Financial services firms developing AI-driven fraud prevention technologies will gain access to Anthropic’s AI models as part of the latest expansion of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Supercharged Sandbox programme.
The regulator has announced that Anthropic will support the second cohort of the initiative, providing participants with access to its Claude AI platform, including Claude Code and Claude Cowork, to help organisations safely develop and test advanced AI applications.
Among the priority areas for the new cohort are fraud detection, economic crime prevention, safer AI-enabled payments, AI governance, compliance automation and improving access to financial services for vulnerable customers.
The second intake includes 21 organisations, among them Scottish Widows, TrueLayer and Money Advice Trust, following a 51% increase in applications compared with the programme’s first cohort, highlighting growing industry demand for controlled environments to develop AI safely.
For fraud prevention professionals, the initiative reflects the increasing focus on applying artificial intelligence to strengthen transaction monitoring, detect emerging fraud patterns and improve payment security while ensuring appropriate governance and regulatory oversight.
The Supercharged Sandbox combines Anthropic’s technology with existing support from NVIDIA and NayaOne, giving participating firms access to advanced computing infrastructure and AI development tools without exposing live customers or production systems to unnecessary risk.
Jessica Rusu, the FCA’s Chief Data, Intelligence and Information Officer, said the strong level of interest demonstrated firms’ appetite for trusted environments where they can innovate responsibly while accelerating AI development.
Alongside the expanded Sandbox, the FCA has also launched its new Agentic Academy, a 10-week specialist programme delivered with the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), aimed at helping selected firms develop expertise in next-generation AI technologies.
The latest announcements form part of the FCA’s wider strategy to encourage responsible AI adoption across financial services while supporting innovation, economic growth and stronger consumer protection.
The regulator has also reiterated that it intends to oversee AI using existing regulatory frameworks rather than introducing AI-specific rules, giving firms greater certainty as they invest in new fraud prevention and compliance technologies.
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