Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) Responsible Innovation Case Study: Encompass
FRIL: Accelerating the Fight Against Financial Crime
Financial crime might sound distant, something that happens behind the scenes in big institutions, but its impact is personal. It can touch anyone. From identity theft to money laundering, these crimes erode trust and cost billions every year.
That’s why FRIL launched its Financial Crime Innovation Call: a challenge designed to find, fund, and fast-track groundbreaking technology that helps financial institutions stay ahead of criminals.
For Encompass, an international company with roots in Glasgow, this was more than just a competition. It was an opportunity to showcase their expertise, build new partnerships, and accelerate innovation.
By taking part, Encompass gained direct access to global tier-one banks, opened up new commercial opportunities, and fast-tracked the development of new product capabilities. For a company already at the forefront of financial crime prevention, FRIL’s challenge acted as a powerful accelerator, connecting ambition with action.
The Challenge: Fighting Financial Crime Head-On
Fraud and financial crime affect everyone: individuals, businesses, and entire economies. Criminals find new ways to exploit the system every day, while financial institutions face the ongoing challenge of keeping up. The stakes are high: in 2023 alone, global banks were fined billions for failing to prevent fraudulent activity.
Complying with regulations is essential, but it comes at a cost: around £38 billion in the UK that same year. And as technology evolves, so do the tools of both criminals and those working to stop them.
One of the biggest hurdles? Disconnected data.
When information is trapped in separate systems (within or between organisations), it becomes harder to spot suspicious behaviour and act quickly.
Why tackling this challenge matters:
| For Industry | For Consumers |
| Preventing financial crime isn’t just about avoiding fines – it’s about protecting customers, building trust, and reducing operational and regulatory risks. | Strong financial crime prevention means safer transactions, fewer victims, and the confidence that their personal data and money are secure. |
When the system works better, everyone benefits.
FRIL’s Approach: Innovation in Action
To tackle this complex problem, FRIL’s Financial Crime Innovation Call set out five specific challenges. Each focused on a critical question:
- How can technology and data help us understand and detect financial crime faster?
- How can we make identity verification more secure and efficient?
- Could smarter data sharing between institutions improve outcomes?
- How can we enhance fraud response systems in real time?
- And what can we do to future-proof these systems against new risks?
Rather than solving these questions in isolation, FRIL brought together innovators, major financial institutions, regulators, and data experts to collaborate directly.
This unique setup, combining early-stage funding with direct access to decision-makers, gave companies like Encompass the chance to test, refine, and rapidly advance their solutions in a real-world environment.
The Case Study – Encompass
Encompass, a global company headquartered in Glasgow is celebrating ten years in the city. The corporate digital identity firm continues to expand in Glasgow, and has recently signed a ten-year lease on a new premises. Encompass joined FRIL’s Innovation Call on Financial Crime in January 2025. This is their story of their experience with FRIL.
“What we’ve ended up with in three months, is three real commercial opportunities that would have easily taken us twice or three times that long if we had not had the backing of FRIL and that structure”.
— Howard Wimpory, Director of Transformation, Encompass.
“FRIL has been an exceptional support and catalyst in helping Encompass expand our network and presence in Glasgow. We have benefited from valuable insights and interactions from the market that will fuel our ongoing innovation”.
— Alex Ford, Chief Revenue Officer, Encompass.
About Encompass
Encompass has been fighting financial crime since 2011. Founded in response to a personal experience with fraud, Encompass helps the largest global financial institutions understand exactly who they’re doing business with by revealing the true owners and controllers behind corporate clients.
Watch the video to see how EC360, Encompass’s Corporate Digital Identity (CDI) platform, works in practice.
“The reason that we do this is to identify whether they’ve ever been sanctioned for crime, so that those bad actors are excluded from running companies and accessing the world’s commercial financial institutions”.
— explains Howard.
