The Money Awards Entry Guide
Your Overview Of The Entry Process
Welcome
Welcome to this step-by-step overview to entering The Money Awards.
Money20/20 is the world’s most influential fintech platform, where leaders, innovators, and disruptors converge to shape the future of finance.
The Money Awards will set the global standard for excellence in Financial Services and Technology, spotlighting the companies driving transformative change by pushing the limits of technology and business models to redefine the future of money.
Winning a Trophy for The Money Awards gives you global recognition and this guide will explain, step-by-step how to make the most out of the entry process, to give you the best chance for success.
It covers everything you’ll need to know at each stage of your entry journey. From how to select the most appropriate categories for your work, to guidance on how to craft your entry, right through to what happens once you’ve submitted your work.
And if you still have questions or can’t find what you’re looking for, our Awards team is on hand to help.
Where To Start
The Money Awards recognize and celebrate the most innovative, impactful, and disruptive companies across the Financial Services and Technology ecosystem. But before the Jury begins their deliberation, there’s plenty to prepare. Having an excellent idea is just one part of the process. To give it the best chance for success there are some key things you need to keep in mind.
Important Dates
April 15: Open for entries June 24: First fee increase July 15: Second fee increase July 29: Final Deadline
Eligibility period: Monday, January 1, 2024 - Monday, June 30, 2025
Is Your Work Eligible?
The first step in the entry journey is determining if your work is eligible, and if so, which Awards and categories best suit it.
We’ve summarised the main rules to help you figure out if your work is eligible for entry. Use this as a starting point, not a substitute. And once you’ve got an idea of where you want to enter, always check the full terms and conditions to make sure you’ve understood the rules.
- The Entry has been submitted exactly as launched or released and has not been modified for entry into the The Money Awards.
- The Entry is not speculative or conceptual and has not been banned or withdrawn from the market at any time.
- A duly authorised senior officer (CFO, CEO or Chairperson) from the Entrant has given permission for the work to be entered.
- There is no reference to your Company or any contributing Companies in any materials (except in the case of self-promotion or if the reference existed in the original execution).
- The entry can be understood in English and all supporting digital content is subtitled in English.
- You understand that if you withdraw your entry after 24 June 2025, you will not receive a refund. Please see Part A of the Rules for more information on cancellations, refunds and withdrawals.
- All supporting content and materials are correct and final versions. We shall not permit any changes once your Entry has been submitted.
- Prior to the Entry being submitted, you have obtained all relevant rights and consents required to allow us, and any third parties authorised by us, to use the Entry Materials
- By submitting an entry you agree to pay the relevant entry fee.
- If any Artificial Intelligence tool has been used in the work or the entry materials, this must be referenced in the relevant part of the written submission and you must indicate that an AI tool has been used and for what purpose.
If you’re unable to meet all the requirements on this list, your entry may be ineligible for The Money Awards. Failure to meet all these requirements could see your entry being disqualified or withdrawn without a refund.
Where Is Your Work Eligible?
Once you’ve made sure your work meets all the necessary eligibility requirements, it’s time to identify which Award or Awards best suit your work. For this, reference The Money Awards Rulebook. There, you’ll find a breakdown of the categories, including their material requirements.
Navigate Your Way Through This Guide By Considering Two Questions:
- What key elements do you focus on when describing your work? Has this work disrupted the market? If so, what made it so successful? Was it the customer experience, the product delivery or maybe it was the research and insights that shaped the concept? Identifying the root of your work will allow you to match it with the most appropriate Award.
- What was the objective? What were you trying to achieve? Was there a particular element that really helped to deliver on that objective? Identifying the intention behind your work will help you when it comes to category selection.
The Money Awards Rulebook
How To Submit
Step-by-step
The first step should always be checking the eligibility of your work and the dates and fees.
Once you’ve checked to make sure your work is eligible, download both sections of The Money Awards Rulebook to see all the rules and requirements.
Once you’ve got to grips with the Awards you want to enter, log into the Awards portal and follow the instructions to create an entry. (This will open on April 15)
If you have any questions at this point, head over to the Help page on the portal or our FAQ page on the website. If you can’t find the answers you’re looking for, get in touch with awards@money2020.com
Entry Fees
Award
Fee until June 24
Fee after June 24
Fee after July 15
Diamond
$2,499
$2,599
$2,659
Banking
$899
$999
$1,059
Payments
$899
$999
$1,059
Partnership
$899
$999
$1,059
Startup
$699
$799
$859
Last Minute Checks
Use this checkout checklist to ensure you’ve completed everything correctly:
- Have you double checked your work meets the eligibility criteria detailed in The Money Awards Rulebook?
- Have you made sure you’ve got permission from the right people to enter the Work?
- Have you made sure you’re entering your work exactly as it released?
- Have you got the rights to all the assets you’re submitting with your Entry?
- Have you made sure not to reference the contributing companies in the written submission, as well as in any of the digital assets or physical materials?
- Have you asked a fresh pair of eyes to sense and spell check your entry?
