— FIRST PLACE

$50,000

Cash price awarded to the winning team on Demo Night.

— RUNNER UP

$25k free payment processing

Fuel your next build with $25,000 worth of payments processed through Pinch.

10 days

Build, refine and submit your working product.

Free entry

Build, refine and submit your working product.

Demo and Pitch Night in

00 Days

00 Hours

00 Minutes

00 Seconds

There's no fixed brief. Teams choose their own problem to solve, as long as the build runs on the Pinch Payments API. Every participant gets sandbox access to Pinch's card and direct debit processing, billing automation, and embedded finance tools, so the output is a working product, not a mockup.

Entrants can build solo or as a team. If you don't have one, Pinch will pair you with other applicants before the build phase starts. The event is free to enter, and there's no restriction on using AI coding tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Replit, or GitHub Copilot along the way.

— WHY ENTER

Build the future of payments

This is a chance to build something useful, get direct access to payments experts, meet other ambitious builders, and pitch your idea to people who understand startups and fintech.

Win $50,000

Put real cash behind your idea, startup or next big build.

Build with Pinch

Use Pinch's payment, billing and automation capabilities in a real sandbox environment.

Get seen

Pitch to founders, operators, investors and leaders in the startup ecosystem.

Find your people

Join developers, designers, founders and solo builders from across Australia.

— THE CHALLENGE

Build something that makes getting paid easier.

There is no fixed brief. Teams can build a standalone product, extend an existing idea, or create something completely new using Pinch Payments technology.

What if invoices paid themselves?

What if SaaS products could embed payments in a day?

What if freelancers never had to chase invoices?

What if reconciliation happened automatically?

What if marketplaces could split payments instantly?

— MENTORS AND JUDGES

Learn from industry leaders

Technical support

Pinch developers will help with API integration, architecture and troubleshooting.

Commercial support

The Founders Union mentors will support validation, product strategy and pitch prep.

Final judging

Finalists will be reviewed by experienced fintech operators, founders and investors.

— KEY DATES

Mark your calendar.

Activity	Date	Time
Community Opens	Mon 20 July	All day
Registrations Close	Wed 22 July	11:59 PM
Team Formation	Thu 23 July	All day

Activity	Date	Time
Launch Night	Fri 24 July	5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Hackathon Starts	Fri 24 July	7:00 PM
1st Submission Deadline	Sun 26 July	8:00 PM

Activity	Date	Time
Final Submission Deadline	31 July	11:59 PM
Judging Period	1-2 August	TBC
Finalists Announced	3 August	TBC

Activity	Date	Time
Pitching Preperation	4-9 August	TBC

Activity	Date	Time
Demo and Pitch Night	August 10	5:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Winners Announced	10 August	5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Some dates are still being confirmed. Early applicants will be prioritised for limited in-person hub spots.

— LOCATIONS

Join in-person or online.

MAIN HUB

Sydney

Arrayah Hacker House, 53 Wrights Rd, Drummoyne⁠

main hub

Melbourne

Tank Stream Labs, Level 5 / Room 5.02, 440 Collins St, Melbourne VIC⁠

main hub

Brisbane

The Precinct, Dimbin-Mil Seminar Room, Level 2/315 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley QLD⁠

support hub

Central Coast

Skillion Spaces, 16 Church St, Terrigal NSW 2260⁠

VIRTUAL

Remote

Participate from anywhere in Australia

— HOW IT WORKS

Five steps.
$50,000.
Simple.

Apply

Submit your application. Spots are limited across in-person hubs.

Form a team

Bring your own team or join the team formation process.

Get set up

Access onboarding, docs, support and the hackathon community.

Build

Use the 10-day sprint to create and polish a working product.

Pitch

Finalists pitch live on Demo Night for the $50,000 prize.

Connect with your Community.

— FAQs

Your questions, answered.

Who is eligible?

The hackathon is open to Australian residents who are 18 years or older at the time of registration. Australian citizens living overseas and participants based outside Australia are not eligible to win prizes. Please refer to the Terms & Conditions for the full eligibility criteria.

Do I need to be a developer?

No. The hackathon is open to developers, founders, designers, product thinkers, and anyone with an idea and the drive to build. The strongest teams often combine technical, commercial, product, and design skills.

Do I need a team?

No, you can register as an individual or with an existing team. If you're looking for teammates, we'll help connect participants before the hackathon begins.

What can I build?

The challenge follows an open brief. Build any solution that uses the Pinch Payments API to solve a real business problem. This could include billing and invoicing, subscription management, payment automation, embedded payments, marketplaces, reconciliation workflows, and more.

Can I participate remotely?

Yes! While we’d love to see you at one of our in-person hubs, remote participation is fully supported. You’ll be able to join the Launch Event and Demo Night via live stream, access all hackathon resources online, and compete on equal footing with teams attending in person.

How much does it cost?

Participation in the hackathon is completely free!

Can I use AI tools?

AI-assisted development tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Replit, and GitHub Copilot are permitted. However you build it, what matters is solving a real problem and being able to explain your solution during judging.

Who owns the intellectual property (IP)?

Your team retains ownership of everything you build during the hackathon. Organisers may request temporary access to your repository solely to verify your submission and ensure compliance with the competition rules. Ownership of your intellectual property remains with your team at all times.

For full details, please refer to the Terms & Conditions.