“Our solution creates a consistent and reliable outcome every time, and we do it in a faster way than any human can do. So for a human to do the job that our platform does could take three or four days – what we could do in ten minutes”.
— adds Howard about the Encompass solution.
Encompass stats
| Sector | Fintech |
| Employees | 130 (46 in Glasgow) |
| Turnover | UK, US, Netherlands |
| Location | Glasgow / London |
The Ambition – Growth and Vision
Encompass joined the Financial Crime Innovation Call because they wanted to explore how their existing corporate identity platform could develop to benefit financial institutions.
“Glasgow offers a collaborative ecosystem of fintechs, financial institutions and tech talent emerging from leading universities”.
— explains Alex.
There were two key specific areas the Innovation Call helped Encompass explore that were key to the company’s growth and vision:
| To work directly with industry to hone products and services | To build relationships with clients, and others in the financial ecosystem |
| In this case, Encompass were interested in developing their future ambitions around ‘Know Your Customer’ processes, which are mandatory processes to verify the identity of clients to prevent financial crime and comply with regulations. | The collaboration brought Encompass closer to potential new clients while also offering an opportunity to build confidence within industry in the value of buying from trusted FinTechs who offer tried and tested solutions. |
The Outcomes – Impact
For Encompass, FRIL’s challenge wasn’t just a networking exercise: it was a catalyst. The collaboration helped them build stronger industry connections, speed up product development, and unlock commercial opportunities with global banks.
For FRIL, it was proof that innovation and regulation can move faster together, creating real progress in the fight against financial crime. Because when data connects, people are protected. And when innovators are empowered, financial systems become safer for all.
“We’ve made direct new commercial relationships with at least two Scottish based financial services firms. And we’ve got involved with a parallel organisation based in the West Midlands focused on legal
firms. Through the backing of FRIL, we achieved in three months what would normally take 18 months”.
— explains Howard.
Impact summary
- New commercial relationships developed.
- Expanded network.
- Acceleration of average ‘contact to client’ development time reduced from average of 18 months to three.
- Relationships developed with other members, leading to events in New York and London, expanding connections and brand.
Next steps – Watch this space for:
- Emerging deals with interested clients.
- Accelerated product development to support financial institutions in tackling financial crime.
“We’re excited to continue our journey in Glasgow, and look forward to leveraging this well-connected community to fuel our growth globally”.
— concludes Alex.
Download the Encompass case study.
About FRIL
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.
About FRIL
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 2nd 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
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.
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
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
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
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 Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator programme, funded through Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation. The Innovation Accelerator programme is investing £130 million in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters, including the Glasgow City Region.
TradeGaze
Nationwide Innovation Call Launches to Bridge the UK’s Financial Advice Gap
A coalition of leading financial institutions including PWC, NatWest, Barclays, Standard Life, M&G, Lloyds Banking Group, Dudley Building Society and BNP Paribas Personal Finance have joined forces to launch a UK-wide innovation challenge to explore how technology can reshape consumer access to financial support A coalition of leading financial institutions including PWC, NatWest, Barclays, Standard Life, M&G, Lloyds Banking Group, Dudley Building Society and BNP Paribas Personal Finance have joined forces to launch a UK-wide innovation challenge to explore how technology can reshape consumer access to financial support at the critical advice-guidance boundary. 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 help consumers make more confident and informed financial decisions.
The Advice-Guidance Boundary Review (AGBR) is the Financial Conduct Authority’s key vehicle to deliver on its “promote growth” objective within the 2025–2030 strategy and has sparked significant conversation across the industry due to the fundamental changes it could bring. At its core, the review responds to a growing concern that there is an advice gap with too many consumers in the UK not receiving the financial help they need. Examining the boundary between financial advice and other forms of support will allow the AGBR to enable financial organisations unlock new, more effective ways of meeting consumer needs, particularly when it comes to managing their future finances.
