$25,000 up for grabs in CFSI app challenge

The MyMoneyAppUp Challenge got underway June 27, 2012, and almost 600 individuals have taken up the challenge so far, according to The Center for Financial Services Innovation. The challenge, a partnership between the CFSI, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund, is a contest designed to discover next-generation mobile applications for the financially underserved in the United States.

The MyMoneyAppUp Challenge is broken up into two parts – IdeaBank and App Design Challenge. IdeaBank is a call to the general public for ideas expressed in 140 characters or less that describe app-based solutions; the top 10 vote getters will be judged by panelists, with winners receiving cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000. Entries for IdeaBank are being accepted at ideabank.mymoneyappup.challenge.gov until Aug. 1, 2012.

The App Design Challenge is a call for comprehensive app design proposals from companies, individuals and teams of individuals. Judges will review and score the proposals. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and receive cash prizes ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Entries for the App Design Challenge are being accepted at mymoneyappup.challenge.gov until Aug. 12, 2012.

Chicago-based CFSI said over 130 ideas and "numerous" entries for the App Design Challenge have been submitted. The App Design Challenge judges will be Chris Bishko, Director of Investments at Omidyar Network; personal finance journalist Jean Chatzky; Katie Burke Mitic, Director of Platform Marketing at Facebook Inc.; Sendhil Mullainathan, Professor of Economics at Harvard University & Founder of ideas42,; entrepreneur Carol Realini; and Jonathan Weiner, Business Development, Payments, at Google Inc.

An educational webinar about the App Design Challenge will be held Aug. 2, 2012. More information about the contest can be found at mymoneyappup.challenge.gov.

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