Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) Innovation Case Study: Profylr

FRIL: The Lifeline We Didn’t Know We Needed

Sometimes innovation begins with a simple question: How can we do better for people? That’s exactly what happened when FRIL launched its Optimising Consumer Outcomes Call – an open invitation for fintech pioneers, financial institutions, regulators, and researchers to come together and tackle one big challenge: making finance fairer, clearer, and more accessible for everyone.

In Glasgow, one small but ambitious company, Profylr, saw its chance. The firm used FRIL’s challenge as a launchpad to fine-tune its data-driven compliance tool, a technology that helps financial institutions ensure they’re treating customers fairly.

The result? Two new local jobs, a fast-tracked proof of concept, and new commercial partnerships with major financial players. But beyond that, FRIL gave Profylr something even more valuable: momentum. It became the spark that accelerated growth, deepened industry connections, and helped put Glasgow more firmly on the map as a hub of financial innovation.

The Challenge: Turning Regulation Into Opportunity

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently introduced Consumer Duty, a regulation designed to protect customers in financial services. It’s all about fairness: setting higher standards for transparency, value, and support so that everyone, no matter their financial background, can make sense of their money.

Financial firms now have to prove they’re:

• acting in their customers’ best interests
• preventing foreseeable harm
• delivering fair value for money.

For consumers, that means clearer information, fairer products, and better support. For
companies, it means more trust and less risk.

But while the goals are simple, achieving them isn’t. Many institutions are weighed down by outdated systems and manual reporting, which make it hard to track and demonstrate compliance. The result? A slower response to customer needs and a barrier to consistent, fair outcomes.

Why addressing this challenge matters:

For Industry	For consumers
Meeting Consumer Duty is essential, not just to stay compliant, but to prove they care about the people they serve. It’s about earning trust through fairness and transparency.	It means finance starts to feel more human. Products become easier to understand. Decisions become clearer. Confidence grows.

FRIL’s Formula for Change

FRIL’s Optimising Consumer Outcomes Innovation Call posed seven tough questions about how technology and data could improve financial outcomes. Instead of just talking about innovation, FRIL made it happen by bringing together fintech startups, global banks, regulators, and academics in one collaborative space.

This wasn’t a typical funding programme. It was a co-creation lab, where ideas could be tested, challenged, and refined in real time. The winning innovators didn’t just get funding: they gained direct access to decision-makers inside major financial institutions.

For companies like Profylr, that combination of support, visibility, and collaboration was game-changing. It turned ambition into action, and ideas into real-world impact.

The Bigger Picture

FRIL’s approach shows what’s possible when innovation and regulation work hand in hand. It proves that technology can help financial services not only do better, but be better: fairer, smarter, and more inclusive. For Profylr, and for Glasgow’s growing fintech community, FRIL wasn’t just a project. It was the lifeline they didn’t know they needed, one that’s helping to shape the future of fair finance.

The Case Study – Profylr

Profylr, a Glasgow based Fintech, was a winner in the FRIL Consumer Duty Innovation Challenge in February 2025 for its Information Genetics® solution. The platform connects industry client data directly to regulatory requirements, generating intelligent reports that cut down manual intervention and accelerates compliance and decision-making.

“The FRIL challenge, and the team at FinTech Scotland have been a lifeline that we didn’t know we needed. We’ve been able to accelerate at a pace that we wouldn’t have been able to achieve before“.

— Caroline Steel, Chief Operating Officer, Profylr.

Profylr’s innovation enables financial firms to quickly see from their data whether they are delivering good customer outcomes such as supporting vulnerable customers, and highlights any issues that need resolved in a matter of minutes, rather than weeks.

“Our solution helps firms take away the manual burden that comes from regulatory reporting. It’s about achieving trust and confidence in data that’s used to make decisions that affect all our lives”.
— explains Caroline.

“The innovation acceleration in Glasgow has played a crucial role in enabling the FRIL partners to come together in support of innovation in industry and the city”.
— Nicola Anderson, CEO FinTech Scotland.

Profylr stats

Sector		Fintech
Employees		7 – 10
Turnover		Pre-revenue, currently onboarding first client
Location		Glasgow / London

The Ambition – Growth and Vision

Profylr applied to FRIL, not just for funding, but for the opportunity to innovate and grow within a vibrant financial ecosystem in Glasgow City Region.

Through the programme, Profylr accessed direct engagement with industry, gaining granular insights into real-world challenges. This allowed them to refine their product and build stronger links with local partners and collaborators.

“We’re Glasgow based, with a small team in London. This is our home. We’re passionate about growing out of Glasgow. It is about being able to give something back to the next generation. As a result of this particular challenge, we’ve been able to take on two Glasgow-based developers that are part of the team”.
— Caroline Steel, Chief Operating Officer, Profylr.

The Outcomes – Impact

In just three months, FRIL enabled Profylr to move from concept to proof of concept, and secure momentum well beyond the challenge itself.

Impact summary

• 2 x High-value jobs created in Glasgow
• Proof of Concept developed in 12 weeks
• £50, 000 prize fund secured
• 1 x collaborative partner onboarded
• 2 x commercial opportunities generated
• Ongoing relationships and collaborations with fintechs, industry and academia.

“Because we had a working proof of concept, I was able to approach every financial institution involved in the challenge. That has already led to two new opportunities”.
— explains Caroline.

Next steps – Watch this space for:

Profylr is now building further collaborations and product development in the Glasgow City Region, with eyes on the next FRIL Challenge:

“I was on a family holiday, and I saw the Operational Resilience Call announced. I immediately messaged the team to say: “We’re doing this again!” The opportunities it brings are second to none”.
— concludes Caroline.

Case Study Conclusion

FRIL doesn’t just fund ideas – it accelerates them into real solutions, creates skilled jobs, and strengthens Glasgow’s position as a hub of financial innovation. Profylr’s journey shows how targeted support translates into tangible growth and industry impact.

Download the Profyler case study.