The story of BNP Paribas & Plug and Play
In the first five years, the BNP Paribas Plug and Play program achieved one of the highest POC-to-production rates in the finance sector.
In December 2022, BNP Paribas and Plug and Play decided to update the program name to B!UP Accelerate.
Find out their story.
- 850+Startups sourced
- 50+Startups accelerated
- 62Commercial pilots completed
- 19Business units engaged
- 42%POC to production rate
A Place to Empower Fintech and Innovation
“The development of our collaboration with startups is an integral part of our transformation process, in order to better serve our clients and build the bank of the future. Our partnership with Plug and Play illustrates this, and we are delighted that the startups of our program are installed in Station F.”
Jacques d'Estais, Deputy Chief Operating Officer & Head of International Financial Services, BNP Paribas
A POC-Focused Program
In 2017, following a successful local partnership in Silicon Valley with Bank Of The West, BNP Paribas's bank in California, we launched a global partnership with BNP Paribas with the aim of supporting the bank’s digital transformation globally.
Based at Station F, in the heart of Paris, the joint initiative engages business units and functions in a POC/pilot-focused program. The BNP Paribas — Plug and Play Program is very pragmatic and focuses on business partnerships. The POC and pilots completed during the batch are concrete with the objective, if the results are satisfactory, to be implemented into BNP Paribas. To date, 37% of pilots completed have gone to production.
“Our two brands attract fintech & insurtech startups that want to complete a pilot with BNP Paribas for several months. After the batch, they benefit from the success of the industrialization into BNP Paribas and from Plug and Play’s large financial network all over the world,” said Hélène Mouly, Innovation Partnership and Acceleration Programs Director - BNP Paribas Plug and Play Program Director"
The Key to Working with Startups
Thanks to this collaboration, BNP Paribas has learned how to work differently, in a more agile way, and focused on delivery with startups.
“I would recommend to large corporations to be focused on results and delivery rather than just on communication with startups,” said Hélène Mouly.
“Working with startups enables banks to gain access to new ideas, and to a new type of supplier that helps accelerate the digital transformation. After four years, our results prove that this methodology works: 37% of our pilots completed with startups went to production into BNP Paribas. This is one of the best rates in the fintech ecosystem.”
The Business Units involved
The Function Units involved
Risk
Legal
Compliance
Human Resources
IT Group
Timeline
- 06/2016 – Bank of the West (BNP Paribas’ subsidiary in the U.S.) joins Plug and Play’s Fintech innovation platform.
- 01/2017 – Launch of a global partnership with Plug and Play, opening all Fintech & Insurtech Plug and Play hubs in the world to BNP Paribas. Launch in Paris of a dedicated Fintech & Insurtech Program based at Station F.
- 03/2017 – First BNP Paribas — Plug and Play batch (3 months program)
- 2018 – BNP Paribas becomes an Anchor partner of the Plug and Play Smart Cities Program in Paris & Madrid, with BNP Paribas Real Estate and BNP Paribas Arval business lines. They also participated in the launch of Fintech Europe in Frankfurt.
- 12/2022 - Program changes its name to B!UP Accelerate
Reshape the future of finance
Plug and Play is specialised in delivering end to end innovation to its corporate partners.
We connect the best startups in the world to corporations who want to disrupt the financial industry.