Ground-breaking responsible AI solutions to shape the future of financial services 

Fintech companies from around the world with innovative AI solutions can now apply to the award-winning Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s new innovation call – on responsible AI in financial services. This is a unique opportunity for companies at any stage to fast-track their solutions to real-world problems and help shape the future of financial services. 

The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab is led by FinTech Scotland in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and funded by Scottish Enterprise.  

Successfully selected participants will take part in an innovation challenge, during which they will work with leading strategic partners including Atos, Baillie Gifford, Barclays, BlackRock, CMS, Equifax, EY, Fujitsu, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, M&G, NatWest, and PwC. They will gain invaluable insight into real-world industry challenges and potential routes to market. They will also get the opportunity to pitch for up to £50,000 in grant funding to further develop their solutions. 

AI offers huge potential to improve efficiency, decision-making, and scalability, but it also introduces challenges around fairness, governance, transparency and accountability. To ensure AI benefits both businesses and consumers, its deployment must support operational objectives whilst aligning with Consumer Duty and other regulatory requirements and maintaining trust. 

This innovation challenge builds on the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s successful track record of advancing UK financial regulation through research, innovation and industry collaboration. With 120 fintech SMEs supported and £50K grants awarded to 27 firms to date, FRIL has driven tangible results and is set to further accelerate innovation within the financial services sector. 

The Innovation call application window is open until Friday 31 July 2026. Interested fintech companies can apply here. 
 

Clare Reid, Strategic Innovation Director at FinTech Scotland, said:  
“FRIL creates the conditions for large institutions and fintechs to come together to find, test and de-risk new solutions to regulatory challenges. It provides a shared environment where industry, academia and regulators can work collaboratively on problems that no single organisation could solve alone.” 

Nishant Govil, Managing Director at BlackRock, commented:  
“FRIL provides a unique lens into the advancement of responsible AI. As a global business, we recognise the importance of staying at the forefront of innovation and collaborating with fintechs and other industry leaders in this space. By working collaboratively with wider industry stakeholders, we hope to support the development of responsible AI solutions that benefit our clients and our industry.” 

Gerry McArdle, Head of Data and AI Architecture at M&G, noted:  
“We’re pleased to be supporting the launch of the Responsible AI innovation call. At M&G we believe AI can help improve outcomes for our customers and for the businesses and institutions we support – enhancing customer service, strengthening risk management, and making decision-making more consistent and transparent. Across the industry the key is to combine innovation with robust governance, clear accountability and a strong focus on fairness. Through the Lab, we look forward to working with regulators, innovators, industry peers and academia to turn responsible AI into  
practical improvements that build trust and deliver better outcomes for our business  
and the sector” 

Colin Payne, Head of Innovation at the FCA, added:  
“By bringing together diverse perspectives, FRIL supports the ecosystem’s understanding of how innovation is developing in practice and helps support constructive dialogue between regulators and innovators. This challenge creates a space to learn from one another, helping to support responsible innovation while maintaining confidence in the financial system”  
 
Phil Clements, Chief Executive Officer at Finspector, previous FRIL winner, said:  
“There’s a particular kind of acceleration that money alone can’t buy. The £50,000 from FRIL mattered, of course, but the more valuable currency was access. The programme’s industry network put us in front of senior compliance, risk and innovation leaders at major UK institutions, introductions that would typically have taken months of cold outreach to engineer. We entered those conversations with a solid technical foundation and we’re leaving with pilots and clients who are paying, and a path to scale that feels earned rather than theoretical.”