- Are you completely satisfied with the final version? Remember, once you checkout you can’t make any more changes.
How To Craft Your Entry
Once you feel confident with your category selection, it’s time to think about how best to tell your story. Allowing yourself enough time to do this thoroughly gives you the best chance of success.
Written Submission
The written explanation is a compulsory element for every Award. It serves as an opportunity for you to tell the Jurors everything they need to know about your work, from the idea, strategy and execution, right through to the results.
Each question has been specifically designed to help you showcase your work, so make sure you take full advantage of each one and answer with as much relevant detail as possible. If you’re entering your work across multiple Awards, resist the temptation to copy and paste your answers. Tailoring them for each entry, within the context of that Award and category, will make it easier for the Jury to understand why your work deserves to win there.
The first thing the Jury looks for when distinguishing between shortlisted pieces and winners is how the objective links to the impact and results. If your objective is to drive sales but your results focus on visits to your app, the Jury will notice this disconnect. They’re industry experts, so think carefully about what they would view as a metric of success.
It’s also important to remember that most of the Jury won’t be from your market. This is where the cultural context question comes into play. Use it to provide insight into why your work is relevant for this particular brand, at this particular moment, in this particular market. Help them understand why this work pushed the boundaries of what great is for the audience in the market where it ran. There is also an opportunity to provide context for any regulatory or compliance factors that may have influenced your work.
So, to summarise:
- Make the most of every question
- Link your objective to your outcome
- Include relevant results and provide cultural context and regulation and compliance information.
Supporting Materials
The supporting materials are some of the most important elements of your entry. They are what the Jury examine, watch and read during their decision-making. Some elements are mandatory, others recommended or optional. Below is an overview of the entry requirements – please see the The Money Awards Rulebook for the full list, plus formatting guidelines.
Regardless of the Award you’re entering, some general rules to remember are:
- All video content and supporting visuals must be in English.
- Work that was not originally published in English can be translated or subtitled exactly as it was released so that it can be understood in English by the Jury.
- If translating original video work, please note that dubbing is not allowed. Voiceovers can be translated, but visible speech must be kept in the original language and subtitled.
- Supporting materials must not contain any reference to any contributing companies or individuals.
Presentation Image
The presentation image is compulsory across the Awards. This is a visual presentation of your work, including images and English text, concisely summarising the idea, execution and results. It is often referenced by Jurors and should provide an engaging, easy-to-digest overview of the work.
Demo Film & Client Testimonial Video
The demo film or the client testimonial video is not mandatory for the Awards but is often a highly recommended addition to your submission. Any of these digital materials gives you an opportunity to introduce and explain your work. It’s often the first thing the Jury sees, so include your cultural context, reference your original objective and final outcome and keep it under 2 minutes.
Awards Team
If you have any questions about the entry process, from category selection to eligibility, or just the process in general, our team is here to help.
What Happens Next?
Judging
After you check out your entry, each piece of work is reviewed multiple times by our Awards team before it gets to the Jury. If there are any issues, a member of the team will be in touch. If you don’t hear from us, it means you’re all set and your work has progressed through to the judging stages.
1. First stage Jurors consider and score each entry on a scale of one to nine based on whether they consider it a shortlist candidate. The Jury will then review and finalise this proposed shortlist.
2. Second stage
Guided by the Jury President, the Jury reviews and debates entries in the shortlist before voting on whether they consider each a Gold, Silver or Bronze winner, or if it is a Shortlist only. It takes a two-thirds majority vote to claim a trophy.
3. After voting
After voting, results are read out and Juries confirm the decisions. Candidates for Grand Prix, selected from Gold winners, are also identified and further discussion follows before the final vote to determine the Grand Prix winner.
Clarification about your entry
Our team will use the entry contact you’ve provided if the Jury needs any clarification about your entry.
Shortlists
What happens if you’ve been shortlisted? Shortlists are decided in the first round of judging. If you make the shortlist, our team will let you know via email and provide assets that you can use to celebrate your success on social media.
Winners
If your work has been selected as a winner for a Gold Award or a Grand Prix, our team will get in touch with you via phone or email. We’ll send you details about where to go and when.
Please remember that we’re sharing this information under embargo so that you can make sure the right people are at the venue to accept the Award. This means that the news cannot be shared externally until we announce it onstage.
How can we make the most of our win?
Celebrate on social media! We’ll share assets that you can use to share across Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.
What happens if I’ve won but didn’t plan to attend the Money20/20 Show?
If you’re not in Las Vegas to collect your Award onstage, please let the Awards team know as early as possible and we’ll help you identify someone to accept on your behalf.
Contact Us
Our dedicated Awards team is on hand year-round to support you with your entry journey. Our Awards experts can help you formulate your entry plan by:
- talking through your work and suggesting relevant categories
- sharing tips about how to craft your entry
- scheduling regular catch-ups to answer any questions you have throughout the entry process.
These services are complementary to make your entry experience as smooth and straightforward as possible. Contact us at awards@money2020.com