Scottish Enterprise has committed £3.18 million to the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), accelerating Scotland’s push to become a global leader in financial technology and regulation.
The funding, injected into FRIL, a collaboration led by FinTech Scotland in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, is designed to deepen ties between academia, industry and regulators as the sector grapples with fast-moving challenges including financial crime, artificial intelligence adoption, open data and digital assets.
The initiative has already proven its worth. Since its inception, FRIL has supported 120 fintech SMEs, unlocked £28 million in committed private investment, and delivered a projected 6:1 economic return for every £1 of public funding spent.
Jane Martin, managing director of innovation and investment at Scottish Enterprise, was unequivocal in her praise. “FRIL is a shining example of how collaboration between industry, academia and regulators can make a real impact,” she said.
For some of Scotland’s homegrown fintech businesses, the programme has been transformative. Calum Murray, CEO and founder of compliance platform Amiqus, described the potential of the renewed commitment in glowing terms.
“The potential impact delivered by FRIL over the next three years to the broader ecosystem is enormous,” he said. “Thanks to a previous FRIL financial crime innovation call, we were able to build, pilot and take to production new capability to directly support Virgin Money with its new business onboarding journeys. This three-year commitment effectively sets the stage for collaborative and rapid progress across both financial services developing new capabilities with the support of a wide range of fintechs going forward. It’s a win-win on all accounts.”
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Aleks Tomczyk, chief executive of FinTech Scotland, pointed to the broader economic significance of the lab’s work. “The opportunity from the current and forecast future growth of fintech is huge,” he said. “FRIL’s success evidences the strategic value of innovation to the economy and the strength of our fintech cluster in simultaneously delivering growth and better outcomes for consumers.”
The sentiment was echoed by major financial institutions. Derek Shanks, technology platform lead at Lloyds Banking Group, confirmed the bank’s ongoing commitment to the model. “We’ve supported three FRIL innovation calls as a challenge partner and have seen first-hand the value of this model,” he said. “It brings together the right mix of expertise, technology and challenge to turn ideas into real solutions.”
The fresh injection of funding signals a three-year commitment to scaling FRIL’s reach, with the expectation that its collaborative model will continue to yield tangible results for Scotland’s fintech cluster and the wider economy.
