How Mastercard Uses Hackathons to Fuel Innovation and Organize a Hackathon that Drives Results
Mastercard isn’t just a global payments leader—they’re also a model for what’s possible when innovation becomes part of a company’s DNA. At the heart of this innovative culture are hackathons, which are more than high-energy competitions. These events have become a central tool for Mastercard to organize a hackathon, generate groundbreaking ideas, and empower both employees and partners to shape the future of payments.
The Role of Hackathons in Mastercard’s Innovation Strategy
Hackathons at Mastercard do much more than deliver new products. They spark fresh ideas, energize teams, and let employees collaborate with the company’s banking partners. By opening the door to creativity, these events continue to motivate employees and push the business forward in the rapidly changing payments industry.
Why organize a hackathon at Mastercard? Because it's a proven way to:
- Build great new products and services
- Keep employees engaged and inspired
- Deepen partnerships by joining forces with banks and tech experts
- Keep the company agile and future-ready
This isn’t a once-a-year celebration. Mastercard has baked hackathons into its culture. Employees are encouraged to think in this way every day, seeing challenges as opportunities to innovate. Hackathons aren’t just a fun break; they’re part of how Mastercard works, from brainstorming to launching finished products.
Mastercard runs two main innovation programs:
- Traditional Hackathons: These run for a fixed period (like 24 to 48 hours), challenging teams to produce creative solutions fast.
- Idea Box: A monthly, lower-intensity program that encourages continuous idea generation and development.
By keeping these programs on a regular schedule, Mastercard ensures its teams always have a platform to explore bold concepts.
For more advice on planning similar events, check out this hackathon organization guide for tips and proven steps for organizing a hackathon.
The Idea Box: A Continuous Innovation Engine
The Idea Box isn’t your typical hackathon—it’s a rolling, monthly event that gives employees the freedom to move from brainstorming to building, even outside the rush of a big competition. This constant cycle of idea sharing means innovation becomes second nature at Mastercard.
What makes the Idea Box unique?
- It’s less intense than a traditional hackathon, making it more accessible.
- Employees can create and grow their ideas over time, rather than all at once.
- The program supports ideas that might need more time to develop or test before becoming a business case.
Ideas from the Idea Box don’t just sit in a folder. Mastercard nurtures the most promising ones, letting employees progress their concepts through multiple stages. Sometimes, employees are “pulled out of their day to day roles” to become the champions of these new ventures.
Imagine you’re an employee who pitches a powerful concept during an Idea Box session. Instead of returning to your usual job, you’re asked to take the lead on building out your idea—effectively launching a mini business within Mastercard.
This approach does two things:
- Boosts motivation, giving employees ownership of what they create
- Feeds Mastercard’s need for a steady pipeline of fresh products and services
It’s a win-win that keeps the company agile and its workforce engaged.
Beyond the Hackathon: Developing Ideas Into Products and Businesses
At Mastercard, hackathons are just the starting line.
Ideas that surface from hackathons or the Idea Box don’t fade away after the excitement ends. Mastercard actively invests in developing the “best ideas that come out,” turning them into viable products or solutions that benefit customers and the business alike.
Employees who pitch standout ideas often go through these steps:
- Pitch: Present the idea at a hackathon or Idea Box event.
- Selection: Mastercard’s innovation leaders review and choose the most promising concepts.
- Incubation: The creator may be removed from their regular duties to focus full time on developing the concept.
- Business Development: The idea progresses with help from internal mentors and resources, becoming a mini business.
- Launch: A new product or feature enters the market, driving Mastercard’s growth.
This step-by-step approach creates a true culture of intrapreneurship. Mastercard doesn’t just encourage its people to think big—they give them the tools and support to make ideas a reality.
Over time, these initiatives have led to meaningful business outcomes. Not only does Mastercard keep its innovation pipeline full, but it also sees benefits on the bottom line when employee-led projects become core offerings.
The Power of Partner APIs and Collaboration
Partner APIs form a crucial link in Mastercard's approach to organizing hackathons. By opening up their API ecosystem and bringing in technology from a range of partners, Mastercard encourages teams to experiment with “mash-up” solutions that combine different platforms and services.
What does this mean in practice?
- Teams use a mix of Mastercard’s APIs and partner APIs to create new applications.
- The variety encourages out-of-the-box thinking and leads to unexpected, often more impactful results.
- These collaborations often result in innovations that would have been impossible if teams worked in isolation.
Here’s why partner APIs matter for your next hackathon:
Key Takeaway Bringing in diverse partner APIs enables richer, more creative solutions—and that creativity can directly boost your company’s bottom line.
To discover how other organizations use APIs in collaborative innovation, check out these hackathon event details.
Hackathons as a Tool for Agile Work Culture
Hackathons help Mastercard keep an agile, adaptable culture. By encouraging employees to try new things and act fast, they help ideas move quickly from theory to reality.
Teams can validate concepts within days rather than months, building a habit of constant improvement.
Both traditional high-intensity hackathons and the steady drumbeat of the Idea Box serve different but complementary purposes. Here’s a quick comparison:
For a deeper dive into how hackathons help build agile workplaces, see this recent post: Achieving an Agile Work Culture Through Hackathons.
If you’re looking to organize a hackathon that truly brings out the best in your team, consider the role that both traditional and ongoing formats can play. If you need help designing an event for your organization, explore the ways you can benefit from an internal hackathon.
Conclusion
Mastercard’s experience shows that organizing a hackathon is about more than just a quick sprint—it’s about building a culture where experimentation, collaboration, and ownership thrive. Regular events like traditional hackathons and the Idea Box ensure that innovation happens all year long, not just during big events. Allowing ideas to develop into real businesses, and empowering employees to lead these ventures, has become a cornerstone of Mastercard’s strategy.
If you want to organize a hackathon that creates the same culture of growth and engagement, start with a proven plan. With the right structure and resources, your team can build solutions that make a real difference for your business.
Ready to plan your own innovation event? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to organize a hackathon.
For more inspiration, discover how top companies use hackathons to drive digital transformation and find out about upcoming opportunities at Hackathon.com.
Every hackathon is the start of something bigger—yours could be next.
