What Smart Data Foundry does

Smart Data Foundry is a not-for-profit private limited company by guarantee and wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh, headquartered at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. The company aggregates anonymised financial transaction data from a consortium of major UK financial institutions—NatWest Group, Sage, Virgin Money, Moneyhub, FreeAgent, and Equifax—covering approximately 5 million consumer bank accounts (roughly 10% of the GB banking population) and thousands of SMEs. Its core products are the Economic Wellbeing Explorer, a map-based dashboard delivering near real-time vulnerability indicators (Living Beyond Means, Low Emergency Resilience, Overdrawn Accounts, Benefits Reliance, Average Weekly Income, Small Business Productivity) at national, regional, local-authority, and MSOA/neighbourhood levels; the Trusted Research Environment, a secure enclave operated with EPCC at the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility that provides controlled microdata access to approved researchers; the Financial Data Service (FINDS), funded by UKRI's Smart Data Research UK programme and offering curated datasets plus a £430k+ Fellowship programme; and the Economic Nowcast, providing near real-time macroeconomic indicators.

The platform is monetised via a freemium model: national and regional dashboard access is free, while local authority district and MSOA-level access requires paid annual subscriptions, with optional council-data integration on multi-year contracts. Distribution is primarily direct-to-public-sector, supplemented by demo-driven enterprise sales, a research-partnership programme (FINDS Fellowships), and a channel/data-partner network with financial institutions that supply anonymised data in exchange for aggregated insight. Customers span UK local authorities (East Renfrewshire Council, North Ayrshire Council—the latter committing £276,000 for child-poverty initiatives—plus five Homewards locations), NGOs and homelessness organisations (via The Royal Foundation's Homelessness Data Lab), academic and policy researchers (IFS, Bank of England-affiliated research via the Decision Maker Panel, DataLoch-linked health studies), and SME-data consumers through the Sage-powered Small Business Productivity Tracker. Geographically the platform covers England, Scotland, and Wales, with Northern Ireland excluded due to insufficient data-partner coverage.

Name

Smart Data Foundry

Legal name

Smart Data Foundry Limited

Website

https://smartdatafoundry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smart Data Foundry is a not-for-profit University of Edinburgh subsidiary that aggregates anonymised UK banking data from 5+ million consumer accounts to deliver the Economic Wellbeing Explorer, a Trusted Research Environment, and FINDS research services for local authorities, government, NGOs, and academic researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Research Data Platform

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Account Aggregation & Connectivity (Multi-bank linking) (FSAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Transaction Analytics & Cash-Flow Insights (risk signals, forecasting) (FSAGACAG), Alternative Data & Credit Scoring (Cashflow, Telco, Utility, Open Banking) (FSAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Financial data analytics
• Economic wellbeing research
• Trusted research environments
• Anonymized transaction data
• Data sharing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: The Economic Wellbeing Explorer is free to access at national and regional levels. Local-level data (MSOA/Intermediate Zone) is available via paid subscription. The subscription tier enables access to neighborhood-level granularity and the ability to integrate council-specific datasets.
2. Research Data Access: Micro-level data access provided to researchers with approved research proposals via the Trusted Research Environment. Aggregate datasets available through myFoundry data catalogue. Funded fellowship programs provide free access to qualifying academic researchers.
3. Data Partnerships: Financial institutions (NatWest Group, Sage, Virgin Money, Moneyhub, FreeAgent, Equifax) securely share anonymized financial data. Partners gain insights into economic trends and contribute to public good research while maintaining data governance compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Smart Data Foundry aggregates anonymized financial transaction data from UK banking and fintech partners (NatWest, Sage, Virgin Money, Moneyhub, FreeAgent, Equifax) and delivers analytical products including a map-based Economic Wellbeing Explorer dashboard, a secure Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for microdata access, and the FINDS research data service. Its offerings enable local authorities, NGOs, policymakers, and academic researchers to identify financial vulnerability, target public services, and conduct socioeconomic research using near-real-time indicators derived from millions of consumer bank accounts.

