The financial regulation innovation lab (FRIL) in Glasgow – set up last year to support the city’s growth aspirations in fintech – is to take a share of a £30 million funding extension announced by the UK Government.

The FRIL initiative – a partnership between cluster management organisation FinTech Scotland and the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde – will take a slice of new investment to further stimulate the financial technology sector.

New figures for the lab have shown that is delivering an ‘impressive return on investment of £6 to every £1 in public funding’, and will use the money to strengthen its function as an innovation accelerator for the sector.

Susan Aitken, chair of the Glasgow city region cabinet and leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Glasgow has long been at the forefront of financial services and innovation, and setting up the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab cements our position as a leading global fintech hub.

“The FRIL initiative is driving significant economic impact, creating high-value jobs, driving investment, and fostering collaboration between industry, academia, and government.

“It’s exciting to see how the Innovation Accelerator programme has been the catalyst to driving locally led innovation, resulting in significant economic growth and technological advancement.”

FRIL is helping to advance artificial intelligence in the financial services industry and speed up innovation to protect people from financial crime.

It is also creating digital services that help citizens and businesses get access to the right financial products at the right time, helping citizens live better financially resilient lives. 

It is one of 11 projects funded within the Glasgow City Region portfolio of the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator (IA) pilot programme, which is transforming the innovation landscape in the UK and paving the way for the future of place-based research and development (R&D) investment. 

Innovate UK announced the £30 million of extension funding to the Innovation Accelerator pilot programme, which is shaping the future of UK industrial strategy, late last week. It will be divided between Glasgow, Manchester and the West Midlands.

Since its launch, the Innovation Accelerator programme has invested £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects between 2023-25 across the three regions.

The private sector has also co-invested in FRIL. Commitments have reached up to £20 million across financial services institutions such as Morgan Stanley, Lloyds Banking Group, Aberdeen, NatWest, TSB and Advanced Credit Union that have enabled the new services to be created and new fintech enterprises to emerge, as well as job creation committed and realised by FRIL FinTech grant award winners.

Through FRIL there are also 18 diverse fintech SMEs creating new jobs. Examples of this include the fast growing Scottish based scale-up Amiqus, which delivers a product that solves compliance and onboarding challenges for businesses taking on new clients or hiring staff. Amiqus has hired over 20 new employees with further growth plans in the pipeline, following an award from the FRIL innovation challenge initiative. 

Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said: “Glasgow City Region’s Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s return of £6 for every £1 invested is helping to strengthen the economy, while its work in advancing technology in financial services will help position the Glasgow City Region as a hub for next generation fintech innovation that benefits the economy across Scotland and the wider UK.”

Nicola Anderson, CEO of Fintech Scotland, added: “We are incredibly proud of the impact that The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab is making, harnessing the power of financial innovation to drive economic growth. The investment in FRIL has been game changing, allowing us to support more businesses and drive meaningful economic impact both at a national and global level.”

Glasgow City Region projects: 

  • FinTech, Centre of Innovation in Financial Regulation, led by Fintech Scotland in  partnership with University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow. (Sector: digital)
  • Fusing a future from Glasgow’s proud heritage: schedule guaranteed high-integrity structures for a secure, safe and resilient transition to net zero’, led by University of Strathclyde. (Sector: net zero)
  • Risk stratification tool for colorectal polyp surveillance, led by University of Glasgow. (Sector: health)
  • ReMake Glasgow, led by University of Strathclyde. (Sector: energy)
  • Museums in the metaverse, led by University of Glasgow. (Sector: creative)
  • Critical Technologies Accelerator, led by University of Glasgow. (Sector: photonics/quantum)
  • Modular chemical robot farms for chemical manufacturing, led by Chemify Limited. (Sector: manufacturing)
  • Data-driven design and manufacturing collab (D3M_Colab), led by University of Strathclyde. (Sector: digital)
  • Innovation Accelerator in neutral atom quantum optimisation, led by M-Squared Lasers Limited. (Sector: emerging technology)
  • Next generation remote-sensing technologies, led by Thales UK Limited. (Sector: electronics)
  • Stratellite space and photonics Glasgow Impact Accelerator’, led by University of Strathclyde. (Sector: space)