Raidiam and Oxford Saïd Business School to Support FCA Smart Data Accelerator Research Into UK Open Finance Infrastructure

WHY THIS MATTERS:
The UK is entering a critical phase in the evolution from open banking to open finance and broader smart data frameworks. Infrastructure decisions made now — around APIs, identity, consent, interoperability and governance — will shape market participation, competition and consumer protection for years to come. This research partnership between Raidiam and Saïd Business School, commissioned by the FCA’s Smart Data Accelerator, signals that regulators are moving from concept to architectural design.

By developing testable infrastructure models within the FCA’s Digital Sandbox using synthetic datasets, the programme shifts the debate from theory to structured experimentation. Examining federated, centralised and hybrid governance approaches — alongside technologies like agentic AI and DLT — reflects growing recognition that open finance requires not just policy direction, but resilient technical blueprints capable of scaling securely.

Raidiam, a global leader in secure open data ecosystems and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) technical delivery partner for its Smart Data Sprints, has announced a research partnership with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The programme, commissioned by the FCA’s Smart Data Accelerator, will design testable infrastructure models for open finance and smart data in the UK.

The collaboration, highlighted at the FCA Mortgages & SME Finance TechSprint Showcase Day will contribute to a multi‑chapter research report examining alternative infrastructure, technology and governance models capable of underpinning a future UK open finance ecosystem. 

The research is being led independently by Professor Pınar Özcan, Director of the Oxford Future of Finance and Technology Initiative, and researcher Kyeyoung Shin. 

The programme will examine infrastructure and data architecture models across four key dimensions:

• Infrastructure and standardisation – ecosystem rails, APIs, interoperability and resilience
• Technology – including agentic AI, blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) and quantum‑readiness
• Trust and consent frameworks – consumer control, ethical data use and data assurance
• Governance and liability frameworks 

Saïd Business School will lead the independent research programme, combining global benchmarking, stakeholder engagement and structured architectural modelling. Raidiam will contribute technical and domain expertise drawn from experience designing and operating regulated, high‑trust data‑sharing ecosystems.

Led by John Heaton‑Armstrong, the Raidiam team will support the translation of conceptual infrastructure models into technically coherent, testable blueprints suitable for structured experimentation within the FCA Innovation Department’s Digital Sandbox using synthetic datasets. 

Barry O’Donohoe, CEO and Co‑Founder of Raidiam, said:

“As the UK considers the evolution from open banking to broader open finance and smart data regimes, infrastructure choices will shape market participation, resilience and consumer protection for years to come. We are pleased to support Saïd Business School and the FCA’s Smart Data Accelerator by contributing implementation insight from regulated ecosystems, helping ensure proposed models are both technically credible and capable of structured testing.” 

Professor Pınar Özcan, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, added: 

“The UK is at a pivotal moment in the development of open finance. This research will compare alternative infrastructure and governance configurations, drawing on international experience and stakeholder engagement, to provide the FCA with evidence-based options for experimentation and future policy development.”

A central premise of the project is that infrastructure design decisions – including identity frameworks, accreditation models, trust anchors, consent representation and standards governance – are not neutral. These choices influence who can participate, how quickly ecosystems scale, how risks are monitored and how liability is allocated. 

The research will develop multiple architectural models, including centrally coordinated, federated interoperability and hybrid approaches. Each model will specify the technical components required for simulation within the FCA’s Digital Sandbox using synthetic datasets, and will articulate integration considerations, operational dependencies and testing parameters. 

The project runs until the end of March 2026, with a final report scheduled for submission on 31 March 2026. The findings are expected to support future experimentation within the FCA’s innovation functions and may inform future policy development and industry research outputs.

FF NEWS TAKE:
Open finance is no longer a question of “if” but “how.” The UK’s next competitive advantage may depend on getting the infrastructure layer right — especially around trust, liability and consent frameworks.

Bringing academic independence together with practical ecosystem engineering experience creates a credible path toward evidence-based policymaking. If executed well, this work could influence not just UK smart data policy, but global open finance standards.