Product overview

Smart Data Foundry operates as a not-for-profit data and research organization (wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh, Company SC709914) that makes private sector financial data accessible for social good. The company offers a unified platform centered on myFoundry—a secure data portal providing access to multiple products. The core product is the Economic Wellbeing Explorer, a map-based dashboard delivering near real-time economic wellbeing indicators at national, regional, and local levels. This is supported by the Trusted Research Environment (TRE), a secure environment for microdata access, and the Financial Data Service (FINDS), which provides curated datasets and research funding through fellowships. The Economic Nowcast delivers nowcasting indicators. The company processes anonymized financial data from millions of UK bank accounts using machine learning and AI, with data partners including NatWest Group, Sage, Virgin Money, Moneyhub, FreeAgent, and Equifax. Data is available free at national/regional levels, with local authority and neighborhood levels requiring paid subscriptions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FINDS: FINDS (Financial Data Service) is a programme funded via UKRI's Smart Data Research UK programme, providing the UK research community with free access to financial data and enabling research on economic shocks and policy interventions.
• FINDS Fellowships

Products and services

• myFoundry Secure data portal providing access to Smart Data Foundry's data catalogue, including curated research datasets, the Economic Wellbeing Explorer dashboard, and access to the Trusted Research Environment. Users can register to access national and regional data views; local-level data and microdata are available via subscription or research proposal.
• Economic Wellbeing Explorer Map-based insights platform offering near real-time economic wellbeing indicators at national, regional, and local levels. Built on anonymized financial data from millions of consumer bank accounts, it allows governments, NGOs, policy teams, and service providers to explore financial resilience, spending behaviour, and benefits reliance trends. Free at national and regional levels; local authority and neighbourhood levels require a paid subscription.
• Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Secure research environment managed in partnership with EPCC at the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility, enabling researchers to gain controlled access to UK banking microdata. Provides virtual machine access with Python, R, and Jupyter Notebooks, strict import/export controls, no external internet access, and encrypted file transfers for data ingress and egress.
• Financial Data Service (FINDS) Data service funded via UKRI's Smart Data Research UK programme, providing the UK research community with free access to curated financial datasets. Part of a collaboration between Smart Data Foundry and the University of Edinburgh, FINDS supports research on economic shocks, policy interventions, and socioeconomic challenges, and includes the FINDS Fellowships Programme funding academic research.
• Economic Nowcast Near real-time economic nowcasting capability providing indicators on poverty and inequality, living beyond means, average weekly income, and small business productivity. Indicators are drawn from millions of de-identified consumer bank accounts and thousands of SMBs, calculated on rolling averages and updated monthly or quarterly.

Quantifiable outcome

• Better living standards measurement: IFS research combining FINDS data with surveys improved consumption estimates across 367 local authority districts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, supporting and strategic.

