The Delivery and Impact of the FinTech Scotland Cluster in 2025

This report highlights the progress made across the FinTech Scotland Cluster in 2025, a year marked by continued growth and increasing global influence. The cluster has welcomed new firms, attracted higher levels of investment, and seen more businesses scale confidently and trade internationally. Scotland’s fintech SME community has matured significantly, supported by deeper partnerships across industry, academia, and the public sector — reflecting a shared commitment to collaboration as a driver of meaningful progress.

Innovation in practice has also taken a major step forward. The 10-year FinTech Research and Innovation Roadmap is now firmly embedded, with over 40% of recommended actions underway. Central to this has been the award-winning Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, which expanded its scale and earned national recognition for its collaborative, industry-led approach. In 2025, the cluster also launched its second priority innovation environment, The Centre of Excellence in Distributed Ledger Technology, focusing on digital assets, payments, and tokenisation, with digital trust at its core.

These successes reflect the collective effort and commitment across the ecosystem to drive responsible innovation and sustainable economic growth. They provide a powerful platform for the next phase. Thank you to all who have contributed — 2026 promises new opportunities, new collaborations, and continued progress for Scotland’s fintech community.

Together, these environments are enabling pioneering work and helping firms explore and commercialise technologies shaping the future of financial services. National and international engagement has matched this momentum. From strong representation at Money20/20 Europe to productive activity and engagement across North America, Canada, Hong Kong, and wider Asia, Scotland’s international presence has grown, supporting an increasing number of fintech SMEs entering global markets.

Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland, said:

“These successes reflect the collective effort and commitment across the ecosystem to drive responsible innovation and sustainable economic growth. They provide a powerful platform for the next phase. Thank you to all who have contributed—2026 promises new opportunities, new collaborations, and continued progress for Scotland’s fintech community.”

Aleks Tomczyk, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland, said:

“As I step into the role of Chief Executive in January, I do so with genuine excitement for what lies ahead. The foundations built over the past seven years including in 2025 create a strong foundation for the next phase of growth. Scotland’s fintech community is rich with talent, ambition, creativity, and a collaborative spirit that is widely admired – including internationally. I am energised by the opportunity to contribute further to this vibrant cluster, including its innovators, current and future strategic partners, and supporters in the ecosystem. Together, we will build on the momentum already achieved and shape a successful future in which Scotland continues to lead, influence, and inspire across the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.”

Read the full Delivery and Impact Report (2025)

Amiqus announces partnership with Virgin Money to transform business banking onboarding through AI innovation

Amiqus, the compliance platform powering customer and staff onboarding at scale across regulated sectors, agrees a three-year contract with Virgin Money to deliver AI-driven automation within Virgin Money’s business banking onboarding journeys.
The partnership builds on the success of an initial 12-week pilot, which saw Amiqus reduce the time to undertake key ‘Know Your Business’ (KYB) processes to under two minutes.

The success of the pilot programme greenlights the full rollout, with Amiqus now set to be fully integrated into Virgin Money’s onboarding system in 2026 for an initial three-year period.

The collaboration will see Amiqus’ scalable technology integrated directly into Virgin Money’s system, enabling faster decision-making, improved regulatory assurance, and a simple fully digital experience for new business customers.

Facilitating faster, seamless onboarding

Virgin Money engaged Amiqus through FinTech Scotland’s Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) to solve their core challenge: how Virgin Money could use AI to strengthen quality control across digital and manual onboarding, ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations while meeting customer service objectives.

Over the initial pilot programme, Amiqus demonstrated their ability to:

Reduce KYB check turnaround times to under two minutes.
Support even stronger regulatory assurance through structured, real-time data.
Improve customer experience through faster, low-friction onboarding.
Provide scalability for deployment across wider banking operations.

Callum Murray, CEO and Founder of Amiqus, said:

“Partnering with Virgin Money over the next three years, we’ll be supporting their business banking customer onboarding to make complex decisions faster at scale whilst also improving upon their already well renowned customer and product experiences.

