This award recognises a collaboration initiative within the payments industry that has achieved outstanding results through partnerships, joint ventures, or alliances. The award celebrates the power of collaboration in driving innovation and delivering value to customers.

To be eligible for the Outstanding Payments Industry Collaboration Initiative, a company or fintech must demonstrate how they have partnered and collaborated with one or more industry players to deliver a special product, service, transformation, or innovation to the market. The collaboration should go beyond a standard supplier-customer relationship and involve a unique partnership that has created a solution that is operationalised in an Asia Pacific market.

The judges are particularly interested in collaborations between large and small companies or between younger and more established players. Entries may be submitted by either or both companies involved in the collaboration. Pilot programs are acceptable, but evidence of success in the pilot phase will be required.

To be considered for the initiative, companies and fintechs must clearly describe the collaboration and its outcomes. They should demonstrate how the partnership has resulted in a unique solution that has addressed a specific market need or challenge. Companies should also explain how the collaboration has been successful, including any metrics that demonstrate the solution’s impact.

Overall, the initiative seeks to recognise and celebrate collaborations that have resulted in a new and innovative solution in the payments industry.

Entry eligibility  

• The initiative must have been operationalised in one or several Asia Pacific markets. 
• The original initiative cannot be older than 3 years.

To make a submission please provide the following information:

Nominee or nominator

• Entry name
• Name of nominating organisation 
• Name(s) of nominated organisation(s) 
• The nature of the business relationship between you as the nominator and the nominee company’s solution description 

Submission format

Your entry is done digitally via APAC Payments Excellence Awards Website, by submitting a written description of your value proposition/solution/initiative using selected category criteria.

Each criteria in your submission will be evaluated and scored by judges in your Category Judge Panel. Each criteria have a 300-word limit.

Provide as much information as you can and quote the source of that information, to describe the solution, success measures and what was achieved. Note that no attachments are allowed, and website links will not be seen as part of a submission.

Outstanding Payments Industry Collaboration Judge Criteria

Describe your collaboration initiative under each criteria section.

1. Collaboration initiative description

What was the collaboration initiative about? Who were the parties involved in the collaboration? What were the specific objectives of the collaboration? What was the timeline for the collaboration initiative?

2. Benefit delivery

What were the benefits of the collaboration initiative? In what ways does the initiative provide benefit/value to both parties involved in the collaboration? What were the unique aspects of the collaboration that contributed to the delivery of benefits? How does your initiative provide benefit/value to the end-user of the partnership/collaboration? Can you quantify the benefits to the end-user and explain how they are unique compared to other solutions in the market?

3. Impact of the initiative

What impact has the partnership/collaboration delivered that would not have been possible otherwise? How did the collaboration initiative change the payment industry’s landscape? What was the scale of the initiative’s impact on the payments industry? What were the specific areas where the collaboration initiative had the most significant impact? In what ways has the initiative been innovative?

4. Result and measures:

What were the measurable outcomes of the collaboration initiative? What were the performance metrics used to track progress and success of the initiative? How did the collaboration initiative meet or exceed expectations? What competitive advantage does the partnership/collaboration enjoy compared to other solutions in the market? What were the lessons learned from the collaboration initiative, and how can they be applied to future initiatives?

Evidence of success – metrics 

Please provide as much information as you can and quote the source of that information. Such information might include the following, but this is not an exhaustive list and, in each case, the judges will be looking for evidence that supports your claims about the key benefits of the initiative/solution/process: 

• Partnership duration: Length of time the partnership has been live.
• Client base: Number of clients the partnership has served, if applicable.
• User count: Number of users who have utilized the solution since launch until February 2024.
• Volume metrics: Relevant metrics such as payments, transactions, or remittances since launch until February 2024.
• Growth in use: Historical growth in usage of the solution, as well as extrapolated projections for future growth.

Please note that data is treated confidentially and not disclosed outside the immediate Category Judging Panel and the APAC Payments Excellence Award team.

Innovative definition 

To be defined as innovative we are looking for the creation, development and implementation of a new product, process, or service, which has improved efficiency, effectiveness, access or competitive advantage. The entry is detailing something totally new or has a new approach to an existing challenge.