Inspiration
As students without full-time jobs or credit history, it is difficult to begin building financial trustworthiness. Banks seldom provide loans to individuals without a credit score. This system does not simply affect students either, as non-traditional income earners (such as freelance workers or those engaged with the sharing economy), as well as those in the developing countries, also may be in need of financial services. The truth is, many modern income-earners, do not match the characteristics of an ideal candidate based on the metrics currently measured by credit bureaus. Despite having the capability to easily cover their debts, banks are not giving them the opportunity to exhibit their trustworthiness.
What it does
Users of myDENTITY can build their financial future by submitting the information that proves their financial trustworthiness. Timely and full payments of reoccurring debts such as rent or phone bills will be tracked and stored to boost the users' scores. Other data points that are able to prove both character and financial stability, such as whether they have completed a university degree, their parents' financial income history, and whether they have received any scholarships, will also be taken into consideration. Large banks are often reluctant to take this information into consideration, yet they still address many other aspects of the younger generation's lifestyle. myDENTITY aims to be the preferred method that younger generations will be financially evaluated for credit. Users can instantly keep track of their score and their reoccurring transactions. myDENTITY can partner with web-based banks which are also geared towards this progressive audience and provide lending services to those overlooked by large financial institutions.
How we built it
As a consumer-facing product, we really wanted to make sure our interface is easily navigable for the user so they can easily make revising their myDENTITY accounts into a lifelong habit. Developing this streamlined interface involved implementing a strong design. We started our implementation by prototyping the features, content, and user experience, on Figma. For the backend we...
Challenges we ran into
This is the first web development project most of the team members have tackled in a Hackathon. We wanted to ensure the functionality and features of the platform pushed us to the limit of our capabilities. However, our zealous ambition translated into an over-emphasis on the UI and UX design on Figma, which decreased time allocated on bringing the prototype to life through both front-end and back-end development. A lot of elements, though appealing design wise, were too complicated to translate directly into HTML and CSS in the short time allocated, and thus the design was kept simple but effective.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Not only did all team members get a chance to learn something new, we also aided each other and provided help and expertise based on our areas of experience. Additionally, we are proud to have not only considered the software development side of this project, we have also flushed out the idea as a business. From the specific purpose it serves, to the audience it can attract, we understand myDENTITY's value proposal, which aided us when considering what is necessary to include in the minimal viable product we are to showcase.
What we learned
We learned tremendous amounts about both the technical and business side of development. Not only did we tackle completely new programming languages and frameworks such as MongoDB and Angular.js, but some of us have explored different aspects of the creation process, such as design and wire-framing.
What's next for myDENTITY - The Modern Financial Score
Many layers of authentication and encryption to ensure users' information stays secure. This could be implemented using a blockchain to ensure verifiability and confidentiality. An application of machine learning could also be used to verify whether entries are legitimate, as any technology could be abused by its users. A third idea would be to create a mobile app to ensure our platform is more accessible to people who may not have access to a computer, as over five billion people have cell phones. This extension of our service would increase our reach, and allow us to positively impact many more people.
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