€1,500 in prizes
Real money for the teams that build what finance actually needs. Paid out on Sunday, in front of the room.
// 00. START LINE
Doors open in
Friday · 20.11.2026 · 17:30
--Days
--Hours
--Minutes
--Seconds
// 01. WHY THIS EXISTSRomania builds great engineers
Romania builds great engineers
It does not build great fintech. Yet.
- Most Romanian developers have never touched payment infrastructure.
- Most have never worked inside a compliance constraint.
- Most have never sat across from someone who actually runs risk.
They can build.
They have just never been handed a real financial problem to build against.
// 02. WHY JOIN
What you walk away with
Building something in fintech, or want to? This is the weekend where you get the problem, the rails, the people and a shot at the prize.
Real problems
Challenges come from financial institutions, fintech companies and public authorities. Not hypotheticals, not toy APIs.
Real infrastructure
Build on real payment rails and sandbox environments, the way production fintech is built.
Mentors at your table
15 operators from fintech, payments, banking, compliance and product. They sit with you, not on a stage.
A jury that can say yes
Founders, investors and senior operators. The best outputs get piloted, absorbed into companies, or become startups.
A network for after
You leave with working code, a validated direction and people you did not know on Friday.
40 seats. Selected, not walk-in.
Apply now48 hours
- (01)Teams receive challenges from companies.
- (02)They build against real constraints, with access to real financial infrastructure and sandbox environments.
- (03)They present to a jury of operators, investors and fintech leaders.
The
Numbers
40 Participants
Selected, not walk-in. We filter for people who can actually ship in 48 hours.
15 Mentors
Working operators from fintech, payments, banking, compliance and product. Not observers. They sit at the tables.
7 Jury members
Founders, investors and senior operators who evaluate on real commercial logic.
One weekend, permanent results
Every team leaves with working code, a validated direction and a network they did not have on Friday.
Program
Friday
20 Nov- Welcome
- Panel: The Future of Finance
- Challenges presented
- Hacking starts
- Work through the night (online)
Saturday
21 Nov- Mentor hours
- Lunch
- Work time
- Mentor hours
- Pitch workshop
- Work through the night (online)
Sunday
22 Nov- Mentor hours for the pitch
- Finalise the pitch
- Pitch submission
- Final pitching session
- Winners announced
- Networking
Who is
Alreadyin
The companies shaping Romanian fintech, in one room with you for 48 hours. They bring the challenges, the mentors and the jury.
// 03. APPLYRomania will have a fintech sector.
Romania will have a fintech sector.
The only question is who builds it.
The talent is already here. The market is already opening. The regulation is already forcing the change. BANK/RUPT is 48 hours to build it. We would like you in the room.
€1,500
in prizes
- 20 to 22 November 2026
- Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- 40 seats, selected
Questions? nas.mihai@clujstartups.com