Emirates NBD, one of the Middle East’s largest banking groups, is hosting a hackathon in partnership with Berlin-based Open Bank Project in London, the reported fintech capital of the world, April 15 to 17.

The deadline for early applications is today, March 15. The final deadline for applications is April 1. The event takes place at Level39 in Canary Wharf — where else? Up to 20 projects will win a place in the competition which has prizes of €20,000 ($22,200 US), €15,000 ($16,700 US), or €10,000 ($11,100 US). Travel vouchers of up €600 ($670 US) are also available for select companies.

Perhaps the most important prize is the chance for startups to pitch their ideas to the bank, which has a reputation for innovative product development.

“At the hackathon, you will further develop your products and receive mentoring from business, design, technology and communication experts; and present to senior Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic executives,” the event website says.

Applications should address one of the following challenges:

• customer acquisition and onboarding
• loyalty and engagement
• SME banking
• blockchain and Internet of Things
• Islamic banking

The Open Bank Project effectively runs the hackathon for Emirates. Open Bank Project has an open-source API and app store for financial services. For the hackathon, the API is in sandbox mode, and includes access to simulated transaction data.

Startups interesting in joining can apply here.