year, the BBVA Open Talent competition seeks to support the brightest and best among fintech start-ups and is part of BBVA’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and competition in digital financial services for the benefit of the customer.

There are three regional finals - in Mexico, New York and Barcelona, each with two winners. Winners receive a €30,000 cash prize, and will take part in separate immersion programmes in London and Mexico in October. They will also enjoy one day of innovation in the kitchen of El Celler de Can Roca, named The World’s Best Restaurant 2015.