Register Data TechSprint

In May 2023, we hosted our Register Data TechSprint working collaboratively with industry participants to better understand how our register data can be structured or utilised to help consumers make more informed financial decisions.

At the FCA, we publish more than 50 million data items through the Financial Services Register which displays details around firms and individuals, including whether they are Authorised or Registered, their firm details, addresses, permissions, and individual functions. This data serves a variety of purposes.

From a consumer perspective, it helps identify a firm’s Authorised status and therefore meets the FCA’s threshold conditions. It also helps FCA Authorised firms confirm that their details held and published by the FCA are accurate.

Firms can also use it to check that other firms they may work with are suitably authorised, this further reduces the potential for consumer harm. We would like to improve the outreach and effective use of this data with a wider audience.

Given our mandate to enhance market integrity, make markets work well and protect consumers, we constantly strive to improve transparency, aid consumers and firms in decision-making, and prevent harm. This is even more pronounced given the current concerns around:

Cost of living, creating increased pressure of consumer decision making, including consumers reviewing existing products, seeking financial advice, and changing providers;
Fraud and consumer harm, amplifying the need to identify and flag unapproved businesses and products;
The growing hype and misinformation around investments and financial offerings through online platforms, increases the importance of accurate data.

Over a 3-day period, our TechSprint teams explored technological solutions across three problem statements:

1. Timely access: How can the Register Data actively aid consumers early on in their decision-making, and minimising harm through misinformation?

Team 1 – Dr Q (The Fast Solution Award)

Dr Q introduced a single front door access point in the form of a QR code that would provide consumers with a direct portal point of entry to the Register when engaging with a financial product or service.

Team 2 - ScamGuard

ScamGuard presented a browser plug-in/extension application that checks the website a consumer is visiting against information on the FCA register through an API.

2. Holistic information in an innovative way: How can the Register Data be integrated with other sources, e.g., Companies House Data, to provide consumers with more complete information and support more informed decision making?

Team 3 – Everything, everywhere, all at once

Everything, everywhere, all at once broke down the lifecycle of a financial decision and the data sources that exist along that journey to provide a inference matrix of data in digestible chunks.

Team 4 – Holistic information in an innovative way (The Jump Solution Award)

Holistic information in an innovative way integrated multiple open source datasets such as the FS Register, FCA Warning List and Companies House to create a one-stop shop for firm information. A prototype demo was provided on how their solution worked in realtime.

Accessibility and visualisation: How can the Register Data be made more interactive, accessible, and understandable for consumers? Helping them to help themselves.

Team 5 – TrustLink

TrustLink provided a redesigned FS Register interface which would look to be integrated with search platforms to grant authorised firms with the TrustLink shield.

Team 6 – JustAskReg (The Eureka Solution & People’s Choice Award)

JustAskReg outlined their solution thinking arounda real time, video realistic conversational AI that consumers can interact with when trying to navigate the FS Register.

First published: 09/11/2023 Last updated: 02/12/2025