The first app challenge of its kind in the UK, Ingenico received 28 innovative submissions from app developers which were then reviewed by an expert panel and a shortlist of six ideas was formed. Following further input from the developers, including use cases into how their apps would work on a commercial level, a final shortlist of three was selected.

The first prize, which was announced by Ingenico Group’s Head of Marketplace Partners, Nicolas Divin, went to Djenebou Coulibaly for her ‘Instant Support App’. The app works as a wallet featuring a direct connection to POS vendors, banks and card schemes from the payment terminal. It allows the merchant to report issues, ask for assistance and request new payment services. The finalists will have the opportunity for their app concepts to be developed into a full application and made available in The Ingenico Apps Marketplace.

The two other finalists who were highly commended were:

- ‘PandaPay’; helps restaurants to increase their customer flow by offloading payments onto a phone app with stored payment details

- ‘2D Game’; a gamification app offering customers the chance to win discounts off their next transaction by Loyalty Apps