Addressing tomorrow’s pressing challenges, today: Operational Resilience Innovation Call launches

“We expect to be able to withdraw cash from the cash machine. We expect to be able to see that our salaries have hit our bank account – to have things available in the palm of our hands.”

But what happens when known or unknown threats – such as wars, climate change or cyber attacks – challenge the delivery of our financial services?

That is why Operational Resilience continues to be a top regulatory priority for the financial and professional services sector.

It’s also why the subject is the focus of Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL)’s most recent Innovation Call, launched last month. Bringing together leading minds from across the fintech and financial services sectors, regulators and academia, we are tackling some of the most pressing challenges to create solutions for the future.

Pioneering solutions for customers and financial services

“It’s about getting ahead of the game. The big thing about operational resilience is that it asks organisations to think beyond what they’ve experienced before and try to design for how they might respond to scenarios that they haven’t already planned for.”

Rob Mossop, Chief Operating Officer, Sword Group

This Innovation Call sees 15 cutting-edge fintech businesses selected to collaborate directly with leading financial institutions, professional services firms, and academics to design practical solutions that build resilience across the sector.

“It’s about partnering and working closely together to develop outcomes and solutions that work for the best for those banks or investment managers.”

Simba Mamboininga, CEO and founder of Devlin Mambo

This is our fifth Innovation Call and will address challenges affecting the sector including:

• strengthening supply chain monitoring
• improving data quality
• addressing cross-border compliance
• advancing scenario planning
• fostering resilient cultures
• managing risks across cloud and hybrid environments.

“Creating those solutions, bringing deep knowledge and pouring thinking into products and services which can help firms deal with issues around resilience.”

Shriparna Kosh, partner at EY.

Launch and Next Steps

The programme officially launched on 26 August at Sword’s Glasgow offices, where the fintechs met with industry leaders and academic experts to kick-start their collaborative journeys.

View the kick‑off event brochure.

Watch the recording from the day below.

Over the coming weeks, participants will take part in workshops and deep dive insight sessions designed to refine their solutions and align them with real-world industry needs. The most promising ideas may also receive grants of up to £50,000 to accelerate development.

Who is involved?

The Operational Resilience Call is hosted by the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab in partnership with SuperTech West Midlands.

We are proud to be working with 12 strategic partners – Sword Group, Tesco Bank, Unity Trust Bank, EY, Aberdeen, Morgan Stanley, Pinsent Masons, Dudley Building Society, Tipton Building Society, KPMG, M&G, and NatWest – alongside academic partners at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow. Their combined expertise ensures that innovation is rooted in both cutting-edge research and real-world regulatory priorities.

“I really relished the opportunity to work alongside industry partners in FRIL, because there was this opportunity to take real life use cases and put academic research around them.”

Steve Owens, Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the University of Strathclyde.

Our 15 successful Fintechs include:

• Argus Pro: Aegis 9™ and NexEdge™ use AI to assess compliance frameworks and detect regulatory gaps.
• Blankstate: Its Consensus AI model and Intention Blended Framework (IBF) reimagine operational excellence by understanding intent, nuance, and context.
• BR-DGE: An independent payments technology hub that boosts resilience by giving merchants and institutions more control over global payment connections.
• Continuity2: A trusted resilience partner for over 20 years, providing SaaS software for business continuity and operational resilience.
• Devlin Mambo: Scalable software that automates supplier governance, compliance monitoring, and reporting.
• DORA.report: A platform built to help firms and providers meet EU DORA reporting obligations.
• FinTrack & FinPay: Secure cash logistics and a unified resilience platform for crisis simulations, dependency mapping, and regulator-ready evidence.
• HAELO: IO® uses AI to map requirements to obligations and controls, helping firms simulate and act on operational risks.
• ICEFLO: A ServiceNow-native runbook management platform for rehearsing and executing complex recovery scenarios.
• Ionburst: Unified secure hybrid-Cloud solutions that deliver compliance-ready, auditable data protection
• Jellifysh: Application security platform tackling software supply chain vulnerabilities.
• Lupovis: Real-time cyber threat intelligence powered by network decoys.
• Profylr: Information Genetics® engine that connects regulatory requirements to data, creating transparent compliance blueprints.
• SENGUARD: Shifts resilience strategies from reactive to preventive with threat intelligence.
• TEXpert AI: GenAI-powered risk extraction from unstructured data to surface hidden risks in portfolios and supply chains.
  

What next?

If you’ve liked what you’ve read, follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates. For more information about getting involved in future innovation calls, email FRIL@fintechscotland.com