Thanks to the FRIL programme via FinTech Scotland, we’ve been able to demonstrate both the capability and scalability of the Amiqus platform from initial pilot into live production with Virgin Money. I expect it’s the start of a long-running relationship where we’re able to move at pace, creating positive outcomes for both their clients and internal compliance teams and we’re proud to play our part in their success.”

A scalable capability built for regulated oversight

By combining real-time data insights and automation, Amiqus gives Virgin Money instant access to company filings, shareholder information, supporting structured extraction, and analysis, delivered via Amiqus’ purpose-built API, supporting fast, accurate, and efficient decision-making.

Graeme Sands, Director of Digital Business Banking at Virgin Money, commented “Business customers want a speedy account opening process and we want the same – but that needs to be done in accordance with rules designed to prevent economic crime. It was clear when we met Amiqus they had a differentiated capability in identity checking and business verification. During the pilot we saw a significant improvement in the time to complete onboarding checks while maintaining their accuracy and that’s what made us want to deploy this for our customers.”

Long-term investment in compliance

Amiqus’ partnership with Virgin Money reflects their ongoing commitment to strengthening compliance, enhancing customer experience, and driving operational efficiency across regulated sectors at scale. By investing purposefully in secure automation workflow and integrations, Amiqus enables organisations to reduce friction for end users, streamline internal processes, and uphold the highest standards of regulatory assurance.

To learn more about how Amiqus is supporting KYB checks across regulated sectors and beyond, get in touch today.

New fintech programme aims to help Scotland’s ageing population financially prepare for later life

FinTech Scotland is aiming to help address the growing link between people’s financial situation and their health in later life with the launch of a new initiative that will accelerate innovation through the development of new research, technologies, and services.

The Finance and Health Lab will bring together financial services firms, fintechs, academia, government, health specialists and policy leaders to enhance understanding of the drivers of later life financial vulnerability and to co-design solutions that could improve the financial wellbeing and resilience of people across Scotland. The programme is being enabled by funding from the Scottish Government and delivered in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Innovations, its commercialisation service, leveraging their innovation and research networks.

By fostering collaboration amongst partner organisations, the lab will support the ideation of new ventures, prototypes, and pilot projects, strengthening Scotland’s innovation pipeline and competitiveness in the global fintech market. It will also generate research that will shape future service models, product development, and policy that support good financial and health outcomes.

Participating organisations will collaborate on solving a number of challenge areas, with end outcomes potentially including making digital financial services more accessible and supportive for older people, creating personalised tools that help individuals plan for health events in later life, and strengthening financial confidence and decision-making.

The four-month programme will include a National Conference on innovation in finance and health and calls for projects targeting high-priority issues related to later life and financial wellbeing. In addition, participants will have opportunities to showcase new prototypes, understand data, undertake research, produce policy papers, and exchange knowledge through a series of webinars, roundtables, and other platforms.

A range of studies have drawn a direct link between household wealth and the likelihood of poor health in older age. For example, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)(2023–24), 54% of women aged 55–64 in the lowest third of the UK’s wealth distribution reported at least one mobility issue, compared to just 20% in the wealthiest third.

The UK has a longstanding retirement savings gap. Office for National Statistics figures suggest the average pension wealth in the UK for people between the ages of 65 and 74 stands at just under £146,000, equivalent to just over 4.5 years of ‘comfortable’ retirement income by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Associations’ standards.

Aleks Tomczyk, Chief Executive at FinTech Scotland, said:

“The retirement savings gap is a longstanding challenge in Scotland and across the UK – and it is only going to grow in importance as more people live longer and, therefore, need more money to fund themselves in later life. The Finance and Health Lab will bring together the best minds from across different sectors to find different types of solutions – whether that is policy, research, or technology – and set out a way forward for ensuring people can have a good retirement, minimising the adverse impact that poor health or limited finances can have.”

Dr Andrea Taylor, chief executive officer at Edinburgh Innovations, added:

“Scotland is the ideal test bed for an initiative like the Finance and Health Lab, with a strong fintech ecosystem, globally recognised universities, and a thriving financial services sector. The solutions that emerge from the programme could make a significant difference to people’s lives and further cement our position as a world leader in collaboration and innovation between the public, private, and education sectors.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said:

“Scottish Government committed £5 million this financial year to support the growth of our key innovation clusters as drivers of economic development in areas with huge value potential, including fintech and life sciences. This project, as an important element of a broader suite of cluster development projects, will strengthen cross-cluster collaboration and contribute to the enhancement of innovation and economic growth of these key clusters.”

