For millions of women across the world, access to financial services remains out of reach not because products do not exist, but because trust does not. Concerns over fraud, hidden fees, misuse of personal data and unfair lending practices continue to keep many women outside the formal financial system. Now, the Trust by Design Fintech Challenge 2026 is looking to support fintech companies building safer and more transparent financial solutions that can help close that gap.
Organised by Accion, the initiative aims to recognise fintech businesses and financial institutions that are designing digital financial services around customer safety, transparency and trust. The challenge comes at a time when about 740 million women globally remain financially excluded, representing more than half of the world’s unbanked population.
According to the organisers, trust remains one of the biggest barriers preventing many people in low and middle income countries from using formal financial services. While digital finance has helped expand access in many markets, long term adoption often depends on whether customers believe products are fair, transparent and designed with their interests in mind.
Many users still worry about fraud, unclear pricing, over-indebtedness, aggressive debt collection practices and misuse of personal data. These concerns continue to discourage customers from adopting or continuing to use digital financial services.
The Trust by Design Fintech Challenge aims to highlight businesses that are actively working to solve these problems while also proving that customer-centered design can drive commercial success. Organisers believe fintech companies that prioritise trust often see stronger customer retention, better repayment behaviour and more sustainable long term growth.
The challenge will award one overall winner a $50,000 grand prize, while three finalists will each receive $10,000 awards. Winners will also receive sponsored travel to attend the Fintech for Inclusion Global Summit 2026 in London, including airfare, accommodation and event access. In addition, selected organisations will be featured in an industry toolkit highlighting innovation in trust-building fintech and gain exposure to a global network of impact and commercial investors.
Building Financial Products Around Trust
The challenge is open to organisations that already have digital financial products operating in the market. Organisers are looking for businesses that can demonstrate measurable improvements in customer safety, transparency or trust through their services.
Eligible applicants include fintech companies, lenders, neobanks, financial institutions, microfinance institutions, technology providers supporting financial services and platforms embedding products such as payments, savings, credit or insurance.
Applicants must show evidence that their products are already being actively used by customers and are not still in pilot or prototype stage. They must also demonstrate that women actively use their services and that gender-disaggregated data is being used to inform product design, customer protection or risk management strategies.
The use of gender-based data is becoming increasingly important in financial services because it helps providers understand how women experience financial products differently from men. This allows companies to identify risks affecting women’s financial security and create solutions that better respond to those challenges.
Across different markets, fintech companies are already improving underwriting systems, strengthening fraud detection tools and making products easier for customers to understand. Some are introducing additional prompts that encourage users to carefully review loan terms before accepting them, while others are creating interactive tools that help customers identify scams and avoid fraud.
Some providers are also redesigning digital experiences to reduce customer harm and improve financial confidence. These approaches are increasingly being recognised as both socially impactful and commercially valuable in competitive emerging markets.
Driving Financial Inclusion Through Responsible Innovation
Beyond recognising successful fintech companies, the Trust by Design Fintech Challenge is also expected to encourage broader conversations around responsible innovation in digital finance.
As fintech adoption continues to grow across Africa, Asia and other emerging regions, industry leaders increasingly believe that accessibility alone will not solve financial exclusion. Customers must also feel protected, respected and informed when using financial services.
The challenge is open to organisations operating in at least one emerging market or those with credible plans to expand into low and middle income countries. According to the organisers, credible expansion plans may include partnerships, licensing pathways, operational strategies or active deployments that show a realistic route to serving customers in those markets.
Beyond the prize money, the initiative offers fintech companies an opportunity to strengthen their reputation within the global financial inclusion ecosystem. Increased exposure to investors and industry stakeholders could help participating organisations attract partnerships and scale their services further.
The initiative also sends a strong message to the wider fintech sector that growth should not come at the expense of customer protection.
