AI For Services Podcast Series Two: Stories of change in Finance and Professional Services

About the series

By engaging with the people behind Innovate UK and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded projects, this series reveals how artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and inclusive design are addressing real-world challenges such as broken customer journeys, inefficient processes, and regulatory complexity. Across eight episodes, you will hear first-hand how:

• Legal language is being transformed to truly serve consumers
• AI simplifies complex, unstructured processes in property transactions
• Crypto tax compliance becomes more transparent and user-friendly
• Financial inclusion is moving beyond theory to practical impact
• Organisations overcome real-world barriers to adopt innovation
• AI enables pensions to reflect individual values and ethics
• Small firms leverage accessible tech to drive meaningful change
• Insurance adapts to new working patterns with flexible, tech-driven solutions

These podcast episodes are for professionals, innovators, and policymakers who want to understand what the future of services could – and should – look like when technology meets purpose.

Each episode from this series is now available to listen to through your favourite podcasting platform and you can watch them all on the Next Generation Professional and Financial Services Programme YouTube playlist .

In this opening episode, Minesh Patel, Founder of Amplified Global, shares his powerful personal story of being diagnosed with dyslexia at 31 – and how it led him to develop a technology that transforms how we understand legal and financial information.

Astrid Ayel and Minesh are also joined by Kevin Still, Director of Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA), and Professor Richard Hyde from the University of Nottingham, to dive into a discussion about:

• The real meaning of intelligibility versus readability
• Why the language in contracts often fails us
• How regulations like the Consumer Rights Act and Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty are driving change.

Together, they go onto explore how co-creation, research, and innovation can make legal communication truly accessible – and why clearer contracts are not just a legal obligation, but a social necessity.

If you have ever skipped the small print in a legally binding contract, then this episode is for you!

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

You can also watch Minesh speak about the benefits of digital tools for inclusion and empowerment in this panel discussion from the 2025 UK National Showcase event.

What does financial inclusion really look like – and who is being left out of the conversation?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel is joined by Tynah Matembe, founder and CEO of MoneyMatiX, to discuss how lived experience inspired her mission to make financial education more accessible, practical, and inclusive for underserved communities.

From cash-based economies to credit scores, and from community events to inclusive product design, Tynah unpacks how financial systems often fail to reflect the diversity of real-life experiences. She also shares why it is crucial to build trust between communities and institutions, how to design services with inclusion in mind, and why financial education should be empowering – not intimidating.

If you have ever wondered what financial inclusion really means in practice, tune into this episode.

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

What does it take for firms in finance and professional services to truly embrace innovation?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel speaks with the academic leads behind two pioneering accelerator programmes: TiPS (Technology in Professional Services) and Future Finance. Backed by the Economic and Social Research Council and Innovate UK, these initiatives are helping SMEs tackle real-world challenges in adopting new technologies.

The episode brings together voices from Lancaster University Management School, Oxford Brookes Business School and the University of Bristol to explore how research, training, and peer support are helping organisations – from law firms to financial advisors – to unlock the potential of innovation. The discussion covers the barriers firms encounter, including cultural resistance, regulatory uncertainty and resource limitations, and highlights the practical tools being developed to support digital transformation.

If you have ever faced the challenge of turning innovation into action, this episode is for you.

Participants:

• Dr. Tzameret Rubin, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Management, Oxford Brookes Business School
• Jack Stanbury, Senior Project Manager, University of Bristol
• Jonathan Beaverstock, Principal Investigator Future Finance, Deputy Dean University of Bristol Business School
• Ketch Adeeko, Lecturer in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, University of Bristol
• Martin Spring, Principal Investigator TiPS, Professor of Operations Management, Lancaster University Management School

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

What does innovation look like on the ground in the hands of small accounting firms?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel is joined by Dr. Tzameret Rubin, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Management, Oxford Brookes Business School and lead of the TiPS Innovation Adoption Accelerator, and Rebecca Trudgett, Director & Founder of Switchfoot Accounting, a participant in the accelerator programme. Together, they explore how hands-on training, peer learning, and no-code tools are helping firms like Rebecca’s take meaningful steps towards digital transformation.

The conversation highlights the practical realities of adoption: legacy systems, fragmented tools, and undocumented processes that make scaling difficult. Rebecca shares her experience of rethinking workflows and embracing automation – without needing to be a tech expert – and reflects on how the accelerator enabled her to experiment, problem-solve, and build solutions she can truly own.

