CEO Bradley Elliott (pictured right) founded RelyComply with CTO James Saunders (left) in South Africa in 2020. The business is one of a new wave of RegTechs focused on global problems that may not be considered ‘flashy’ yet can quietly save financial institutions and FinTechs millions of pounds.��

Specialising in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know-Your-Customer (KYC), and Know-Your-�Ͼ�Ʒ�� (KYB) processes, it significantly decreases the likelihood of financial crime through enhanced identity verification, with integrated bias mitigation and region-based government identification capabilities.��

When RelyComply formally entered the UK last year, it did so with intent rather than noise.

“The UK is one of the most sophisticated and demanding financial services markets in the world,” says Brad. “If you can build credibility here, you can build it anywhere.”

He says the UK launch has delivered strong early traction. RelyComply’s UK operation is powered by a compact commercial team working closely with senior leadership and Saunders. That tight configuration has enabled speed, senior engagement, and disciplined execution across PR, partnerships and early customer conversations.��

“What market penetration means for us right now is quality engagement with partners, prospective customers, regulators and the broader ecosystem,” Brad explains. “We’re not chasing vanity metrics.��

“We’re using what we’ve achieved in other countries to illustrate the value we can add to the UK market.”��

RelyComply’s strategy is to convert credible interest into enterprise opportunities. Brad is explicit about the expansion strategy: depth first, then scale.��

This year the focus is on securing long-term partnerships with UK financial institutions, building sustained thought leadership and strengthening enterprise credibility. A targeted sales and marketing content strategy will run in parallel with owned formats such as executive roundtables and high-profile industry sponsorships.��

UK-specific content and media placements will further consolidate authority. “We are investing where it compounds,” says Brad. “Enterprise traction, trusted partnerships and measurable pipeline influence.”��

Product strategy is equally focused. RelyComply is strengthening its AI and Agentic capabilities specifically for the UK market. As contracts scale and support needs grow, UK headcount will expand in step, he says – disciplined, capital-efficient and aligned to revenue.

As for the landscape, one of the most concerning developments is the rise of ‘financial crime as a service’.

Put simply, criminal groups now commercialise their tools and expertise. Fraud kits, mule account networks, botnets, API exploits and synthetic identity packages can be rented or purchased by less sophisticated actors.��

The result is scalable, turnkey fraud operations – the criminal equivalent of outsourcing.��

“The adversary has become modular and scalable,” Brad says. “Banks are no longer dealing with isolated bad actors. They are facing coordinated, systemic threats.”

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So how should banks and other financial institutions tackle the challenge?

Progress is visible, says Brad – but not yet sufficient at scale. Many institutions still rely on legacy systems layered over time, creating complexity, high compliance costs and blind spots between onboarding, transaction monitoring and case management. While regulators and boards recognise the scale of the challenge, implementation often lags intent.��

“There’s a gap between strategic ambition and operational deployment,” Brad notes. “That gap is where organised crime thrives.”

He says that the stakes extend beyond fines: financial crime enables human trafficking, organised exploitation and large-scale consumer harm. It erodes trust in the financial system and constrains institutional growth.��

Regulatory penalties and reputational damage are measurable consequences, whereas loss of systemic confidence is harder to quantify but equally significant.��

“The institutions that win will be those that treat compliance as engineered infrastructure, not regulatory paperwork,” Brad says. “This is about building systems that anticipate risk rather than absorb loss.”

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The acquisition will add around 2,000 SME clients to Personnel Checks’ customer base, while expanding the company’s capability to deliver a broader range of compliance and screening services to UK employers.

Founded more than 20 years ago, Personnel Checks provides background screening services to organisations across the UK, primarily supporting SMEs and employers operating in regulated sectors.��

The company processes more than 150,000 DBS checks annually, has grown by over 300% in the past five years, and employs more than 40 people across the UK.

