Raidiam has partnered with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, on a new research programme commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Smart Data Accelerator, focused on designing testable infrastructure models for open finance and smart data in the UK.
As the FCA’s technical delivery partner for its current Smart Data Sprints, Raidiam is extending its role in the UK’s open finance agenda by contributing technical and domain expertise to an independent research project led by Saïd Business School.
The UK’s transition from open banking to open finance will require shared infrastructure capable of supporting multi-sector, interoperable data sharing at scale. This research contributes to that next phase of ecosystem design and testing.
The collaboration, highlighted at the FCA Mortgages & SME Finance TechSprint Showcase Day in London, will feed into a multi‑chapter research report examining alternative infrastructure, technology and governance models for 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 at Saïd Business School.
The programme will examine infrastructure and data‑architecture models across four key dimensions:
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 its experience designing and operating regulated, high‑trust data‑sharing ecosystems for open banking and open finance. Led by Raidiam’s John Heaton‑Armstrong, the team will help translate conceptual infrastructure models into technically coherent, testable blueprints suitable for structured experimentation within the FCA Innovation Department’s Digital Sandbox using synthetic datasets.
A central premise of the project is that infrastructure design decisions – such as 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. This work comes as the UK moves towards an FCA‑led open finance roadmap, also expected in March.
The insights from this programme will be particularly relevant for regulators, scheme operators and ecosystem leaders designing national or multi‑sector open finance and smart data frameworks.
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.
Regulators, industry leaders, and innovators worldwide use Raidiam’s technology to design and operate secure, interoperable data‑sharing ecosystems. Get in touch with our team today to find out more.