Opening fresh insights on the economy
Linda King from our new Financial Data Service (FINDS) considers the power of financial data to help understand the true economic wellbeing of the nation.
What if the answers to some of the toughest economic challenges – productivity, poverty, inequality – were hidden in the financial data we generate every day?
The Financial Data Service (FINDS) provides researchers with safe access to private-sector financial data, helping us to understand people’s financial challenges across the country.
This invaluable data has long been available to the financial institutions themselves but has never been made available for research at scale. We’re changing that.
We offer a fresh, data-driven perspective on the UK’s economic health for smarter and more effective solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
From transactions to transformative insights
Every time we tap our bank card or make an online payment, we leave behind a “digital footprint”. While a single transaction might seem insignificant, at scale, these data points reveal powerful socioeconomic patterns. Are families struggling to keep up with rising costs? Which regions are recovering faster from economic challenges? How are people managing fluctuating incomes?
By aggregating and curating private sector financial data, FINDS enables researchers to explore these critical questions, while ensuring people’s privacy and security. The result? Groundbreaking insights that help shape policies, improve financial support systems, and create a clearer picture of economic wellbeing in the UK.
Introducing FINDS: A collaborative effort for public good
FINDS is a collaboration between Smart Data Foundry and the University of Edinburgh. It’s designed to give researchers access to high-quality, anonymised financial data. This includes de-identified, near real-time data, donated by private sector data partners, from 5.3 million UK current account holders – about 10% of the country’s total – offering a snapshot of how we spend and save.
This data is aggregated and curated into themed collections, allowing researchers to innovate and explore key issues such as poverty, inequality, and economic wellbeing across different regions.
What makes FINDS even more powerful is that it’s part of the wider smart data service ecosystem coordinated by Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK). We’ll be working with five other data services to maximise the positive impact of smart data for the public good.
Why financial data is a game changer
Financial data is a rich resource for research, offering a real-world view of how economic forces impact people’s lives. Here’s why it’s so valuable:
Real-time insights
- FINDS provides real-time granular data around actual income and spending, uncovering timely insights into issues like hidden poverty and the true impact of inflation – insights that other data collection methods may miss.
Geographically representative
- FINDS data accurately reflects the distribution of the population across different geographic areas in the UK, helping ensure that research and policy decisions are inclusive.
Uncovering long-term impacts
- FINDS longitudinal data, tracking anonymised individuals over a five-year period, provides unique insights into the long-term effects of factors such as gambling, poverty, and welfare policies.
Unlocking data linkage
- Researchers can combine financial data with other datasets such as health or housing — to uncover deeper insights into societal challenges.
What kind of data is available?
FINDS provides access to a range of financial data designed to empower innovative research into key economic and social challenges.
We offer tailored data access to meet different research needs. For verified researchers we have deidentified individual-level data, available through our secure Trusted Research Environment (TRE).
We also have curated thematic data collections, which include:
- Income volatility: How do fluctuations in income affect individuals and families, and what are the broader consequences for financial stability?
- Cost of living: What impact are rising living costs having on different communities, and how are households adapting?
- Financial behaviours: How do people manage their finances during times of economic pressure?
And this is just the beginning. Future data collections will focus on themes such as gambling impact, benefits income, disposable income, financial vulnerability and more.
We welcome ideas from researchers interested in using financial data for innovative research, so please get in touch! With SDR UK’s support we will also be offering annual ‘pump-priming’ funding to stimulate innovative research projects, so stay tuned!
The FINDS data catalogue can be accessed here.
Keeping financial data safe and secure
FINDS prioritises the security and privacy of sensitive financial data. Our TRE is hosted by the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC). It ensures that all data is managed under the highest security and privacy standards.
We follow the Five Safes framework, a globally recognised model for secure data access. We also operate under a robust governance structure, with regulatory input from our participation in the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Sandbox. This commitment ensures our data-sharing practices are ethical, legal, and aligned with industry best practices.
Raising awareness and driving impact
To showcase the power of financial data for research and policy, Smart Data Foundry will soon launch two groundbreaking tools:
Smart Data Foundry Economic Nowcast
- A near real-time dashboard on the Smart Data Foundry website tracking key financial wellbeing indicators for consumers and small businesses, such as average income and business productivity.
The Economic Wellbeing Explorer
- A map-based platform that provides users with a clearer understanding of economic wellbeing across the UK. It allows for comparisons at national, regional, and local levels, highlighting key indicators such as financial resilience and spending behaviours.
These solutions raise awareness of the power of financial data while empowering data-driven responses to economic challenges. You can find out more over the coming weeks.
Data for good: shaping a better future
At its core, FINDS is more than just a data service – it’s a catalyst for meaningful change. By making financial data accessible for research and innovation, we’re enabling policymakers, academics, and service providers to tackle poverty, inequality, and financial instability with greater precision than ever before.
The goal? A fairer, more financially resilient future for everyone.