KYC, founded more than 16 years ago, has built a strong reputation for providing straightforward and accessible screening services to small and medium-sized businesses. The company was established and led by industry veterans with extensive experience across the background screening sector.

The acquisition aligns closely with Personnel Checks’ long-term growth strategy, which combines investment in proprietary technology with targeted acquisitions to expand its footprint in the UK screening market. The business remains independently owned, family-run and self-funded.

The deal also expands the company’s operational presence with a Manchester base, strengthening its reach across the UK.

Both businesses serve a similar SME customer base, with a focus on practical, technology-enabled screening solutions. Following the acquisition, KYC customers will gain access to a wider range of services through the Personnel Checks platform, including Standard and Enhanced DBS checks and DVLA licence checks.��

The company’s proprietary technology platform provides employers with real-time visibility of check progress and a centralised compliance dashboard, helping organisations manage vetting requirements more efficiently.

Personnel Checks intends to operate KYC as a standalone brand for the foreseeable future, with gradual service enhancements introduced over time.

The deal comes at a time of growing demand for background screening services in the UK, as employers face tightening regulatory requirements and greater scrutiny around hiring practices. Compliance expectations are particularly high in regulated sectors such as healthcare, education and transport, where robust vetting processes are essential.

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Jack Mellor, CEO of Personnel Checks, said: “This is a really exciting and pivotal moment in the history of Personnel Checks. Over the past few years, we’ve invested heavily in building our own screening technology platform, and that investment has driven strong year-on-year growth.

“As we looked at how to maintain that momentum, it became clear that a growth-by-acquisition strategy would be the right next step. When we began speaking with the team at KYC, it was clear we were closely aligned, not just in terms of the customers we serve, but also in our approach and values.

“This is our first acquisition, and I’m incredibly pleased to welcome the KYC team and their customers into the business. It’s a strong strategic fit and a great foundation for what comes next.”

Barry Hetherington, founder of Know Your Candidate, said: “When I started Know Your Candidate, I wanted to create a screening service that worked properly for SMEs: straightforward, transparent and without unnecessary complexity. Over the years, that’s exactly what we’ve built.

“Choosing the right home for the next chapter was incredibly important to me. Personnel Checks share those same principles around customer service and clarity. Its commitment to transparent pricing and accessible support mirrors what we’ve always stood for at KYC. I’m confident this is the right decision for our customers and for the long-term future of the service.”

A 12-week transition period will follow the acquisition, during which KYC’s leadership team will support the handover. The KYC team will work closely with Personnel Checks to ensure continuity of service for customers.

Personnel Checks said no redundancies are planned as a result of the acquisition and that the expanded operational base is expected to support further hiring as the company continues to grow.

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Obermaier was installed as CEO in late 2024 by private equity firm Long Ridge as it became the majority owner of the Cheltenham RegTech, with founder Jeremy Annis moving to a pure board position.

Obermaier is still listed as CEO on his LinkedIn profile but reference to him has been removed from the company’s team page on its website, with Mills now listed as CEO.

Neither Ripjar nor Mills referred to Obermaier in a press release announcing the new appointment.

Ripjar, a technology provider of risk and threat screening intelligence solutions for financial services firms, corporations and governments, has turned to Mills. He spent a decade at RegTech Featurespace as chief commercial officer and general manager and helped grow the organisation from 12 to more than 400 employees before the company’s acquisition by Visa in 2024.��

Mills also led innovation, sales and partnerships for Aurasma, later acquired by HP, where he expanded the business to over 10,000 commercial customers and partners during his three‑year tenure.

Obermaier had operated as a chief risk officer at leading financial institutions including Citibank and Deutsche Bank. As CEO at RDC, he pioneered a leading customer risk diligence standard before its acquisition by Moody’s Analytics.

