NatWest Joins UK Quantum Trial to Test Fraud Detection

NatWest has joined Digital Catapult’s Quantum Technology Access Programme (QTAP), run with the National Quantum Computing Centre’s (NQCC) SparQ initiative, to test whether quantum computing can help detect fraud and illicit activity across large payment and interbank networks.

QTAP offers UK-based companies guided access to quantum hardware, expert support and experiment facilities. The current cohort includes 11 organisations focused on combinatorial optimisation and quantum machine learning. NatWest will apply those techniques to flag suspicious patterns within extensive transaction flows.

Participants gain access to NQCC testbeds and technical support, with ORCA Computing providing hardware and platform assistance. CTA Fintech Solutions will explore quantum methods for cross-system optimisation of legacy-to-cloud transaction flows to reduce costs and improve resilience in regulated environments. The Rail Safety and Standards Board and Health Innovation North West Coast are also in the cohort.

Health Innovation North West Coast plans to use ORCA’s PT-2 quantum computer to model diagnostics, treatment pathways and outcome forecasting for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder.

Digital Catapult noted the programme includes trials and validation across defence and security, supply chains and logistics, and transport and infrastructure, and that the financial services focus responds to growing industry interest in quantum approaches and national capability development.

Simon Plant, deputy director for innovation at NQCC, noted SparQ supports practical exploration of quantum computing and said the cohort reflects rising industry confidence while building expertise, evidence and partnerships to support responsible adoption and UK capability.

Paul Ceely, director of technology strategy at Digital Catapult, stated quantum computing is moving beyond theory and demonstrating potential value in industrial and commercial applications, and added that maintaining the UK’s leading position requires demonstrating real-world business use cases.

QTAP is now in its third year and will run until February 2027. The programme continues collaboration with NQCC and technical partners such as ORCA Computing. Previous participants include Vodafone, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, the Port of Dover and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Organisers expect trials on live quantum hardware at NQCC to test the practical limits of current systems and to provide evidence on commercial viability for specific use cases in the coming months.