Read more about the Finance and Health Lab.

Five Fintechs Awarded £50,000 Grants to Strengthen Operational Resilience Across the UK Financial Sector

The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) is pleased to announce the five organisations selected to receive grants following its latest Innovation Call. These grants will support the development and deployment of solutions that strengthen industry resilience, operational capability, and regulatory responsiveness.

The Innovation Call, developed in collaboration with FinTech Scotland, Supertech WM, the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde concluded on the 2^nd of October at a Showcase Day.

Over a 6 week programme, innovators worked with industry leaders Sword Group, NatWest, Morgan Stanley, M&G, Pinsent Masons, Tesco Bank, Aberdeen, KPMG, EY, Dudley Building Society, Tipton & Coseley Building Society and Unity Trust Bank, to develop, refine and adapt their solutions to real industry needs.

Following the showcase Day, 5 Scottish companies were selected to receive £50,000 each to develop their solutions further. These firms will continue to work with industry partners throughout the grant period to support their development. Those firms are:

Profylr

https://www.profylr.co.uk

Profylr builds intelligent, AI-powered solutions that connect the minutiae of regulation with firms’ data, transforming compliance from reactive oversight into predictive intelligence. Powered by their Information Genetics® proprietary technology, Profylr makes compliance live, linked, and undeniable giving firms the clarity, confidence, and control regulators can trust.

Ionburst

https://ionburst.io

An intuitive, easy to use solution that secures data across Cloud and updates its security classification on demand, protecting it from threats like ransomware even when out of sight or control of its owner. Acclaimed by cybersecurity leaders as the “next essential building block in secure Cloud,” Ionburst delivers what no Cloud provider can, a unified secure Cloud.

HAELO

https://www.haelo.io

HAELO delivers automated global regulatory horizon scanning. It tracks changes across hundreds of regulators and millions of documents, distilling actionable insights, reducing manual burden, and helping firms stay ahead of regulatory changes.

Continuity2

https://continuity2.com

Continuity2 Ltd is a provider of a multi disciplined software platform for operational resilience. The platform includes business continuity, ITDR, enterprise risk and incident management.

Lupovis

https://www.lupovis.io

Lupovis delivers real-time contextual cyber security threat intelligence enabled by a deception environment, providing early identification of advanced attacks and insider threats while reducing false positives.

Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland, said:

“Operational resilience is essential for a trusted financial services industry. Through the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, we’re seeing fintech innovation directly address these priorities, shaping practical solutions that strengthen the UK’s financial infrastructure. The quality of collaboration between innovators, industry partners and regulators in this programme demonstrates the power of purposeful innovation.”

Rob Mossop, COO, Financial Services and International, Sword Group said:

“Sword is proud to have supported this innovation call and are looking forward to seeing how the successful grant recipients will develop their ideas into practical solutions. Operational resilience is a critical concern for customers across Financial Services, and it has been exciting to work with Fintech Scotland and fellow partners – both industry and academic – to see how the participating organisations have addressed critical use cases with innovative solutions and a passion for building more resilient financial infrastructure.”

Building on the success of this operational resilience programme, FRIL has now launched its next UK-wide Innovation Call focused on the future of Wealth support and advice.

Innovating firms across the UK are encouraged to apply and collaborate with industry partners to shape the future of inclusive, data-driven financial advice and guidance.

Anne Lanc – Co-Founder, Ionburst said:

“We’re delighted and honoured to be selected to receive the grant to develop our solution further. FRIL was a great opportunity for us to connect with a wide range of Financial Institutions and advisors to both understand their specific challenges, and showcase Ionburst’s cutting edge innovation in addressing a problem plaguing digital economies globally – how to secure, protect & recover data in any Cloud. FRIL was a great experience, very well run and one I’d recommend to other Fintechs with relevant solutions”

Rhona Kennedy, Head of Business Development, C2:

“FinTech Scotland’s FRIL initiative is an amazing opportunity to build solid relationships, gain feedback on products and insight into the incredible talent and ambition in the Scottish FinTech community. The funding is amazing, but it is the partnerships and support which really make this programme worthwhile.”