To continue the conversation, the new FRIL Innovation Call invites fintech innovators to develop next-generation solutions that make financial support more personalised, inclusive, and accessible, helping firms better understand diverse client bases and consumer needs and values and ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting consumers.
Developed in close collaboration with regulators, academics, and industry partners, the programme will test how digital tools, data-driven models, and new approaches to consumer engagement can help bridge the advice gap, support firms in growing their client bases and aligning with the FCA’s evolving expectations. The challenge is looking for practical, scalable solutions that empower consumers to make better-informed financial decisions whether through targeted support that stops short of regulated advice, or through models of simplified advice that are easier to deliver and to understand. In doing so, it will help firms meet Consumer Duty obligations while opening more inclusive ways to serve consumers.
FRIL’s innovation challenge will explore use cases including:
- Targeted Support at scale through AI and data-driven insights
- Interactive, user-centric customer disclosures
- Consumer education, literacy, and trust-building tools
- Compliance technologies that support advice-boundary monitoring
- Automated planning and scenario-modelling tools
- Cross-platform data aggregation enabled by Open Finance
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to work directly with major financial institutions, gaining valuable insights into the future of Wealth Advice, access academic expertise at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow, and 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 participating fintechs will present to industry, regulatory, and academic leaders.
FinTech firms from across the globe are encouraged to apply before the deadline on 3 November. More details can be found here.
Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland: “This challenge is a milestone in the journey towards a more inclusive financial services sector. By bringing together fintech innovators, regulators, and industry leaders, we can design practical solutions that empower consumers to make informed decisions while ensuring firms navigate the advice boundary responsibly.”
Fraser Wilson, Financial Services Partner & Head of FS Regions at PWC: “The Advice Guidance Boundary Review is an opportunity to reshape how our industry empowers people to make confident financial decisions. By harnessing technology and collaborating with fintech innovators through the FRIL programme, we can help firms deliver more personalised, accessible support – closing the advice gap and strengthening financial resilience for individuals and communities”.
Andy Young, Head of Digital and User Experience at Standard Life: “This challenge is a real opportunity to rethink how our industry supports people through retirement. We’re excited to collaborate across the sector to drive digital innovation, expand access to financial guidance – especially for underserved groups – and help build a future where everyone feels confident in their choices.”
Tim Grey, Strategy and Transformation Director at M&G Advice: “We’re pleased to be part of this innovation programme exploring the Advice Guidance Boundary Review. At M&G, we believe innovation in this space is important to helping bridge the advice gap and assist customers to achieve better outcomes.”
Hilary Smyth Allen, CEO of SuperTech:“This innovation call is a natural extension on our partnership with FRIL and FinTech Scotland, building on previous work leveraging innovation to improve customer outcomes which remains a high priority for West Midlands’ financial services institutions. It’s another unique opportunity and one where the cross-UK approach is adding depth and breadth to the experience for businesses and innovators in developing next generation services”.
Maria Herrero Bullich, Chief Customer & Digital Officer, Insurance, Pensions & Investments at Lloyds Banking Group: “Through our Scottish Widows business we’re helping build a better financial future for our customers. This challenge provides a fantastic opportunity to unlock more tailored, inclusive and digitally-enabled ways to support people in the UK navigate their financial futures with confidence. By collaborating across the industry, we aim to help close the advice gap and deliver better outcomes for everyone.”
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.
Future-Ready Skills in Financial Regulation: AI, RegTech and ESG Leadership
Alessio Azzutti, John Finch and Xiang Li, of the University of Glasgow, introduce two new professional courses for our FinTech, Financial Services and Financial Regulation communities, introduced as part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab project. Please do follow up with us by alessio.azzutti@glasgow.ac.uk, john.finch@glasgow.ac.uk, or xiang.li@glasgow.ac.uk
In today’s fast-changing and increasingly complex regulatory landscape, financial institutions face mounting challenges: rising compliance costs, increasingly sophisticated financial crime, outdated technological capabilities, and growing sustainability demands/pressures from stakeholders and activists. Faced with these pressures, professionals need to reskill and upskill, in particular in areas of AI, RegTech, and ESG leadership, to thrive and remain competitive.
