FinTech Scotland announces winners of its innovation call

The FinTech Scotland Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), a collaborative effort between FinTech Scotland, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow, has announced the completion of its first innovation call focused on “Simplifying compliance through application of AI and emerging technologies”.

The program concluded with a Demo Day in Glasgow on 30 April, when the 15 fintech finalists showcased their innovative solutions in front of professional services firm Deloitte and financial institutions including Tesco Bank, Morgan Stanley, Virgin Money and abrdn , who contributed by providing use cases for this call.

Five winners were selected as grant recipients, each awarded up to £50,000 to further develop and implement their innovative solutions.

The winners are:

• Amiqus – One of the fastest growing fintechs in the UK, revolutionizing identity checks
• HAELO – Help senior risk managers demonstrate individual responsibility.
• Level E Research – Use AI to improve buyer compliance surveillance and potential investment decisions.
• DX Compliance – Using AI to improve Buy Side compliance surveillance processes.
• Pytilia – Creating AI applications for buyer compliance surveillance requirements.

This financing will allow these companies to refine their technologies following industry knowledge. These innovations will support the sector in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of compliance processes to generate better results for customers.

The challenge attracted participation from fintech companies located in Scotland, the UK and around the world, with applications from countries such as Singapore and Canada.

The focus of the initiative has been to simplify regulatory processes in the financial sector through advanced technological solutions. Participants went through a three-phase program that included defining challenges, designing and testing solutions, and final demonstrations. This framework provided participants with critical insights into the operational needs of financial firms, facilitated by direct collaboration, academic expertise, and service design support.

The FRIL initiative is part of the wider Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator program with Glasgow, one of three pilot regions sharing a £100 million investment aimed at transforming R&D in the UK. The program is led by Innovate UK, supporting the UK government’s leveling up agenda.

Nicola AndersonCEO of FinTech Scotland, said: “I am proud to see the extraordinary level of collaboration demonstrated across our fintech cluster through this first innovation call.

“The engagement between industry leaders, academics and public sector representatives at Demo Day gives me confidence that our cluster delivery approach can deliver real impact and continue to help us meet our ambition set out in our Roadmap of Fintech Research and Innovation. I would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved.”

Marcos Cumminsfrom the University of Strathclyde, commented: “At the University of Strathclyde, we are proud to be part of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, responsible for awarding funding to successful fintech applicants in our Innovation Calls series.

“The innovative thinking and vision that our award winners from Amiqus, DX Compliance, HAELO, Level E Research and Pytilia have demonstrated make them worthy winners of FRIL’s first innovation call on Simplifying Compliance through AI and Emerging Technologies.

“Our team looks forward to supporting each proposal developed along its technology roadmap and we are excited about the potential for real industry-led innovation that can help reduce the amount of current manual interventions required when addressing regulatory obligations.”

Joanne Seagravehead of regulatory affairs at Tesco Bank, said: “Tesco Bank was thoroughly impressed by the enthusiasm, innovative thinking and support we received during the Financial Regulatory Innovation Lab’s innovation call on Simplifying Compliance through AI and other emerging technologies.

“We have seen a high quality and diversity of fintechs involved and many of the solutions presented very much correspond to the objective we have set of speeding up compliance with regulatory developments. This has advanced our understanding of AI as well as offering new practical solutions.

“We are excited about HAELO’s success in this innovation call and see huge potential for our industry in their proposal.”

Anthony Brookes, head of UK investment compliance at abrdn, said: “Our team at abrdn has invested in the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s innovation call. We have enjoyed the opportunity to engage with a range of innovative fintech companies that we would not normally have access to.

“Their thoughts and proposals at Demo Day itself were extremely insightful and proved that AI has a place in addressing some of the challenges we face in our industry when it comes to reporting.

“We are delighted that Pytilia Ltd, DX Compliance Solutions and Level E Research who worked on our abrdn use case were successful in securing funding and look forward to collaborating and supporting their innovation to help enhance surveillance capabilities and ensure a more accurate view and personalized approach to regulatory compliance in the asset management industry.”

Angela BensonGlasgow head of finance at Morgan Stanley, said: “The Morgan Stanley team jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Financial Regulatory Innovation Lab’s first innovation call on Simplifying Compliance through AI and other emerging technologies.

“It’s these types of collaborations that will drive our fintech industry forward – from interacting with participating fintechs to hearing different industry perspectives during calls on the set days we meet, including the breadth of innovative thinking we heard at Demo Day. ”

Sharp Robdigital sales manager at Virgin Money, commented: “Being a leading strategic use case partner for FRIL has been a fantastic opportunity to see the passion and expertise demonstrated by the group of fintechs the program has brought together.

“The event showcased a range of potential AI solutions and emerging technologies, which are key areas of focus in Virgin Money’s digital strategy.

“Amiqus’ proposal really lived up to the challenge we set and we are excited to collaborate with them on the opportunities their innovative idea creates to help further improve the customer experience.”

Source