Mick O’Connor, Founder, HAELO:

“FRIL was a gamechanger for HAELO. To be able to attend deep dive sessions with customers and directly hear their candid experiences is commercial gold dust”

Caroline Steel, COO, Profylr:

“The FRIL challenges are instrumental to fintech growth in Scotland. The opportunity to gain further industry insight and collaborate with a strategic partner is invaluable.”

Ivan Andonovic, CSO, Lupovis:

“FRIL provides evolving companies wishing to secure market traction in the financial sector such as Lupovis with a co-development environment with end users that allows the creation of fit-for-purpose solutions that reduce the barrier to adoption.”

The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab is part of the larger Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator programme. Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects between 2022-25 to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation ecosystems – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands. The programme was boosted by an additional £30m of public funding for 2025/26 spread equally across the regions. Innovation Accelerators is piloting a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local partnerships to harness innovation to drive regional economic growth, attract private investment, and develop future technologies.

FinTech Scotland Announces Leadership Change

FinTech Scotland announces today that Nicola Anderson will be stepping down as Chief Executive at the end of 2025 to take up new senior director position with Scottish Enterprise.

Aleks Tomczyk is the new incoming Chief Executive for the cluster management body and will join with immediate effect as designate CEO, to work with Nicola over the remainder of 2025.

After five years as Chief Executive, Nicola is stepping down having made a significant impact on the growth and success of FinTech Scotland. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in leading the development of the fintech cluster, delivering substantial progress through ground-breaking research, innovation, and collaboration.

Under Nicola’s leadership, FinTech Scotland has launched and led a series of nationally and internationally recognised initiatives, including the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab and the UK’s first FinTech Research and Innovation Strategic Roadmap. These initiatives have served to strengthen the fintech opportunity in Scotland and continue to enhance its position as a leader in financial innovation.

Aleks Tomczyk takes the helm at FinTech Scotland to build on the excellent foundations now in place including a broad range of over thirty industrial and academic strategic partners, and a highly engaged fintech community of 250 plus strong entrepreneurial SMEs.

Stephen Ingledew, Chairman of Fintech Scotland, said:

“My deep heartfelt thanks to Nicola for her inspiring leadership as that has resulted in FinTech Scotland being recognised nationally and internationally as a leading cluster management organisation.

It has been a privilege to see Nicola’s visionary leadership achieve so much and Nicola will be a huge success in her new exciting role with Scottish Enterprise making a broader contribution to economic development.

As FinTech Scotland prepares for the next stage of its journey in driving economic growth through financial innovation, I am absolutely delighted that we have secured Aleks as our new Chief Executive. Aleks’ appointment comes after a detailed search process focused on what is needed for the next stage of our journey.”

Nicola Anderson said:

“It’s been a privilege to lead Fintech Scotland for the past five years and to work with so many committed and collaborative partners. We can all be proud of the fintech cluster we have collectively built and the positive impact of businesses and people in shaping the economy.

I know Aleks will be a huge success in this role and look forward to continuing to work with him.

Looking to the future I am excited by my new role which will focus on extending my experience and impact through fintech further, helping businesses across all sectors to succeed, thrive and grow.

Aleks Tomczyk said:

“I am delighted to be taking on the CEO role and building on the great work of Nicola and the team.

I am energised by the opportunity to deliver yet further for all our stakeholders. With a great academic base, an important financial services sector and ambitious growing fintechs there is much to build on and more potential that through continued collaboration can result in a positive impact on the economy.”

Catherine Martin said on behalf of University of Edinburgh:

“As a founding strategic partner, we have been delighted to be involved in the work and achievements of FinTech Scotland, and the growth in fintech over the past five years working with Nicola. We look forward to working with Aleks over the coming years.”

Jane Martin said on behalf of Scottish Enterprise:

“Nicola will bring fantastic experience of building partnerships in a key industry across industry, academia and the public sector to her new role at Scottish Enterprise to support scaling companies across further high growth sectors in Scotland. I look forward to working closely with her throughout her transition to lead our brilliant scaling team and with Aleks Tomczyk the incoming Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland as we continue to work together to benefit our economy.”

