The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to bring together financial services firms, quantum technology providers and national research laboratories to explore how quantum computing could help tackle financial crime. The initiative, called the Quantum Experimentation Group, will launch in the first quarter of 2027. According to the regulator, it is the first group of its kind led by a regulator anywhere in the world.
Fraud and laundering first. The group will initially focus on how quantum machine learning could help detect money laundering and fraud. The FCA says it will define the problem statements and work alongside participants to understand the opportunities, limitations and practical considerations of quantum technologies.
Synthetic data as fuel. One of the main obstacles to testing new detection tools is access to suitable data. To get around it, participants will use an FCA synthetic dataset, meaning artificially generated data, rather than real customer information.
Why it matters
A regulator learning early. Beyond helping firms explore practical uses of quantum computing, the group is meant to help the FCA itself understand the technology's opportunities and limits, the barriers to experimentation and what all of this could mean for regulation. Findings will be shared to guide future testing.
We want to help firms explore where quantum could make a meaningful difference, and early experimentation is essential to understanding its potential in financial services. — Jessica Rusu, chief data, information and intelligence officer at the FCA
Open to all stages. Rusu added that bringing firms, technology providers and researchers together can build readiness and identify practical applications for common industry challenges, starting with financial crime. The FCA says the group will support organisations at different stages, from those just beginning to explore use cases to those already running advanced experiments. The initiative builds on the regulator's research into the long-term potential of quantum computing in financial services and is designed to complement wider activity in the UK's quantum ecosystem.
- Who can join: financial services firms, quantum technology providers and national research laboratories.
- Deadline to register interest: 31 December 2026.
- Launch date: first quarter of 2027.
- First focus: quantum machine learning for detecting fraud and money laundering.
What to watch. The FCA has not yet said what results it expects. The key test will be whether the shared findings show quantum approaches offering a real advantage over current detection tools, and how the regulator translates those lessons into its future approach to financial crime.
Source: Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
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