Summarizing everything we experienced in Mexico sounds impossible, and perhaps it is. September was a marathon of hackathons, events, and milestones, in which every city in Mexico reminded us of our purpose.

Our commitment to Mexico begins with Interledger's Student Hackathons, which we hosted at four university campuses, but the scope of the events exceeded all expectations. From Oaxaca to Aguascalientes, passing through the State of Mexico and Mexico City, more than 40 technical and university institutions joined the conversation about open finance, interoperability, and technology with a social purpose. And that was just the beginning.

The dates and host universities were:

• Sept. September 11-12 - Oaxaca UABJO - Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca.
• September 17 & 18 - State of Mexico UMB - Mexiquense Bicentennial University.
• September 19 & 20 - Aguascalientes UVM - Campus Aguascalientes.
• September 22 & 23 - CDMX ESCOM - National Polytechnic School of Computing.

But our commitment to Mexico went beyond hackathons. During September, the Interledger Foundation also:

• Present at FinnoSummit, the largest fintech event in Latin America.
• Celebrated the premiere of "The People's Code," a documentary that captures the stories behind innovation and financial inclusion.
• Published the study "Financial Interoperability in Latin America," which analyzes the challenges and opportunities of connecting digital economies in the region.
• And launched the academic paper "The Missing Link: Remittances and Socially Trustworthy Financial Intermediation as Key Elements to Combat the Root Causes of Migration," a key contribution to the debate on the social impact of open finance.

A month of hackathons, ideas, and transformative connections. It all started in Oaxaca; the Interledger team traveled from around the world to support the students. We extend our deep gratitude to the educational institutions that participated in each of the events we held in Mexico in September. Thank you for joining Interledger!

First Interledger Student Hackathon - Oaxaca

For 24 hours, the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca (UABJO) became the epicenter of technological innovation and student talent in southern Mexico. More than 160 students from nine higher education institutions participated in the Interledger Oaxaca 2025 Student Hackathon, an event that marks the beginning of a new era for digital education and open finance in the country.

The hackathon had a clear purpose: to invite undergraduate and graduate students to imagine solutions that improve digital finance through Interledger's Open Payments API, from new forms of monetization to models that facilitate remittances and cross-border payments.

Oaxaca's participation included students from the Central Valleys Institute of Technology, the Technological Institute of the Valley of Oaxaca, the University of the Southern Sierra, the Mesoamerican University, the Technological University of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, the Technological University of the Mixteca, La Salle Oaxaca University, and the Higher Technological Institute of San Miguel el Grande, along with more than 60 students and 10 teachers from the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Systems and Technological Innovation at UABJO.

During the event, many students brought their diplomas from Platzi's “Open Payments with Interledger” course to be signed by their professor, Marian Villa, DevRel at Interledger. This simple yet powerful gesture reflected their pride in learning and belonging to a global community that promotes open knowledge.

Participating teams:

Code Spartans • KOD • DarkDev • AlumnITOs • MxLIARCDevs • Teitibois • Los VibeCoders • TechUnity • C+Turbo • CodeX • NovaArch • Las Cookies • BinaryCoders

Winners:

🥇 1st place: Los VibeCoders
🥈 2nd place: Teitibois
🥉 3rd place: TechUnity / Bidoop

Each team presented ideas that combined creativity, social impact, and the potential for financial interoperability.

Second Interledger Student Hackathon - EdoMex

The call for participants in the State of Mexico exceeded all expectations, bringing together students from 11 university campuses in the Bicentennial State Universities Network (UES). Teams developed solutions that responded to real challenges: smart transportation, digital payments for artisans, support for content creators, and platforms for financial education.

“Technology is the bridge that connects creativity with opportunity. And in this hackathon, we saw that bridge come to life.” - Marian Villa.

Participating teams:

PaDuki • CashCoders • Los Cuatro Fantásticos (NEXO-PAY “NEXUS”) • NEXORA (SchoolWallet) • IXTLAHUACA1 (“Digital Marketplace for Content Creators”) • BlackLight • Kaizen Code (Kaizen App) • ByteStorm (CodeMoney) • FourXPay • Alianza JAFAZ

After an intense round of presentations and final pitches, the jury recognized the teams that best integrated creativity, viability, and social impact. It is worth noting that this was the edition in which the teams spent the night on the educational campus, completing the 24 hours on-site.

Winning projects:

🥇 1st place: Alianza JAFAZ – University transportation system with digital payments.
🥈 2nd place: PaDuki – Accessible and scalable payment platform.
🥉 3rd place: Kaizen App – Educational solution with digital rewards.
🏅 Special mention: FourXPay – Secure payments for local artisans through Interledger.

Each participating student not only learned about open finance but also became an ambassador for interoperability and technology with social impact.

Third Interledger Student Hackathon - Aguascalientes

On September 19 and 20, the facilities of the Universidad del Valle de México (UVM), Aguascalientes Campus, became an epicenter of creativity and collaboration, bringing together dozens of engineering, technology, and finance students from across the state.

The atmosphere in the classroom was one of enthusiasm and concentration: students programming, brainstorming, and collaborating to turn their proposals into functional products.

Participating teams:

Syntax Babies • Z-Index-Warriors • Paranoid.js • Qrancheros • Venadotech • Error404 • Tu Tía Dev • Squad.py • Syntax_Error • Open Flow • Hubbers • Cryptex • Los TernurITA • I.W.D.M • IceSCream

🏆 Winning projects

🥇 1st place: Qrancheros – Ocelon — Solution for interoperable payments in local markets.
🥈 2nd place: Hubbers – InterPyme — Platform to connect SMEs with open payment systems.
🥉 3rd place: Tu Tía Dev – YaYaApp — Financial and educational support app for families.
🏅 Special mention: Squad.py – OpenBus — Smart transportation system with digital payments.

Beyond the code, this event left behind networks, friendships, and a shared vision: that of a future where finance is genuinely open, fair, and accessible to all.

Fourth Interledger Student Hackathon - Mexico City

Mexico City was the grand finale of the Interledger Student Hackathon 2025 national tour, and it did so in style. On September 22 and 23, the facilities of the Escuela Superior de Cómputo (ESCOM) of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) were filled with energy, talent, and creativity, welcoming more than 200 students from various universities across the country.

The finalist teams presented ideas focused on tourism, transportation, education, and interoperable financial solutions.

CDMX Hackathon Winners:

🥇 1st place: Easy Tourism — Accessible tourism platform with digital payments.
🥈 2nd place: RoomiePay — Collaborative payment system for shared housing.
🥉 3rd place: Mifos — Open microfinance solution.
🏅 Special mention: Nexus Pay — Agile payments with interoperability between wallets.

The group photos in front of the huge #ESCOM letters and the Mexican flag became the perfect symbol of the spirit that guided this experience: collaboration, learning, and pride in building from Latin America.
 

Thank you, Mexico 🇲🇽!

More than 40 universities and over 500 students took part in this journey through innovation.

From Oaxaca to Mexico City, every conversation, every line of code, and every signed diploma reminded us of something essential:
The future of open payments and interoperability in Latin America is already underway, and Mexico is a fundamental part of that story.

Thank you to all the universities, teachers, mentors, and students who made this event possible, joining the Interledger innovation network and connecting young talent with opportunities in the global digital economy.