Jackie Leiper said on behalf of LBG and all Strategic Partners:

“Having been a Board Member of FinTech Scotland over the past few years and sponsoring LBG’s

partnership with FinTech Scotland, I would like to thank Nicola for her efforts and achievements on behalf of all Strategic Partners.

I have also got to know Aleks through his simultaneous presence on the FinTech Scotland Board. His experience as a fintech founder, committed cluster participant and business leader will help take FinTech Scotland forward to the benefit of all strategic partners.”

Myles Stephenson, Founder & CEO of Modulr, on behalf of the FinTech Scotland community:

“During Nicola’s tenure as CEO FinTech Scotland has gone from strength to strength with activities and initiatives that are enabling businesses to grow, partnerships to develop and deeper connectivity across the sector. I wish Nicola every success in her next role.

I have known Aleks since we became part of the FinTech community, a community that Aleks has been part of and I know he has a deep-seated drive to help all participants in the cluster succeed.”

Celebrating Scotland’s FinTech Champions

On Wednesday evening, the Scottish FinTech Awards returned to Edinburgh, bringing together the Scottish fintech cluster for a night of recognition, networking, and inspiration. The awards, organised by Digit and held as part of the Scotland FinTech Festival and hosted at the EICC recognised organisations and individuals pushing the frontier of financial innovation in Scotland.

The breadth of categories underscores how far fintech in Scotland has matured, from climate impact and digital transformation to partnership models, RegTech, and AI/data usage. This year saw a threefold increase in terms of entries which reinforces the claim to being a meaningful a leading fintech cluster, alive, competitive, and attracting global attention.

In the last 12 months the FinTech Scotland cluster recorded 8 % year-on-year employment growth in 2024 and 11,300 people are now working in fintech across Scotland.

The winners

FinTech of the Year: Loveelectric
Climate & Environmental Impact: CienDos
Best Start Up / New Entrant: Finspector
Best Use of Data / AI: Aveni
Digital Transformation: GoCodeGreen
Financial Services Innovation: Mylo (Aegon)
Financial Technology Partner: Snugg
Outstanding Leader: David Ferguson (Seccl)
Social Impact: Stellar Omada
Special Recognition: Adam Betteridge (TSB)
Evangelist: Sheetal Dash (Barclays)
Best Fintech Collaboration: Level E Research & Aberdeen

Best RegTech Innovation of the year

At FinTech Scotland, we were particularly proud to see the RegTech Innovation award go to the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL). It’s not just a win for FinTech Scotland but for the whole cluster as demonstrated by the diversity of people on stage to collect the awards from fintechs to established financial firms, from universities to FinTech Scotland colleagues.

The award is an affirmation of the vision behind FRIL and the collaborative approach we believe is essential to the future of regulation, compliance and consumer outcomes in financial services.

FinTech Scotland and Scottish Enterprise unveil the Scotland North America Fintech Gateway

A new initiative to support international growth for Scottish fintech companies has been launched led by Scottish Enterprise and FinTech Scotland.

Scottish Minister for Business, Richard Lochhead MSP, announced the Scotland and North America Fintech Gateway during a speech at the FinTech Scotland Festival, on Tuesday 23 September.

The new initiative has been designed to accelerate international growth for Scottish fintech companies while attracting a new wave of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Business Minister Richard Lochhead said:

“This new initiative represents a significant milestone in our mission to position Scotland as a global fintech powerhouse.

“The gateway will help to cement our reputation as one of the best places in the world to create the financial technologies of the future. This follows the rapid growth of the sector which has created thousands of high-paid jobs in Scotland in recent years.

“It also builds on our Programme for Government priorities to strengthen inward investment from the United States and attract more tech companies to Scotland.”

The 18-month programme will be targeted at international fintech firms and tailored to fintechs based in Scotland that are export ready and actively targeting the North American region. Firmly aligned with Scottish Enterprise’s mission led strategy, this is the first time such a sectorial and a geographical targeted approach has been taken in Scotland for the fintech industry.

