Stevens’ CRAFT Center Welcomes BNY as a New Associate Member, Strengthening the Transformative Power of Financial Technologies
This exciting membership addition is part of CRAFT's continued growth over 2024, with several top financial institutions signing on to collaborate with the industry-university cooperative
Hoboken, N.J., February 4, 2025 – The Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT) at Stevens Institute of Technology is pleased to announce that the Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BNY) has joined as the latest associate member, deepening its partnership with the fintech-focused research center.
This exciting membership addition is part of CRAFT's continued growth over 2024, with several top financial institutions signing on to collaborate with the industry-university cooperative. In addition to BNY, CRAFT's membership now includes Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Park Avenue Finance, SWIFT, CME, Vanguard Group and Wells Fargo, among others.
As an organization, CRAFT advocates for a holistic approach to fintech innovation by integrating societal values into its initiatives. "CRAFT's expanding membership is a testament to the value our center provides in driving fintech innovation and addressing real-world challenges in the financial sector," said George Calhoun, Stevens School of Business Professor and Director of The Hanlon Financial Systems Center.
"We're thrilled to welcome Bank of New York and our other new members as we continue growing this unique collaborative platform," said Steve Yang, CRAFT Director.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, CRAFT convenes industry leaders and engaged students to explore the transformative potential of financial technologies. At the center's meeting in October 2024, members contributed to closed-door and open sessions on topics like sentient investment systems and AI-powered financial management.
“Joining CRAFT allows BNY to deepen our relationship with academic institutions, like Stevens, who are leading research in the area of financial technology,” said John Bagni, Chair of BNY’s New Product Committee. “We look forward to actively participating in CRAFT’s research initiatives and unlocking opportunities to be more for clients and lead the industry in innovation.”
Additionally, two more organizations recently solidified their memberships with CRAFT: United Nations Association of El Salvador (UNASV) and The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development (OPAD) at the United Nations. Formal announcements will be made at a February 2025 event at the United Nations. CRAFT will participate in the United Nations’ “Knowledge Innovation Summit” in spring 2026. CRAFT has also partnered with the Colorado-Wyoming (CO-WY) Climate Resilience Engine to better leverage financial technology in supporting climate resilience efforts. With the addition of BNY and other new members over the past year, CRAFT is poised for continued growth and impact in 2025 and beyond.
About CRAFT (Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies)
CRAFT is the first fintech-focused industry-university Cooperative Research center funded by the National Science Foundation. CRAFT’s founding universities – Stevens Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – are premier science and engineering institutions, long-established and experienced in research programs, with a complete portfolio of relevant scientific disciplines appropriate for the fintech focus. Led by these institutions, CRAFT is dedicated to advancing research and innovation in financial technologies to address contemporary challenges in the finance sector.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a premier, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey, overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Since our founding in 1870, technological innovation and entrepreneurship have been the hallmark of Stevens’ education and research. Within the university’s schools, Stevens prepares its more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students for an increasingly complex and technology-centric world. Our exceptional students collaborate closely with world-class faculty in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment, readying them to fuel the innovation economy. Academic and research programs spanning finance, computing, engineering and the arts expand the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront the most challenging problems of our time. Stevens is consistently ranked among the nation’s leaders in ROI and career services and is in the top 1% nationally of colleges with the highest-paid graduates.
About BNY
BNY is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Headquartered in New York City, it is a global financial services company that helps clients and institutions accomplish their financial goals. BNY supports governments in funding local projects and aids more than 90 percent of Fortune 100 companies to access the money they need. As of September 2024, BNY oversees $52.1 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.1 trillion in assets under management.
Stevens Media Contact
Kara Panzer
Director of Public and Media Relations
Division of University Relations
845-475-4594
[email protected]