Dear fintech hopefuls: Button up.
You might be sitting next to a J.P. Morgan (JPM) banker soon.
The New York-based investment banking giant announced an “in-residence” program for fintechs (startups working in the financial industry) Thursday—joining a growing number of traditional financial institutions that are partnering with their nimbler competitors in the hopes of learning from their handle over technology and innovation.
Earlier this week, Fortune reported that J.P. Morgan was looking to do more partnering with fintech companies. Other banks like Citigroup were defending against start-up competitors with their own in-house dedicated teams.
The program will allow fintech creators to work at the bank for a six months to turn an idea into a product. That gives the fintechs access to J.P. Morgan’s facilities, systems, and people. Those ideas can range from machine learning, to security, to blockchain technology. The fintech will remain an independent company.
Unlike many other banks though, J.P. Morgan is letting these fintech hopefuls a chance to work side-by-side with J.P. Morgan bankers, rather than in a lab. The chosen fintech teams will likely start out in the bank’s London or New York City offices, and work as close as possible to their area of interest. For example, a team creating a product about sales or trading would be sitting as closely as possible to that department.
At the end of the program, J.P. Morgan may choose to invest in the subsequent startup or help it find its feet. Or the idea, as startups often do, may end up as nothing.
The program is also a chance for J.P. Morgan to tie these fintechs closely to its own operations, as the entrepreneurs learn how to fit their product within the bank—which is then scalable to the financial industry. The bank is also potentially offering some fintechs equity.
“Our industry is going through a transformational time, driven by competition, regulation and advancements in technology,” said Daniel Pinto, CEO of J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank in a statement. “As a leading global bank, we are committed to driving industry change by investing heavily in internal development, but also by collaborating with the talent of determined, young startups.”