Managing director of international operations at Scottish Enterprise Reuben Aitken said:

“Scotland’s thriving fintech sector is worth over £14billion to the Scottish economy. The launch of the North America Fintech Gateway will support new export opportunities, attract high-value investment, and help create jobs.

“We know the US is a key market and this initiative helps place fintech as a key driver of international innovation and growth. This partnership with Fintech Scotland helps strengthen international collaboration and expand Scotland’s global footprint.”

Chief Executive of FinTech Scotland Nicola Anderson added:

“The North America Fintech Gateway combines FinTech Scotland’s global network of fintech hubs with SDI’s market intelligence and incentives to help Scottish innovators land in new markets faster, while showcasing Scotland as the most collaborative and innovative place to build fintech solutions.”

This new and unique approach will serve as a blueprint as new regions and countries become priorities for Scottish businesses across all Scotland’s priority sectors.

Scotland’s fintech community has expanded to more than 250 companies and now employs over 11,300 people of which 1,700 are employed by fintechs with international headquarters

FinTech Scotland’s analysis shows that 30% of these firms are actively preparing to export, targeting key markets in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, out of the 82 Scotland based fintechs which started elsewhere, a third are North America headquartered, proof of the Scottish fintech cluster’s appeal on the other side of the Atlantic.

The announcement continues to demonstrate the importance fintech represents for Scotland’s economic future as detailed in the Scottish Government’s 2025-26 Programme for Government which highlights financial and business services as a priority sector for inward investment and trade, with a specific focus on North America.

The Scotland and North America Fintech Gateway is structured around two workstreams:

Accelerating Trade from Scotland:

Market intelligence and access to key market events. Support from Scottish Enterprise fintech leads across North America providing local market insights and intelligence and a co-ordinated ‘Scotland presence’ at key industry events including Fintech Meetup, supporting fintechs to build profile and unlock new commercial opportunities.
Intensive market access support. Targeted support to accelerate market launch and growth with the opportunity to apply for a place on the Scottish Enterprise intensive US MarketBooster Programme, developed to support technology companies with ambition to scale in the US market specifically.
Access to Scottish Enterprise and Fintech Scotland networks across North America. Access to a network of senior leaders in financial services and technology offering strategic feedback and insights on value propositions and growth strategies. This includes individuals from the GlobalScot network, in-market contacts and Fintech Scotland’s Global Strategic Partners with North American presence (e.g. Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Mastercard etc.

Boosting Inward Investment to Scotland:

Support and incentives for North American fintech companies to establish a base in Scotland, with practical guidance on location, hiring, and regulatory navigation.

Access world-class talent at a competitive cost: Scotland’s universities are producing top-tier graduates in AI, quantum, Web3, and financial technologies — comparable in quality to leading US institutions, but with a significantly more cost-effective talent base than London or the US.
Including access to international networks and events to showcase Scotland’s dynamic fintech cluster globally

One of the first activities of The Scotland and North America Fintech Gateway will see FinTech Scotland sign a memorandum of understanding with Atlantic Fintech in Canada to develop cross borders opportunities.

FinTech Scotland strengthens leadership with appointment of Clare Reid to drive Scotland’s fintech innovation ambition

FinTech Scotland has appointed Clare Reid as Strategic Innovation Director. In this role, she will support the strategic direction and implementation of the FinTech Scotland Research & Innovation Roadmap, with a particular focus on the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL).

Clare has more than 20 years of experience across innovation, research, financial services, and policy. Most recently, she was Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Prosper, where she led research initiatives, managed a partnership with the Scottish Government on small business learning (Peer Works), and oversaw delivery of a school STEM programme. She has also held senior roles at Experian and Robertson Group, as well as running her own start-up.

Her appointment comes as FRIL accelerates its ambition for innovation and research, aimed at advancing fintech growth, technology adoption and collaboration across the financial sector.