If you have ever wanted to modernise your practice but did not know where to start, listen to this conversation.

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

What happens when traditional insurance models are unable to keep up with how people actually live and work?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel speaks with Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO and founder of Tapoly, a digital insurance platform built to serve the gig economy and small businesses with flexible, on-demand coverage. Born from her own frustration trying to insure a short-term, non-traditional rental, Tapoly is now helping to reshape the insurance landscape with AI-powered tools and tech solutions for under-served markets.

Janthana discusses how Tapoly’s technology supports both operational efficiency and personalised coverage, and how her team is using artificial intelligence (AI) to price risk, streamline customer journeys, and reduce bias. She also reflects on the importance of commercial viability in innovation, the evolving role of women in InsurTech, and why industry change still has a long way to go.

If you have ever wondered what inclusive, tech-driven insurance could look like, this episode is for you.

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

What happens when innovation meets one of the fastest-growing – and least understood – financial frontiers?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel speaks with Daniel Howitt, CEO and Co-Founder of Recap, a UK-based startup that helps individuals and accountants tackle the complex world of crypto taxation. Born from Dan’s personal struggle to navigate unclear guidance and protect financial privacy, Recap offers an encrypted platform that makes crypto tax calculation secure, compliant, and practical.

Dan shares the company’s journey from early Bitcoin mining to collaborating with accountancy firms and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The discussion explores how Recap is empowering professionals with the tools to handle crypto portfolios confidently and why accountants can no longer afford to ignore this growing asset class.

Tune into this episode to develop a greater understanding of the challenges behind crypto tax.

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

How can cutting-edge technology help pension funds understand what people actually care about and invest accordingly?

In this episode you can hear how conversational AI and sustainability data are coming together to unlock ESG preferences at scale through a project that aims to give everyday savers a meaningful voice in how their pensions are invested – moving beyond generic risk profiles to more personal, values-driven engagement.

The conversation delves into the technical and ethical complexity of mapping individual preferences to real-world investments and highlights how artificial intelligence can bridge the gap between data, dialogue, and decision-making in the pensions industry.

If you have ever wanted to align your pension with your values – or understand how that might finally become possible – this episode is for you.

Participants:

• Andrew Tucker, Co-Founder and CEO, Mettle Capital
• Astrid Ayel, AI for Services Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect
• Benjamin Winter, Lead Machine Learning Engineer, Wyser
• Mark Pearce, Founder and CEO, Wyser

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

What if AI could help reduce the stress of buying a home – by making sense of the messy middle of the conveyancing process?

In this episode, Astrid Ayel speaks with Gemma and Johnny from Collaborative Conveyancing, and Rob from the STFC Hartree Centre. Together, they explore how their project is tackling one of the most frustrating pain points in property transactions: the chaotic and time-consuming process of managing legal enquiries during conveyancing.

By using natural language processing and machine learning, the team has developed a tool that helps conveyancers extract, classify, and manage the flood of email-based queries that currently slow down and complicate property transactions. They discuss the challenge of building trust in AI among legal professionals, the importance of transparency and control, and how the solution is being trialled across UK law firms to reduce delays and improve communication.

If you have ever wondered how artificial intelligence can support – rather than replace – legal professionals, this episode is for you.

Participants:

• Astrid Ayel, AI for Services Lead, Innovate UK Business Connect
• Gemma Fulbrook-Felstead, Director of Operations, Collaborative Conveyancing
• Jonny Palmer, Data Science Lead, Collaborative Conveyancing
• Robert Firth, Senior AI Research Scientist, STFC Hartree Centre

Listen on other podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, and watch on YouTube.

We hope this podcast series inspires you to progress with your own digital innovation journey and in the meantime, we encourage you to check out the following ways to learn and stay connected with likeminded individuals from your sector:

• Discover opportunities for future digital innovation across the UK Professional and Financial Services sectors with the AI for Services Report 2025.
• Join the AI for Services network alongside more than 1,500 leading businesses, researchers, firms and investors who are supporting the transformation of your sector.
• Find other projects that have advanced in digital transformation through the Next Generation Professional and Financial Services Programme.
• Hear more insights from the AI for Services Network in the first Podcast Series Edition.