ARTICLE
The SilverLogic, a Boca Raton based custom software development company, ran the table at the Money20/20 Hackathon in Las Vegas this weekend, taking home both the 1st place prize for the Visa Developer Challenge and 1st place in the overall Hackathon. The Money20/20 hackathon is an annual hackathon connected to the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas sponsored by some of the world's most noted and recognizable FinTech companies. These companies resent teams with innovative and fun challenges that are aimed at stimulating teams hacking and creative-problem solving skills. The team from The SilverLogic chose to take on the challenge presented by Visa. Visa challenged teams to re-imagine the cardholder experience in a smart city of tomorrow that is totally cashless. Developers were tasked with coming up with a solution that answered the question: “How will the customer experience in payments evolve in this setting?” While specifically, considering at least one of the following areas: • Retail Point of Sale • Identity Verification • Urban Mobility • Local Offers • Loyalty & Rewards Teams were tasked with building a solution that could help card issuers and/or merchants provide seamless payment experiences through connected devices, mobile applications or other emerging cutting-edge technologies (e.g., VR or AI). They were asked to use Visa APIs along with third-party APIs, to create that solution. The team from The SilverLogic decided to tackle the issue of scarcity in urban parking, developing a peer-to-peer parking application called “OmniPark” that would connect people who needed parking spaces with residents who have spots available. This solution would allow individuals to monetize an under-utilized resource while providing a real benefit to individuals who are struggling to find parking on our ever-congested roadways. OmniPark tackled three out of five of the focus areas Visa presented their teams, and did it with panache, implementing a two-part navigation feature allowing users first to be directed to the general vicinity of the parking spot and then to have an Augmented Reality (AR) driven map guide users directly to the exact spot they have reserved. Users are then presented with an AR version of a parking meter where they can select a time period to remain parked in that location and initiate payment to the spot owner using Visa Direct. The application also allows merchants to “sponsor” parking locations nearby for their customers using the Visa Offers Platform. Paul Walsh, SVP of Platform Strategy & Innovation at Visa congratulated the team behind OmniPark saying “We are excited to congratulate South Florida’s OmniPark who won both the Visa Challenge prize and the Grand Prize at the Money20/20 Hackathon this weekend! Tackling the Visa challenge of re-imagining the smart city of tomorrow that is cashless, OmniPark was able to quickly integrate Visa APIs via the Visa Developer Platform into their urban parking solution to enable secure, seamless payments opportunities for merchants and consumers alike. Visa applauds OmniPark who has a similar vision of ushering in a new era of digital commerce and driving towards a more cashless tomorrow.” The CEO of The SilverLogic, and leader of the OmniPark team, David Hartmann said: “I am so proud of our team here at Money20/20 for representing the best of what The SilverLogic has to offer. Our motto is ‘We Make Ideas Happen’ and nowhere is it more apparent how committed we are to that motto than in settings like this where our teams are challenged to strengthen their relationships while exercising and developing creative problem-solving skills.” ###