Since its launch in 2023 FRIL has become a catalyst for financial regulation innovation across the UK. Strategically based in Glasgow FRIL builds on the city’s established and growing financial services sector as well as the city’s growing reputation for innovation and collaboration. By addressing industry-wide challenges and supporting innovation in regulation, FRIL is contributing to a more resilient and inclusive financial system, while aligning with the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to drive growth and competitiveness in financial services.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, says:

“We are pleased to welcome Clare as Strategic Innovation Director. Her experience across innovation, research and financial services, together with her track record in cross-sector collaboration, will be central to the continued development of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab. Clare’s leadership will help ensure the Lab delivers practical outcomes that strengthen Scotland’s role in financial innovation while contributing to progress across the UK”.

Clare Reid, Strategic Innovation Director at Fintech Scotland said:

” I’m delighted to be joining FinTech Scotland at such an exciting time in their development. They are recognised leaders in cluster management and the FinTech opportunity is a key industrial opportunity for both the Scottish and UK economies. FRIL is a pioneering initiative that has real potential to create positive change for consumers, society and the environment and I’m excited to have the opportunity to play a part in that and in the future direction as we look to scale up the initiative.”

Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects, including the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands. This is a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation to drive regional economic growth, help attract private investment and develop future technologies.

FinTech Scotland strengthens fintech cluster with global leaders CMS and Mastercard

FinTech Scotland has announced that law firm CMS and international payments leader Mastercard have joined the Scottish Fintech Cluster as Strategic Partners; an exciting development enhancing the cluster’s collective strengths. The new strategic partners bring additional world-class financial and professional services expertise that will support fintech innovation and accelerate economic growth across Scotland and the UK.

Their involvement reflects the continued momentum for growth across the FinTech Scotland Cluster and its commitment to collaborative innovation, to shape the future of next generation financial services.

Payment giant Mastercard is championing fintech developments across the world and is driving innovation in fields such as AI and Open Finance, both themes closely aligned to FinTech Scotland’s Research and Innovation Roadmap. This new partnership will present fintech businesses in Scotland with more innovation and collaboration opportunities that can build new commercial pathways and access to global markets.

CMS, which has more than 5,000 lawyers across 70 offices worldwide, brings extensive expertise in advising high growth fintech and established financial institutions in cutting-edge developments that are transforming the financial services sector. Their expertise in fields such as digital assets and blockchain technology supports Scotland’s plans for the new Centre of Excellence in Distributed Ledger Technologies developed by FinTech Scotland in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University.

The two new strategic additions further strengthen an already dynamic group of over 35 strategic partners, all working together to shape a world-class environment for fintech development and regional growth. The diversity of experience and perspective within the cluster continues to drive impactful collaboration and positive impact for the sector and society. These partnerships align with the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy announced on the 23rd of June, highlighting firstly the importance of industry-wide collaboration in delivering economic growth alongside more place-based approaches and the importance of regional clusters to deliver successful growth.

Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland said: “We are delighted to welcome CMS and Mastercard to the FinTech Scotland Cluster. Their global reach, commitment to innovation, and deep sector expertise align perfectly with our ambition for the future of fintech innovation in Scotland. Together with our existing strategic partners, we are building a purposeful, connected, and impactful fintech Cluster, driving action for positive economic gain.”

Bruce Harvie and Fiona Henderson, Partners at CMS Scotland, said: “We are delighted to announce CMS’s strategic partnership with Fintech Scotland, a collaboration that underscores our shared commitment to driving innovation, excellence and growth across Scotland’s financial services ecosystem. This collaboration brings together our deep industry expertise and Fintech Scotland’s dynamic cluster to support the development of cutting-edge solutions that will benefit businesses and consumers alike. We look forward to contributing to Scotland’s thriving fintech community that champions collaboration, sustainability, and economic growth.”

Major Financial Institutions Unite to Drive Innovation in Operational Resilience

A coalition of leading financial institutions including Sword Group, Natwest, Morgan Stanley, Dudley Building Society, The Tipton, Unity Trust Bank, M&G, Pinsent Masons, Tesco Bank, Aberdeen, KPMG and EY have joined forces to launch a UK-wide innovation challenge focused on strengthening operational resilience across the financial sector. Delivered in partnership with FinTech Scotland through the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), and collaborating with SuperTech WM to help expand the reach and impact across the UK, this initiative calls on fintech innovators to co-create next-generation solutions that can safeguard the financial system in an increasingly digital world.

