Open Innovation with BNP Paribas – Plug and Play

Supporting the Group’s digital transformation 

In response to major economic and technological changes and with the aim to become the benchmark bank in Europe, BNP Paribas launched a transformation plan to improve customer journeys, develop new work methods, and bring innovation into the heart of its business lines.  To do this, in 2017, BNP Paribas joined forces with Plug and Play to start a FinTech and InsurTech programme dedicated to the bank’s core business and corporate functions.  

Through this approach based on co-innovation, the Group can: 

•  identify and explore new technologies for banking and insurance, new business models and original value proposals
• address the transformation needs of its business lines to reinvent the customer experience and improve operational processes 
• give participating start-ups the chance to co-develop one or more operational solutions together with business lines  
• offer employees the chance to acquire new work methods: agile, lean management, test & learn, etc.

How does the programme work? 

Since 2017, the programme runs over two seasons of 3 months each. Due to the current situation, the batch 2020 spreads over more flexible period from 3 to 6 months. Thanks to the expertise of Plug and Play, over 400 international start-ups have already been sourced since we started. Each of them potentially meets a business need that is in line with our transformation goals. At the start of a new season, about 20 start-ups pitch their ideas on stage with representatives of the Group’s business lines and corporate functions. These then have a month in which to choose a project and get involved in the programme with the chosen start-up. For 3 months, the start-up is accelerated to develop a POC (Proof of Concept) with the aim to enter the industrialisation or contracting phase and deploy the solution in the Group. This is for instance the case today with the French start-up Dreamquark, and the Israeli Scanovate, which are working with BNP Paribas Wealth Management and BNP Paribas Personal Finance respectively. 

Located at Station F, the world’s largest incubator with 1,000 start-ups, participants benefit from a dedicated ecosystem to develop their growth, with access to BNP Paribas and Plug and Play’s global networks, and are able to work with all the stakeholders present at Station F.