Now in its fifth year, the Finovate Sustainability & Inclusion Scholarship Program has helped bring dozens of innovative fintech startups to the attention of banks, credit unions, investors, and journalists. This year, for FinovateFall, the Finovate Scholarship Program is proud to support six fintechs that are innovating in fields such as lending, customer service, small business financial management, fraud prevention, and biometric-enabled commerce.
The Finovate Scholarship Program spotlights underrepresented fintech founders and startups whose innovations support climate sustainability, diversity, financial inclusion, and responsible corporate governance. Scholarship winners are granted complimentary demo participation and are included in Best of Show voting, making them eligible to win the conference’s Best of Show award.
“This year’s scholarship recipients have added incredible depth to our demo lineup,” Finovate VP and Senior Director of Startup Ecosystem Heather Stowell said. “From socially conscious platforms addressing real-world challenges to companies setting new standards in responsible governance, plus groundbreaking work from BIPOC and female founders, these teams represent the diverse thinking that’s driving the industry forward. It’s exactly this mix of founders and fintech themes that makes our demo showcase so compelling.”
FinovateFall 2026 will be held at the Times Square Marriott Marquis in New York from Sept. 9—11. Tickets are available now. Save your spot. Book your room. And join us in New York for the most unique fintech event of the fall.
Goodbuy
Goodbuy transforms small-business engagement into a new growth channel, enabling financial institutions to drive account activation, deposits, and interchange through connected community commerce. Goodbuy was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Goodbuy is a scholarship winner in our Female Founded/Owned category, which is available to fintechs with female founders or owners. Goodbuy will be represented at FinovateFall by co-founders Cara Oppenheimer (Chief Executive Officer) and Cary Telander Fortin (Chief Impact Officer).
FinZee AI
FinZee AI connects biometric data from wearable devices to real-time financial decision-making, stopping impulse buying before it happens. Founded in 2025, the company is based in Kapolei, Hawaii.
FinZee AI was one of the winners in the Social category, which is available to firms with socially conscious fintech solutions.
Kita Technologies
Kita is an AI-powered lending operations platform that transforms borrower documents into fraud-checked underwriting signals in minutes. Kita Technologies was founded in 2025 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Kita Technologies is a winner in the Female Founded/Owned category, which is available to companies founded or owned by women.
McCarthy Hatch
Headquartered in Los Angeles and founded in 2024, McCarthy Hatch is the company behind FSAi, an AI-powered analytics platform that detects systemic consumer harm patterns in financial services by analyzing customer complaints.
McCarthy Hatch is a scholarship winner in the Governance category, which is available to companies that emphasize responsible governance and leadership.
On Time Harvest
On Time Harvest is an AI-powered fintech platform that forecasts discretionary income up to five years in advance, delivers financial education and analysis, and builds responsible safeguards for BNPL. The company was founded in 2025 and is headquartered in Waldorf, Maryland.
On Time Harvest is a scholarship winner in our BIPOC Founded/Owned category. BIPOC refers to Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
RangersAI
RangersAI offers an AI-powered scam resilience platform that helps financial institutions empower consumers to avoid scams through real-time guidance, in-context education, and trusted digital interactions. RangersAI was founded in 2024 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
RangersAI is a scholarship winner in our Social category, which is available to companies with socially conscious fintech solutions.
