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The UK’s financial watchdog wants fintech firms to move faster on artificial intelligence. Jessica Rusu spoke at the IFGS conference in London on April 22, 2026. She’s the FCA’s chief data, information, and intelligence officer, and she laid out plans to expand the agency’s AI Lab with more hands-on support for companies trying to adopt advanced technologies.
Rusu said agentic commerce will change how people make financial decisions and complete transactions. It’s a pretty big shift. The AI Lab expansion comes as a direct response to that shift, offering fintech firms more practical resources to handle the growing complexities in financial innovation. The goal is making sure these companies can actually adapt to new technological demands without getting stuck in regulatory limbo or burning through cash on compliance headaches. The FCA wants firms to experiment, but it also wants them to do it safely.
Open Finance Gets the Green Light
Open Finance is another piece of the puzzle. Rusu called it the framework for a more intelligent financial system. The FCA sees this initiative as crucial for letting financial services evolve efficiently. Open Finance isn’t just about sharing data between banks and third-party providers anymore. It’s becoming the backbone for how financial products and services will operate in an AI-driven world. The regulator thinks this framework will help firms build smarter tools that can make decisions on behalf of consumers, which ties directly into the agentic commerce push.
The expansion of the AI Lab means more resources. More guidance. More collaboration between the FCA and the firms trying to build the next generation of financial products. Rusu didn’t spell out every detail of what the Lab will offer, but the message was clear: the FCA wants to be involved early and often as firms develop AI-powered tools. That’s a shift from the traditional regulatory approach of waiting until products hit the market before stepping in.
Solo-Regulated Firms Get Their Own Path
The FCA is also opening up its Scale-Up unit for solo-regulated firms. Expressions of interest are being accepted now. These are firms that only answer to the FCA, not multiple regulators, and they often face unique challenges when trying to grow. The Scale-Up unit is designed to give them resources and guidance tailored to their specific situations. It’s basically a growth accelerator backed by the regulator itself.
Solo-regulated firms tend to be smaller. They move fast but don’t always have the compliance infrastructure of bigger players. The FCA’s support here is about helping them scale without compromising on regulatory standards. That’s a tricky balance. But the agency seems committed to making it work, probably because it knows that innovation often comes from smaller, nimbler companies rather than established financial giants.
Rusu’s comments at the IFGS conference made it clear that agentic commerce isn’t some distant future concept. It’s happening now. Financial transactions and decision-making processes are already starting to change as AI systems become more autonomous. Firms need to rethink their strategies and technology frameworks to keep up. The FCA’s expansion of the AI Lab and the opening of the Scale-Up unit are meant to give them the tools to do exactly that.
The regulator’s embrace of Open Finance is seen as a key part of this transformation. By creating a standardized framework for data sharing and intelligent financial services, the FCA is trying to build an ecosystem where innovation can flourish. It’s not just about letting firms do whatever they want with AI. It’s about creating guardrails that protect consumers while still allowing for rapid technological advancement. That’s the theory, anyway.
The FCA’s approach is proactive rather than reactive. Instead of waiting for problems to emerge and then cracking down, the agency is trying to work with firms as they develop new technologies. The AI Lab expansion is a big part of that strategy. So is the Scale-Up unit. Both initiatives signal that the FCA wants the UK to be a leader in fintech innovation, not a place where regulatory friction slows everything down.
Agentic commerce will require firms to fundamentally rethink how they handle transactions. It’s not just about automating existing processes. It’s about creating systems that can make decisions, negotiate terms, and complete transactions with minimal human intervention. That’s a big leap from where most financial services are today. Rusu’s emphasis on this transformation shows that the FCA understands the stakes. Firms that don’t adapt will probably get left behind.
The Scale-Up unit’s invitation for expressions of interest is a direct call to action for solo-regulated firms. The FCA wants these companies to engage with the unit and take advantage of the support being offered. It’s a chance for smaller firms to grow their operations with regulatory guidance rather than against it. That could make a real difference in how quickly they can scale and compete with larger players.
Details on the AI Lab’s specific offerings remain unclear. The FCA hasn’t spelled out exactly what kind of support firms will get or how the Lab will operate day-to-day. Same goes for the full implementation of Open Finance. Those specifics will probably come later as the FCA continues to develop these programs. For now, the message is that the agency is committed to supporting innovation and wants firms to know help is available.
The FCA’s focus on both agentic commerce and Open Finance shows it’s thinking about the financial system holistically. These aren’t separate initiatives. They’re interconnected pieces of a broader strategy to modernize UK financial services. By expanding the AI Lab and opening the Scale-Up unit, the FCA is putting resources behind that strategy. Whether it works will depend on how well firms take advantage of the support and how effectively the FCA can balance innovation with consumer protection.
Rusu’s speech underscored the urgency of adapting to new technologies. The financial sector is changing fast, and firms that wait too long to innovate risk becoming irrelevant. The FCA’s initiatives are designed to prevent that by giving companies the support they need to move quickly and confidently. Interested parties can reach out to the Scale-Up unit to explore growth opportunities. The AI Lab expansion is already underway, with more details expected as the FCA rolls out additional resources and guidance for fintech firms navigating the complexities of digital transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the FCA’s AI Lab expansion about?
The FCA is expanding its AI Lab to give fintech firms more practical support as they adopt advanced technologies like agentic commerce. Rusu announced this at the IFGS conference on April 22, 2026.
What is agentic commerce and why does it matter?
Agentic commerce refers to AI systems that can make financial decisions and complete transactions autonomously. The FCA sees it as a major shift that will reshape how financial services operate.
Who can apply to the FCA’s Scale-Up unit?
The Scale-Up unit is open to solo-regulated firms that want help scaling their operations. Expressions of interest are being accepted now.
