The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has concluded the fourth edition of its global hackathon, HaRBInger 2025, themed “Secure Banking: Powered by Identity, Integrity and Inclusivity.”
The event, conceptualised by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), drew 496 teams from 15 countries, making it the largest edition of the series since its launch in 2021.
After a three-phase evaluation process, 21 finalists developed functional prototypes over eight weeks of guided solution development, with winners announced across three core problem statements: Tokenised KYC, Offline CBDC (e₹), and Enhancing Trust in digital financial services.
The RBI confirmed the results through an official post on X, stating that “the 4th edition of HaRBInger brought together innovators, problem-solvers, and changemakers to reimagine the future of secure digital finance” in India.
The central bank noted that solutions ranged from tokenised KYC and offline CBDC to AI-driven fraud detection and AI-based grievance redressal platforms, calling every submission a step toward “a more inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem.”
Winners across all three problem statements
After months of evaluation, the Reserve Bank of India announced winners across all three problem statements, recognizing solutions that addressed real-world challenges in identity verification, offline payments, and fraud prevention.
The winning teams included startups, independent innovators, and even a public sector bank, highlighting the broad participation in HaRBInger 2025.
Problem Statement 1: Tokenised KYC (Winner: EarthId, UK)
EarthId, a UK-based team, won the Tokenised KYC category with its solution called “Sangrah.” The platform creates reusable identity tokens from verified user attributes, allowing customers to share proof of their KYC status with banks and financial institutions without repeatedly disclosing original documents like Aadhaar or PAN.
The system is designed to be privacy-preserving and tamper-proof, aligning directly with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act framework.
Problem Statement 2: Offline CBDC (Winner: Team A-SPARSH, Pune)
Team A-SPARSH from Pune won the Offline central bank digital currency (CBDC) (e₹) category. Their solution uses a Software-Defined Secure Element to enable peer-to-peer digital rupee transfers via Bluetooth and NFC without requiring internet connectivity.
The system addresses one of the most significant challenges facing India’s CBDC rollout: enabling digital rupee transactions in remote and low-connectivity areas while preventing double spending during offline transfers.
Problem Statement 3: Enhancing Trust (Runner-up: Team Fraud Lens)
In the Enhancing Trust category, Team Fraud Lens developed an AI platform called “FraudLens” that assesses transactions in real time, flags risks, and enables institutions to block, approve, or step up authentication. The platform demonstrates how AI-based risk scoring can protect the Indian banking ecosystem from evolving cyber threats and digital fraud.
Best All-Women Team (Winner: Team NIDAAN, Bank of Baroda)
An all-women team from Bank of Baroda took home the Best All-Women Team prize for their solution “NIDAAN,” an AI-powered grievance redressal platform that supports Indian Sign Language and multilingual voice interfaces for users with low digital literacy, elderly citizens, and Divyang populations.
This marked a historic first for the hackathon series, as it was the first time a bank directly participated in the RBI HaRBInger event.
Runner-up: Decentralised Identity (IDfy)
IDfy’s solution “Kavach” secured the runner-up position. The platform allows users to store verified credentials on their own devices rather than on a centralised database, enabling decentralised identity management.
Runner-up: Terminal-Assisted CBDC (Bank of Baroda)
A second team from Bank of Baroda’s Research and Innovation Centre secured the runner-up position in the Offline CBDC category with a solution that leverages existing ATMs and POS machines to help citizens without personal smartphones use digital currency.
According to the Reserve Bank of India’s official press release dated October 23, 2025 (Press Release No. 2025–2026/1369), signed by Chief General Manager Brij Raj, the prize structure for HaRBInger 2025 is as follows:
- Winner of each problem statement: ₹40 lakh
- Runner-up of each problem statement: ₹20 lakh
- Best All-Women Team (across all three problem statements): ₹20 lakh
- Stipend for each shortlisted team for prototype development: ₹5 lakh
Why this matters for India’s digital finance landscape
The results carry direct significance for the trajectory of India’s digital finance infrastructure. The winning solutions address three operational bottlenecks that the RBI has been actively working to resolve:
First, Tokenised KYC is a response to the repeated data-sharing problem in Indian banking, where customers are required to submit identity documents every time they open a new account or onboard with a financial service provider. A reusable token-based KYC system could reduce onboarding friction significantly while minimising data exposure risks.
Second, the Offline CBDC solutions directly address the digital rupee’s biggest adoption challenge. India’s e₹ was launched in December 2022 and currently has approximately 7 million retail users, a figure that remains modest compared to UPI’s daily transaction volumes.
Offline functionality through Bluetooth and NFC could expand access to the digital rupee in areas where internet connectivity remains unreliable, which is critical for India’s financial inclusion goals.
Third, the Enhancing Trust category speaks to the growing threat of digital fraud in India. According to available data, digital frauds resulted in losses exceeding ₹14,000 crore in 2024 alone. AI-driven fraud detection tools like FraudLens represent the kind of real-time intervention that the Indian banking system needs to scale digital transactions safely.
The hackathon also served as a testing ground for the RBI’s broader CBDC strategy at a time when India holds the 2026 BRICS presidency and has proposed linking CBDCs of BRICS member nations for faster cross-border settlements.
Background: The HaRBInger Series
The HaRBInger hackathon series (the name derives from “Harbinger,” meaning a forerunner of change) was first launched by the RBI in 2021 as a platform to promote technology-driven financial innovation. Past editions have focused on themes such as digital payments, regtech, and financial inclusion, with prototype solutions from previous hackathons being integrated into the national financial landscape. The 2024 edition (third edition) received 70 entries, out of which 28 teams developed prototypes.
The 2025 edition represents a significant scale-up, with participation growing from 70 teams to 496 teams, and the geographical spread expanding to 15 countries. The hackathon was open to individuals, startups, fintech firms, and academic institutions worldwide.
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