About the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL)
As part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), we are committed to promoting the flourishing of human capital, particularly deepening the expertise in financial regulation among financial services, fintechs and regulators. We aim to make our university’s educational offering easily accessible and directly relevant to industry professionals to support both career and organisational development. Aspiring to excellence in what we do, we introduce learner-centred active learning approaches and incorporate real-life challenges into our teaching that help our course participants address the challenges they experience at work and develop and implement appropriate solutions.
Our FRIL team at the University of Glasgow has spent two and a half years living and breathing financial regulation innovation alongside our colleagues in financial services, fintech and regulation. The FRIL project involves us all in co-developing and collaborating on action research, knowledge exchange, and innovation calls, and our skills development theme, professional education courses, presented as short micro-credentials. By drawing together our insights from the FRIL project together with our expertise in research and learning and teaching in the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School and School of Law, we have developed two professional education courses in ‘AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance’ and ‘ESG Leadership’.
Our Learning Design Approach
Experiential and active learning inform our course design and approach to learning. This approach has been proven impactful in leadership, entrepreneurial, and professional education. It draws on wide-ranging experiences of working professionals in roles connected with the courses, across careers, supports participants in applying concepts and tools introduced in the course to workplaces, and facilitates reflections and discussions among participants through practical cases and in-course exercises.
The focus of the course content is informed by leading industry professionals involved in the action research and innovation calls, thereby ensuring close alignment with industry demands. Alongside expert-led lectures and interviews, participants immerse themselves in interactive activities—from tackling real-world compliance scenarios and innovation challenges to collaborative problem-solving with peers. This ensures learners move beyond concepts into the skills and confidence to navigate the complex intersection of financial regulation, compliance demands, sustainability, and AI solutions.
Course 1: AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance
Led by: Alessio Azzutti and Ian MacNeil
Context
With exploding regulatory requirements, rising costs, increasingly sophisticated financial crime, outdated systems, and shifting consumer expectations, financial compliance is becoming ever more demanding for regulated institutions. This urgent need for both business and technological innovation is driving the rise of Regulatory Technology (RegTech)—and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI)—which is transforming how organisations respond. Lasting success, however, depends not only on innovative technology but also on professionals equipped to harness it.
Course details
This course progresses from AI and RegTech foundations to real-world applications, governance, emerging regulations, and future-ready compliance strategies. Assessment is fully practice-based: instead of traditional exams or theoretical essays, learners will complete a Capstone Project where they design an AI-enabled compliance solution, analyse its risks and governance, and map a personalised professional development pathway.
If you’re interested in this course, please email Alessio Azzutti at Alessio.Azzutti@glasgow.ac.uk.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Critically analyse and evaluate AI applications in financial compliance contexts.
- Design theory-informed, effective, responsible, and future-ready solutions.
- Position themselves as compliance professionals prepared to lead digital transformation in banking, finance, FinTech, consultancy, and regulatory bodies.
Course 2: ESG Leadership
Led by: Erika Anderson, John Finch and Xiang Li
Context
Complex and dynamic regulation remains a feature of sustainability and ESG reporting, with notable differences across regions and jurisdictions. Given the long-lived qualities of reputation, product and process, and the global reach of supply chains, investors, consumers, and business customers want to know about an organisation’s sustainability offer and profile. We focus on that point of transition—from compliance to strategy and leadership—highlighting the strategic approach to leveraging ESG insights to achieve both the organisation’s competitive advantage and reduction of material risks embedded in sustainability.
