Compassionate financial services

The “science of compassion” is being harnessed to help create a more inclusive and sustainable financial system. The Compassion in Financial Services Hub, based at Edinburgh Futures Institute, launched in February 2025 with the aim of providing pathways to reimagine and redesign a financial services sector where compassion drives decision-making, fosters inclusivity and alleviates suffering.

The Hub’s mission is to help financial organisations unlock opportunities for innovation and long-term success while contributing to a more just economy. As part of this, the team has partnered with charity Young Scot to ensure that the voices of young people are heard. Hub Co-Director Professor Liz Grant, also Co-Director of the Global Compassion Initiative at the University of Edinburgh, has been an expert in the science of compassion for the past decade, especially in relation to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She said:

“Compassion is more than being kind. It’s about noticing what’s wrong with the world and responding in a way that creates cohesion and connects people. improves the wellbeing of clients and reduces the negative impacts of climate change, pollution, waste and biodiversity loss can bring about powerful change.”

“The Hub helps us better understand the role of financial industries in the context of the global crises being addressed by the SDGs.” Professor Grant added: “A compassionate working environment, a culture where people are seen and heard and where there is active prioritisation of investment decision-making that

The financial services industry – including investment firms and banks – “wants positive change”, said the Hub’s other Co-Director, Tobi Schneider, the University’s Financial Services and Fintech Sector Engagement Lead (at the time of print). He added: “We’re not here to say, ‘do this or that’. What we can do is provide alternative ways of thinking and doing things – working in collaboration with them by using the tools of compassion. Professor Liz Grant “If you want to build a sustainable business, you need to think medium- and long-term. And in the medium- and long-term, one of the biggest currencies a business has is trust. Compassion is a powerful tool for building trust.

“Our conviction, backed up by research, is that to have a sustainable business model, even in finance, you need a compassionate, long-term, trust-based model.” For the Hub team, helping bring about change is crucial. Mr Schneider said: “Our end goal is to have fundamentally different products on the market and make a real change to young people’s experience with financial services.” Young Scot has helped the Hub team, academics and finance industry decision-makers to hear directly from young people. Allan Lindsay, Participation and Co-Design Director at Young Scot, said the Hub gave the charity “an opportunity to collaborate on what the future of financial services could and should look like”.

Young Scot involved young people between the ages of 15 and 25 from across Scotland and from a range of diverse backgrounds to share their thoughts and experiences. Mr Lindsay said: Tobi Schneider “Some young people were very aware of the services available to them while others had very limited experiences. There were young people who didn’t know what a pension was, or understand mortgages. The hope is to co-design products that have been developed with young people at their heart.”

The project has involved surveys, workshops and research interviews. This qualitative and quantitative data will be used to help shape the project’s goal of creating products. Mr Schneider said: “There is a risk that we see a generation growing up where many have the feeling that the financial system is not made for them, that it doesn’t speak their language and that it doesn’t connect with their realities. “We want to work collaboratively with policymakers, industry partners and academics to understand how we can do better.”

Learn more at efi.ed.ac.uk/ecosystem/ compassion-in-financial-services-hub