The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab

Innovation Call

Innovation to Address Financial Crime 

In Partnership with

In collaboration with

Applications open November 20th

We are looking to hear from innovative organisations with creative ideas and trailblazing solutions dedicated to helping financial services companies tackle financial crime and fraud. 

You will get the opportunity to work with a wide variety of financial services industry partners across the domain of financial crime and fraud. Our partners are BT, Morgan Stanley, Abrdn, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, TSB, Virgin Money, Barclays, Equifax, Fujitsu and Dudley Building Society. 

Financial crime and fraud are complex challenges, and without collaboration one extremely difficult to tackle. FRIL is launching an innovation programme underpinned by challenge statements provided by leading organisations across financial, telecommunications and technology sectors.  

We welcome applications from solutions that can solve the challenges put forward by the industry, with applications open to companies at all stages of development that can help tackle these complex topics. 

We are organising two Q&A sessions if you have questions before applying: 

27 Nov – register here 

3 Dec – register here 

Who are FinTech Scotland?  

Learn about FinTech Scotland here.  

Who are SuperTech?  

Learn about SuperTech here  

Who are the Greater Manchester Combined Authority? 

Learn about the GMCA here 

What is the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab?  

The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) is an industry-led collaborative research and innovation programme focused on leveraging new technologies to respond to, shape and help evolve the future regulatory landscape in the UK and globally. Helping to create new employment and business opportunities, and enabling future talent.  

FRIL is a partnership between FinTech Scotland, a cluster management organisation that encourages innovation and collaboration within the financial services sector, and the University of Strathclyde (UoS) and the University of Glasgow (UoG).  

FRIL will deliver four workstreams to support this: actionable research, innovation calls, skills and education, and knowledge exchange.  

Funded by the Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator programme (led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation), FRIL will deliver this wide-ranging and ambitious agenda led by, and for the use of, the financial sector.  

FRIL provides an environment for participants to engage and collaborate on the dynamic demands of financial regulation. This will allow them to explore, test and experiment with new technologies, build confidence in solutions and demonstrate their ability to meet regulatory standards worldwide.  

Will there be award funding?  

No, for the Innovation to Address Financial Crime programme there will be no award funding. 

Is there a registration fee or any cost associated with participating?  

No, there are no registration fees and no direct costs to participate. Travel to Glasgow will be required for events, travel costs will not be re-imbursed.  

Can I submit multiple entries or proposals?  

If your company would like to submit a proposal against multiple use cases, this can be done in the same application. If your company would however like to submit more than one proposal or solution, you are welcome to submit individual applications for each.  

Will my intellectual property be protected during the innovation call?  

All IP will remain under your ownership. The call invites you to present your proposition to the judges in as much detail as you feel comfortable with.  

Can I seek external funding or investment for my idea during or after the challenge?  

Yes, your organization can continue to seek external funding or investment whilst participating in a FRIL programme. 

Please contact FRIL@fintechscotland.com if you have any queries relating to this.  

Will there be any opportunities for networking with industry experts or potential investors?  

Yes, FinTech Scotland, Super Tech and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have a broad partner network of academia, industry and investors. Opportunities could be as broad and as varied as pitching to the assessment panel made up of relevant industry experts, presenting at events and introductions to other relevant businesses ranging from SMEs and large enterprises.  

Can I participate in the challenge if I am not from Scotland, West Midlands or Manchester?  

We would be delighted for ANY business to apply for this challenge. Any business that believes they can make a meaningful contribution to the challenge statements is welcome to participate in the programme.

Can I download the application form?  

Should you prefer to download the application form, pleas reach out through FRIL@fintechscotland.com

I have a question that is not included above, who should I contact?  

Please contact FRIL@fintechscotland.com. There are also two drop-in Q&A sessions for applicants to discuss and queries. Registrations for these can be found on the main application page.