Course details
This course covers the regulatory framework and its implications for organisations and their supply chains, including sustainability reporting and disclosures as these address risk management and inform investment and investor stewardship. From reporting to transition, the course highlights the critical roles of strategic development, leadership and organisational change. We draw on case studies, short lectures, interviews with the community of practice, evaluations of current sustainability plans, and discussions among participants and our teaching team to facilitate participants’ learning.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Evaluate an organisation’s sustainability performance from multiple perspectives.
- Develop a comprehensive ESG/sustainability plan, integrating compliance with business strategy.
- Lead organisational change by embedding ESG considerations into leadership and strategy.
Practical Information
- AI, RegTech and Financial Compliance course: to be delivered in-person at the University of Glasgow between 16 October and 27 November 2025.
- ESG Leadership course: to be delivered online in six weekly modules from late September 2025, with an option for participants to complete the assessment and claim 10 credits at the postgraduate level, which are recognised by the University of Glasgow.
- Both courses will also be available online in early 2026.
- Participants from both courses can receive a certificate of participation
Future-Proof Your Expertise
Whether your focus is mastering AI-enabled compliance or leading ESG transformation, these short courses will position you at the forefront of professional development. Join us to upskill/reskill, strengthen your expertise, prepare for your organisation’s transition, and lead confidently in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.
Supply Chain Intelligence: Actionable Risk Assessment of Brazilian Commodity Supply Chains Using Geospatial Data
Geospatial data is transforming sustainability risk assessment in Financial Services. Driven by mandatory regulations such as the EU’s CSRD and SFDR, alongside emerging standards such as TNFD, financial institutions must now monitor not just financial performance, but real-world environmental and social impacts across global supply chains.
This white paper showcases how geospatial data and asset-level geospatial analysis can be used as a support tool for supply chain impact monitoring. Specifically, we evaluate deforestation risks in Brazilian commodity supply chains. Using publicly available datasets and Google Earth Engine, we develop a reproducible risk scoring framework, applied to over 17,000 slaughterhouse facilities, tied to 9,854 companies, across Brazil.
This analysis:
- Quantifies deforestation exposure across 12 animal-based commodities at facility and company level.
- Creates actionable risk metrics for investors, lenders, and regulators.
- Aligns outputs with ESG disclosure frameworks, including CSRD, SFDR, TNFD, and the EUDR.
- Highlights high-risk companies and regions, providing clear signals for due diligence and sustainable finance strategy.
This paper is part of a broader move toward Earth Intelligent Finance, empowering financial actors to make faster, smarter, and more transparent sustainability decisions using geospatial insight.
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.
Regulatory Insights: September 2025 – Balancing Growth, Innovation and Consumer Protection
Our strategic partner Pinsent Masons has released the September edition of its FS Regulatory Risk Trends update, highlighting the latest developments shaping the UK regulatory landscape.
This third edition of 2025 comes at a time when government and regulators are under pressure to balance economic growth, innovation and competitiveness with strong consumer protection and the integrity of the financial system.
FCA focus: innovation with safeguards
The FCA continues to implement its five-year strategy, with an emphasis on innovation and efficiency. This quarter’s insights point to several areas of interest:
- AI regulation and adoption: the FCA is engaging with the opportunities and risks around AI in financial services.
- Payments innovation: consultations on contactless payments and targeted support show a regulatory push for consumer benefit and wider adoption.
- Market infrastructure: the FCA has approved the first PISCES platform, a milestone for digital settlement systems.
Wider government initiatives
Alongside the FCA’s actions, HM Treasury is consulting on significant changes to the redress framework overseen by the FCA and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). These proposals could have a major impact on how firms manage complaints and consumer redress.
Risks on the horizon
While innovation is encouraged, firms also face heightened scrutiny. Recent regulatory activity includes:
- Market reviews into retail insurance, digital customer journeys and premium finance.
- Ongoing exploration of the future of cryptoasset regulation.
- Criminal prosecutions linked to financial crime.
- Preparations for an industry-wide redress scheme following the Supreme Court motor finance case in August.
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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.