Two winners named in Citi’s banking ideas contest
Citigroup named two banking innovation idea winners of its “Citi Ideas Challenge” employee contest this month.
The Challenge marked Citi’s first global contest that solicited its employees to pitch ideas on the future of banking. Citi said it received thousands of contest entries.
Though Citi won’t disclose the winning concepts for proprietary reasons, the company told Bank Innovation that the winning ideas center on the following two themes:
- Taking powerful capabilities normally reserved for Citi’s commercial and corporate clients and delivering them to consumers; and
- Developing a solution for consumers who are looking for a social banking experience.
The two winning teams, made up of employees from multiple countries and divisions who were linked together by two initial ideas, will now work with the Citi Venture team to turn their winning ideas into business concepts. Those concepts will be presented to Citi’s CEO in the second quarter.
Citi Venture is Citigroup’s venture capital arm.
More than 46,500 people from 97 countries participated in the competition that ran from October of 2011 through early March. The contest generated 2,307 ideas.
“We see collaboration as core to creating a culture of innovation,” Spokesperson Janis Tarter told Bank Innovation. “One important thing the Citi Ideas Challenge gave us was a way to form virtual teams of employees – across business and regional lines – who were attracted by the initial ideas of individuals.”
