The digital age is changing how people go about their daily lives — from ordering food and transportation, to the way we do business across the world. The world of banking is not spared from the influence of technology, especially with an increasing number of digital-native millennial and Gen Zs expecting a seamless digital banking experience. How can we reimagine and transform the future of banking?

That’s the premise for the first-ever DBS Paradigm Shift Global Hack, which brought together the brightest minds to ideate, experiment and develop prototypes for new banking solutions. Shortlisted from more than 2,000 international applications, the final 12 teams gathered at DBS Asia X for an adrenaline-pumping showdown.

We catch up with three teams on their Paradigm Shift journey and what motivates them to innovate and experiment.

Q: Let’s get into a hacker’s mind. Why made you join the DBS Paradigm Shift Global Hackathon?

Team CASE ©: Our team was primarily motivated by the opportunity for us to make a difference through our solution. We believe that DBS can bring our ideas to fruition after seeing how involved they got in the innovation start-up scene.

Team Wildcard (W): We were simply looking for a unique and fun challenge where we can innovate and solve problems creatively.

Team We Shift Paradigm (WSP): When we saw the Hackathon post on Facebook, we started pitching ideas against each other. That same night, we registered for the Hackathon because we want to see the idea come to life!

Q: Has the journey been what you expected so far?

C: Paradigm Shift has been very fun and fulfilling! In all honesty, we were super stoked to know that we got into Phase 3 given how much time and effort we spent on developing the application and preparing the pitch materials. We’ve received tremendous support from the DBS team, especially from our volunteer mentor Daniel Li who guides us and shares valuable insights.

WSP: It’s never easy juggling our time between work and hacking, and downtime on weekends. Our team works in different locations, and we met face to face only twice in the whole journey.

W: Likewise for us, it was a challenge to meet the tight deadlines with our full-time studies, internship and a Sweden exchange programme in the mix. But we have to say that Paradigm Shift has been a tough but rewarding experience.

Q: Can we hack into what inspires you to innovate and experiment?

W: Our #1 reason is to solve problems which we face on a daily basis. If we succeed at Paradigm Shift, it would be great validation for us to help more people in the world solve their problems.

C: As aspiring software engineers and future data scientists, it’s the satisfaction of being able to make a difference through our capabilities and passion in technology that inspires our team to do our very best.

WSP: We want to create a great product!

Q: Have you taken part in other hackathons before? How does this stack up against the others?

WSP: Yes, 52 of them. This is the longest hackathon I’ve experienced. Usually, hackathons only last for 24 hours. This is also the first time we’re having a remote team member.

W: The previous hackathon (we did) was a short 12-hour one which we enjoyed. Paradigm Shift is a more long-term competition which requires us to put in a lot more work. But we like how we’re free to innovate and how we’re guided with a good structure and judging criteria.

C: This experience is somewhat different because most other hackathons were usually run within a 48-hour period and we had to be there physically. Due to the limited time, we couldn’t rest well and it somewhat affected the quality of our work. With Paradigm Shift, we could develop the app at our own pace and were given adequate time to carefully think about our solution and execution plan. Everyone knows innovation takes time and it’s something you just can’t rush if you really mean to make a difference.

Q: Apart from winning, what do you hope to take away from this experience?

W: We hope to be able to learn how DBS supports innovation and problem-solving, and how we can do that with DBS. We look forward to DBS advising and supporting the best ideas to bring them to life!

C: We want to gain experience in developing products that solve modern problems and to get to know how much DBS supports and values innovation in the start-up scene.

WSP: It’s all about learning from talented people and level up. We want to take in the experience, both good and bad!

DBS Paradigm Shift is a virtual global hackathon that has attracted over 1,000 participants across 25 markets. The hackathon focuses on building a customer-centric approach to developing new cutting-edge services for today’s digitally savvy customers. Taking place over 17 weeks, the teams are expected to take their inspiration to a concept to a working prototype.