BNY Mellon looks to startups to address internal and client-facing technology challenges throughout the bank.

The $31.9 million bank communicates with executives and clients to identify areas of friction, Zakie Twainy, digital partnerships and enterprise innovation at BNY Mellon, said at the recent Finovate Spring 2023 event in San Francisco. The bank utilizes startups and its own accelerator program to find solutions in line with the bank’s needs.

“It comes down to our commitment to clients,” Twainy said. “As [the] technology landscape changes, our clients are going to need to change their needs, and so we will adapt and collaborate with early-stage technologies.”

The bank’s accelerator program allows startups to build a proof of concept (POC), work with BNY Mellon technologists, receive feedback from executives and, in some cases, walk away with investment from the bank, Twainy said.

BNY Mellon accelerator program investors include BainCapital Ventures, Pitango and Vestigo Ventures, according to the bank’s website.

Investing in startups

The bank also looks to the broader startup community for technology solutions, Twainy said.

For example, the BNY Mellon was approached by data analytics platform Quantexa in 2020 with a POC on a use case for the bank, Twainy said. Through the POC, the fintech gained insights from BNY Mellon executives, expertise in the industry and became “more institutional-ready.”

That relationship resulted in a series D funding round for Quantexa led by BNY Mellon in 2021, according to a Quantexa release. More recently, Quantexa closed series E funding led by Singapore-based global investor GIC in April.

“We have multiple examples of that throughout our portfolio,” Twainy added.