The fintech platform will use synthetic data to help financial organizations innovate

Bryn Coulthard. Photo: Smart Data Foundry

A new platform based on ‘synthetic data’ will accelerate innovation for financial organizations that find it difficult to access real data.

Smart Data Foundry has developed the ‘aizle’ platform to help financial organisations, fintechs, regulators and innovators across the UK develop new products and services.

The organisation, set up by the University of Edinburgh, has already deployed synthetic data for an early fintech challenge and a ‘tech sprint’ challenge based on reducing financial fraud with the Financial Conduct Authority.

aizle – the Scottish word for ‘spark’ – produces synthetic datasets that contain the important and meaningful properties of real-world data.

Critically, aizle does this without requiring real-world input to generate its synthetic datasets, removing privacy and other data risks.

Based on this approach, the engine can provide data where no real data is available or can provide alternative data when available data is insufficient or has biases, enabling innovation in areas previously considered difficult or expensive to explore.

Synthetic data can be used to build a rapid prototype, train an AI model, or run scenarios about the strategic impact of a new initiative.

The three principles underlying aizle are privacy, fidelity and utility – to ensure that the data output is safe and without risk; is accurate and relevant; and is easy to use, manage and share.

Smart Data Foundry has demonstrated the product’s capabilities as a sponsor of Innovate Finance Global Summit, held in London yesterday and today.

Bryn Coulthard, head of product and technology at Smart Data Foundry, said: “We exist to unlock the positive power of financial data to improve people’s lives – and believe that the creation of data using our synthetic data engine for aizle will drive innovation and contribute to solving problems facing financial services and society at large.

“We know that data access, permissions and security are the biggest factors holding back innovators. With interest in the possibilities and use of synthetic data increasing, through the development of aizle, we are providing a real solution to the challenges facing innovators, which will bring many to the benefit of consumers and businesses.

“We are excited to connect with financial organisations, fintechs, regulators and innovators across the UK to highlight the benefits of creating sophisticated, integrated synthetic data sets to accelerate innovation.”