SmartSearch’s Regtech100 listing cements its position as a key player in the fight against financial crime

Award-winning digital compliance platform, SmartSearch has another accolade to its name; a spot on the RegTech100.

The RegTech100 is an annual list of 100 of the world’s most innovative RegTech companies, and arguably, the companies every financial institution needs to know about as they consider and develop their mission critical compliance, risk and digital transformation strategies.

Being included amongst them is an achievement that cements SmartSearch’s position as a key player in the RegTech industry. And SmartSearch’s inclusion on this prestigious list is certainly well-deserved.

In a world of increasingly complex regulatory frameworks, SmartSearch offers a solution for businesses struggling to meet compliance obligations efficiently and accurately. By combining advanced technology with a deep understanding of anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and compliance challenges, SmartSearch empowers over 7,000 client firms and 60,000 users worldwide.

As Julie Green, Client Services Director at SmartSearch, puts it, “We help clients overcome several major compliance challenges by simplifying complex regulatory processes, automating time-consuming tasks, and ensuring accuracy at every stage.”

Here we take a closer look at how SmartSearch is ahead of the crowd in providing RegTech solutions that meet and exceed industry expectations.

Meeting a growing need

SmartSearch was founded with a clear mission: to address the growing demand for reliable compliance tools. The rapid evolution of AML regulations left many businesses overwhelmed by manual processes, high costs, and risks of non-compliance. SmartSearch’s founders identified an opportunity to transform this space using technology, offering a platform that integrates compliance with trusted identity verification, as Green explains:

“At its core, we offer seamless identity verification and screening services that incorporate anti-money laundering, KYC, and KYB capabilities.

“Using advanced data analytics, automated workflows, and robust security protocols, our technology enables businesses to verify customer identities, monitor risks, and ensure full regulatory compliance—all within seconds.”

Technological innovation

One of the things that really sets SmartSearch apart – and a factor in the platform’s inclusion in the RegTech 100 – is its technological innovation. The platform recently transitioned from a monolithic architecture to a cloud-based microservices platform. This upgrade has improved scalability, resiliency, agility, security and configurability, giving SmartSearch a much higher development capacity with the ability to be continually updated and improved to incorporate innovative new technologies, advanced functionality and meet ever changing needs.

This shift is particularly important in the fast-changing regulatory environment. As compliance standards become more detailed, businesses need configurable and scalable solutions. SmartSearch’s cloud-based approach ensures it can adapt quickly; meeting client demands and regulatory shifts with agility.

“This significant upgrade enables us to operate multiple services independently and concurrently, facilitating rapid scalability and global expansion,” says Green.

Improving efficiency

In the competitive RegTech sector, digital compliance platforms like SmartSearch need to do more than just offer a solution that meets regulatory obligations; to stand out from the crowd, they need to offer a solution that also simplifies the process, mitigates error and reduces the operational burden on the business. SmartSearch does all four:

• Meeting regulatory obligations - the SmartSearch platform is automatically updated to reflect any regulatory changes, meaning clients always remain compliant without having to upgrade

• Simplifying the compliance process - users can fully integrate SmartSearch into their existing systems, meaning they can automate compliance workflows and tailor the system to meet their individual business needs

• Mitigating errors - by digitalising the process, using global data resources, big data, AI and analytics, SmartSearch removes the risk of human error in the process

• Reducing operational burdens - unlike manual checks, which can take days, even weeks, SmartSearch can run fully comprehensive checks in a matter of seconds, saving time and resource

“This combination of innovation and ease-of-use allows businesses of all sizes to scale their compliance operations as they grow,” said Green. “Unlike others in the market, we don’t just help businesses meet regulations—we help them win new customers by delivering trusted identity verification and risk management solutions through trusted data providers.”

A unique solution

With its unique blend of technology, customer focus, and comprehensive compliance tools, SmartSearch stands out in the crowded RegTech market. By simplifying complex processes, enhancing trust, and staying ahead of industry trends, SmartSearch is setting the standard for digital compliance solutions.

Unlike competitors, SmartSearch delivers an unmatched single-source compliance platform. This eliminates the need for businesses to work with multiple verification services or monitoring platforms, streamlining the entire process.

“Our platform offers a fully integrated compliance solution, removing the need for businesses to juggle multiple providers or systems. It also offers several unique technological enhancements,” said Green.

“For example, the addition of TransUnion as a third global data partner means we can offer triple-bureau reliability for the highest match rate on the market of up to 97%”.

Tackling AML challenges

For businesses combating financial crime, AML compliance presents unique difficulties, including the dynamic tactics of fraudsters and the complexity of global regulations.

“The AML space faces numerous challenges, including the ever-changing tactics of fraudsters, which require constant innovation to combat,” Green explains. “Another persistent issue is the need for accurate, up-to-date data to ensure reliable identity verification and risk assessments.”

For SmartSearch, this means harnessing the latest technology to ensure the solutions they provide are able to meet demands – technology, commercially and regulatory:

• AI and machine Learning: criminals are using these technologies to create ever more sophisticated fraud, but these technologies are also driving predictive and real-time compliance monitoring, enabling firms to detect risks before they escalate

• Global compliance: thanks to technology, the world has never been smaller, with businesses operating globally, enabling fraudsters and money launderers to operate on scales never seen before. In response RegTech firms are also upping their game, creating solutions that can work across multi-jurisdictional regulations, harnessing global data and large-scale analytics to offer world-wide checks

• Data security: Safeguarding sensitive information is ever more important as cyber threats increase, but a certain level of transparency is needed for firms to be able to ensure proper due diligence is being carried out. It is therefore up to RegTech firms to find the balance between data privacy and transparency in their solutions

“The adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning will continue to grow, offering new ways to predict and detect compliance risks before they escalate,” says Green. “And as globalisation expands, RegTech solutions must ensure businesses can operate smoothly across borders.”

“Artificial intelligence can identify suspicious patterns and anomalies in data with incredible speed and precision,” she says. “Blockchain technology offers a transparent and secure way to track transactions, reducing opportunities for tampering or manipulation.”

Building trust

At its core, SmartSearch is about building trust—between businesses, customers, and regulators. The platform’s comprehensive approach ensures compliance while enhancing user experience, making it easier for businesses to grow confidently.

“This, combined with our innovative digital compliance solutions, supports regulated organisations in accelerating business growth and remaining compliant and secure in the fight against global money laundering and fraud,” Green says.

Looking ahead, SmartSearch aims to solidify its leadership in digital compliance and identity verification.

“In 2025, SmartSearch is focused on solidifying its position as the leader in the digital compliance and identity verification space,” she said.

“We’re also planning to work closely with our clients to ensure we are addressing their challenges as well as creating efficiencies in the onboarding journey to help shape our solutions moving forward.”

This forward-thinking approach ensures SmartSearch remains at the forefront of the RegTech industry, continually innovating to meet client needs and market demands, and the regtech100 inclusion is testament to that.

To learn more about SmartSearch speak to an AML expert today.