Who it is for
- Early-stage fintech founders, developer-led teams, social entrepreneurs, and builders
- Teams working on payments, wallets, remittances, savings, or merchant tools
Open Payments Accelerator
Early-stage funding for founders building the next generation of payment tools
From Idea to Proof of Concept in Four Months
The Open Payments Accelerator supports early-stage founders and developer-led teams building digital financial services for underserved communities. Over four months, selected teams move from problem definition to a demo-ready proof of concept, with funding, mentorship, and peer learning built in throughout.
The program is built for innovators with a clear problem to solve, a target community in mind, and technical capacity on the team. Solutions should use Interledger intentionally, not as an afterthought.
Open Payments is the open standard that allows developers to build payment capabilities into their apps without needing custom integrations for every bank, wallet, or mobile money provider. It's part of the Interledger technology stack, and anyone can build on it.
At a Glance
What it supports
- Moving from problem definition to a demo-ready proof of concept
- Focus on interoperable financial services for underserved communities
How it works
- $50,000 in funding.
- Four months of structured mentorship, workshops, and cohort learning.
- Program runs August to November 2026
- Applications are now closed for 2026
What Grantees Get
- $50,000 in funding
- Four months to build a proof of concept with structured support
- Technical workshops and mentorship throughout the program
- Cohort learning and access to the Interledger ecosystem
- Opportunity to showcase proof of concept at the virtual Demo Day in November
- Selected teams receive additional funding and the opportunity to present at the Interledger Summit
What We’re Looking for
Strong proposals start with a real problem that a specific community is experiencing today and a team that understands that community directly. Beyond that, we look for technical capacity to build toward a proof of concept in four months, intentional use of Interledger or Open Payments, and at least early evidence that the solution is grounded in real user needs. We do not expect teams to have everything figured out, and indeed this program is designed to help you develop and refine. What we need to see is a genuine problem, a strong team, and a credible direction.
How to Apply
The application period is now closed. The Program Resource Kit remains available for reference and includes templates, application guidance, and key program information.
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Open Payments Accelerator FAQs
All you need to know about the Open Payments Accelerator grant.
Although applications for this grant are currently closed, these FAQs still cover all the essentials should you be interested in a future round of funding.
Who Should Apply
The program is built for early-stage innovators with a clear problem, a target community in mind, and technical ability on the team.
- Fintech founders
- Developer-led teams
- Social entrepreneurs, NGOs, and community initiatives (with co-founding tech/CTO member)
- Builders exploring payments, wallets, remittances, savings, or merchant tools
Priority Areas
Solutions should use Interledger intentionally, not as an afterthought. We’re especially interested in solutions that explore:
- Interoperable payments and wallets
- Domestic or cross-border remittances
- Merchant and informal economy payments
- Low-cost financial access for underserved users
- Open, ethical, and inclusive financial infrastructure
What is the expected timeline of the grant?
- August - Onboarding and Design: Problem validation, initial technical design, and mentor matching.
- September - PoC Development: Teams build PoC with ongoing mentorship and peer learning.
- October - Refinement: Continued mentorship to strengthen solutions and sustainable business models.
- November - Demo Prep & Execution: Pitch preparation and continued mentorship, virtual Demo Day presentations.
The Accelerator culminates in a competitive Virtual Demo Day in November, where teams will pitch for the opportunity to present their Proof of Concept (PoC) at the next Interledger Summit. Selected teams will also receive additional funding to support their preparation for the Summit and ensure their PoC is fully refined and demo-ready for presentation.
How to Apply
Applications are currently closed for the Open Payments Accelerator. Please subscribe to our Grant alerts to learn when we re-open this grant.
Our Approach to Grantmaking
Check out our Grantmaking FAQs to know our approach and expectations across all our grants. For additional clarification, reach out to programteam@interledger.org.