Operational resilience is a top priority for the UK’s regulators, including the FCA, Bank of England and HM Treasury, as the sector adapts to growing digital disruption, complex supply chains, and rising consumer expectations. This challenge reflects a shared commitment from industry to proactively address these risks through collaboration and innovation.

In the face of escalating demand for seamless digital services, the challenge is designed to source practical, scalable solutions that can help firms stay resilient, responsive, and secure. It will offer selected fintechs the opportunity to work directly with financial institutions, gain valuable insights into real-world resilience challenges, and receive expert input from leading academics from the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow.

Successful applicants may also be eligible for up to £50,000 in grant funding to accelerate the development of their solution. The programme will culminate in a showcase event in Glasgow, where participants will present to industry and regulatory stakeholders.

FinTech firms from across the globe are encouraged to apply before the deadline on August 15^th. More details can be found here.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland: “This challenge is a powerful example of how collaboration can drive meaningful change. By bringing together fintech innovators, academic insight, and industry expertise, we’re not only responding to the increasing demands of the digital economy, we’re actively shaping a more resilient and adaptive financial system for the future.”

Rob Mossop, COO Financial Services and International, Sword: “As a trusted technology partner, we recognise that operational resilience is moving beyond meeting regulatory requirements. It has become a business imperative with clear impact on business growth. We understand the critical role that trusted and adaptable solutions play in helping financial institutions respond to disruption and build competitive advantage. We are excited to see how this challenge brings together the best of industry, academia, and innovation to utilise technologies that don’t just withstand disruption but enable agility and enhance trust in the face of it”

Hilary Smyth-Allen, CEO SuperTech:“Our longstanding partnership with FinTech Scotland, to expand the reach of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, has delivered fantastic impact in previous programmes for both the fintech innovators and financial services participants. We look forward to seeing the collaborative opportunities arising from this open innovation challenge focusing on operational resilience.” 

Nicole Alston, Innovation Engagement Manager, NatWest: “Natwest Group are proud to support this challenge, which represents a fantastic opportunity to work hand-in-hand with fintech innovators to shape the next generation of operational resilience. By combining industry insight with fresh thinking, we can build smarter, more adaptive systems that protect customers and maintain trust”

Luke Scanlon, Pinsent Masons: “Strengthening operational resilience isn’t just a regulatory expectation, it’s a shared responsibility across the financial ecosystem. This challenge is a compelling example of how partnerships between fintechs and industry, can drive innovation that’s both agile and aligned with evolving regulatory frameworks. It’s a chance to build practical solutions that work in the real world”

Samuel Kennedy, Head of Operational Risk, Dudley Building Society: “For building societies, operational resilience is fundamental to maintaining the trust of our members and communities. This challenge is a chance to work alongside fintechs to explore innovative solutions that protect continuity of service, while ensuring we remain agile and responsive in a changing digital landscape.”

Will Lynch, Group Deputy COO, Aberdeen: “Aberdeen’s involvement in FRIL has shown the power of collaboration in tackling complex regulatory and operational challenges. We are looking forward to contributing the next phase of FRIL in an increasingly important part of the regulatory landscape.”

David Owen, Head of Business Risk at Unity Trust Bank: “Operational resilience isn’t just about meeting regulatory compliance; it is about reinforcing our customers’ confidence that we can withstand disruptions and continue to serve them effectively. At Unity Trust Bank, resilience is fundamental to our double-bottom-line approach: it supports sustainable business growth while deepening the trust that our socially minded customers place in us. By collaborating with fintech innovators, industry partners, and thought leaders, we are developing smarter, more adaptive systems that not only ensure continuity but also strengthen the core principles of ethical banking.”

Tom McFarlane, Partner, EY – “Building on the success of our collaboration with FRIL, we’re delighted to be supporting this innovation challenge focused on strengthening operational resilience. The FRIL programme presents a unique opportunity to deepen our relationships with innovators across the cluster – bringing together diverse thinking, regulatory insight, and practical expertise. Through these collaborations, we can co-create solutions that are not only innovative, but also scalable and grounded in the realities of today’s financial landscape.”