• NatWest GroupcoreTechnology or Integration · 8 June 2026Innovative data partnership providing anonymized consumer banking data that powers the Economic Wellbeing Explorer's near real-time economic vulnerability indicators. Data enables identification of financial stress patterns and homelessness risk at local level.
• Homewards (The Royal Foundation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Smart Data Foundry joined the Homelessness Data Lab, a national collaboration launched by Prince William's Homewards programme. The company provides five Homewards partner locations with access to the Economic Wellbeing Explorer to identify financial vulnerability and prevent homelessness. The partnership includes LandAid and Salesforce as co-delivery partners.
• SagecoreTechnology or IntegrationSME data partner providing accounting records including payroll, invoices, VAT, and cash flow data. Powers the Small Business Productivity Tracker and enables research on small business performance and labor market dynamics.
• Virgin MoneysupportingTechnology or IntegrationFinancial data partner contributing anonymized consumer banking data to the Smart Data Foundry dataset.
• MoneyhubsupportingTechnology or IntegrationFinancial data partner contributing anonymized consumer banking data to the Smart Data Foundry dataset.
• FreeAgentsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSME financial data partner contributing accounting and transaction data to the Smart Data Foundry dataset.
• EquifaxsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCredit and financial data partner contributing to the Smart Data Foundry dataset for research and economic analysis.
• LandAidflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-delivery partner in the Homelessness Data Lab alongside Smart Data Foundry and Salesforce, working on data-driven homelessness prevention initiatives.
• SalesforceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-delivery partner in the Homelessness Data Lab providing technology platform expertise alongside Smart Data Foundry's financial data capabilities.
• EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computer Centre)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for managing the Trusted Research Environment. EPCC operates the Advanced Computing Facility where SDF's secure infrastructure is hosted, providing high-performance computing capabilities and strict physical security controls.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization: Smart Data Foundry is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh. Located within Edinburgh Futures Institute, the relationship provides academic credibility, research collaboration opportunities, and institutional governance alignment.
• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaborator using FINDS financial data to improve methods of calculating consumption patterns across 367 local authority districts. IFS Working Paper demonstrated how combining banking data with surveys enhances living standards measurement.
• Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic research partner collaborating with Smart Data Foundry and Sage to create and publish the quarterly Small Business Tracker.
• DataLochstrategicTechnology or IntegrationHealth data provider linked with FINDS data for Dr Elizabeth Lemmon's research fellowship on fair access to Free Personal Care in Scotland, combining financial vulnerability data with health and social care indicators.
• Young ScotsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerScotland's national youth charity providing contextual interpretation of findings for the Youth Financial Vulnerability research project, ensuring findings are grounded in lived experience.
• Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner providing infrastructure and networks for FINDS fellowship research dissemination through the Compassion in Financial Services Hub (CiFSH).
• Bank of EnglandstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Mizen (FINDS fellowship research lead) serves as consultant to Bank of England and is Principal Investigator of the Decision Maker Panel. Research explores NLW and NIC increases impact on small businesses.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Plaid: Global account-aggregation and open-banking connectivity platform providing consumer-permissioned access to bank data for fintechs and researchers; highly comparable to SDF's underlying multi-bank data connectivity layer and use of consumer-permissioned transaction data for downstream analytics.
• TrueLayer: UK-headquartered open-banking API provider linking applications to bank account data and payments; comparable in the account aggregation / connectivity function that powers SDF's data infrastructure and that SDF's own partner Moneyhub also competes with.
• ClearScore: UK consumer credit and financial wellbeing platform that combines bureau and open-banking data to produce insights for consumers and partners; comparable because it also turns aggregated bank transaction data into affordability, vulnerability and wellbeing signals, but ships to a consumer rather than public-sector audience.
• Tink (Visa): European open-banking platform owned by Visa providing account aggregation, transaction analytics and cash-flow insights; directly comparable to SDF's account aggregation and cash-flow indicator capabilities and target audience of financial institutions and fintechs.

Broad incumbents

• Experian: Global credit bureau and consumer financial data analytics business; comparable because Experian combines bureau data with alternative data and analytics for lenders, public sector and policymakers, overlapping with SDF's credit and financial-wellbeing indicator work, although at far greater scale.
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: Major alternative-data and identity/credit analytics provider serving financial services and government; directly comparable on combining transaction-level alternative data with underwriting and risk analytics, but as a much larger incumbent with a broader product portfolio than SDF's niche.
• Office for National Statistics (ONS) Data Science Campus: UK government statistical body using novel data sources (including transaction data) for economic and social measurement; comparable to SDF as a producer of regional economic and wellbeing indicators backed by an institutional mandate, but operating as a public body rather than a commercial subscription business.

Emerging players

• Yonder: UK-based consumer insights and rewards platform built on opt-in bank transaction data; comparable as an early-stage company using consented bank account data for socially beneficial use cases (financial literacy, rewards, research), though targeting consumers rather than councils.
• Onfido (now part of Entrust): Identity verification and data-driven risk analytics provider combining AI/ML with alternative data; comparable as an emerging player using alternative financial data for risk and onboarding decisions, though focused on identity rather than economic-wellbeing insights.

Others

• Cebr / Centre for Economics and Business Research: Economic research consultancy that co-produces the Small Business Tracker with SDF and Sage; comparable as an analysis/forecasting partner that turns alternative data into published economic indicators, but operates as a consultancy rather than a data infrastructure owner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartdatafoundry
• Xx.com/SmartDataFdry

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart Data Foundry