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Founded by former members of the UK Intelligence Services in 2013, Ripjar enables customers to deploy smarter screening in one enterprise-ready platform, built on National Security grade technology with specialised, explainable AI.��

“I have been an admirer of Ripjar and its important work across screening and intelligence for some time,” said Mills. “Ripjar has consistently excelled at protecting countries, banks and corporate entities. Financial institutions and enterprises are the first line of defence against financial crime.��

“Our screening technology empowers them to make smarter decisions that defend their businesses and disrupt the crime economy.”

Jason Melton, partner at Long Ridge, added: “Matt brings a powerful combination of deep domain expertise and a proven track record of leading and scaling innovative, high-growth businesses.

“Mills will accelerate Ripjar’s go-to-market strategy and global expansion to meet increasing market demand for smarter, more efficient customer screening solutions. We’re excited to welcome him onboard.”

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ITRS’s automation tools prevent IT outages before they happen via identification and remediation.

It has agreed to acquire French digital experience monitoring specialist IP-Label, expanding its footprint across Europe.

The deal will add IP-Label’s AI-powered Ekara platform to ITRS’s portfolio, bringing capabilities such as synthetic transaction monitoring, real user monitoring and automated incident triage.��

The company, founded in 2001, supports more than 310 enterprise customers across 25 countries.

It monitors complex web and mobile applications, thick-client systems, virtual desktops and self-service kiosks across cloud, hybrid and on-premise environments.

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“Digital experience has become the frontline of business performance and customer satisfaction,” said Ryan Terpstra, CEO of ITRS.

“IP-Label brings enterprise-grade DEM technology that will accelerate our leadership in this critical category.��

“This acquisition accelerates our transformation into the leading observability platform for the world’s most demanding IT environments.��

“Together with IP-Label, we will deliver holistic observability spanning IT infrastructure, application performance, and digital experience – all with the hybrid capability and configuration that complex and regulated industries require.”

Philippe Borfiga, co-CEO of IP-Label, added: “Joining ITRS provides IP-Label with the resources, scale, and observability platform to accelerate our growth trajectory while maintaining our commitment to innovation and customer success.��

“Together, we offer a highly cost-effective, end-to-end monitoring solution for digital services – from client experience to backend infrastructure.��

“ITRS’s deep expertise in serving large enterprises makes them the ideal partner for our next chapter of growth.”

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Diginex, headquartered in London, is a leading provider of sustainability RegTech and data management solutions.

It has agreed the deal for Berlin-based Plan A, led by founder and CEO Lubomila Jordanova – a judge on �Ͼ�Ʒ��Cloud’s EnviroTech 50 ranking, and also co-founder of the GreenTech Alliance – to create one of Europe’s leading green technology platforms.

The total figure includes a €25m earnout.

It combines Diginex’s ESG reporting capabilities, spanning 19 global frameworks, with Plan A’s carbon accounting and decarbonisation technology.

The combined business will deliver a single platform to expand beyond existing strategic relationships, including HSBC, Coca Cola, Visa, and BMW.

The initial deal, for €3m in cash and Diginex shares valued at €52m, is for 100% of Plan A. It sees Visa and Deutsche Bank join as shareholders.

“Joining forces with Diginex represents a definitive shift for our industry,” said Jordanova. “For too long, the market has remained deeply fragmented, forcing businesses to manage disparate, siloed solutions for supply chain transparency, ESG reporting, carbon accounting, and decarbonisation.��

“By unifying Plan A’s high-precision decarbonization technology with Diginex’s RegTech and regulatory expertise, we will be able to deliver a single, sophisticated platform that transforms fragmented data into measurable climate impact and clear financial ROI.”

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Miles Pelham, chairman of Diginex, added: “The acquisition of Plan A marks a transformative milestone in delivering the most advanced, user-friendly sustainability platform available.

“The synergy between our ESG tools and Plan A’s carbon expertise will empower businesses worldwide to navigate increasingly complex regulations and achieve meaningful data-driven progress toward sustainability goals and financial objectives.”

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Banbury-based Polaris partners with all UK police forces, enhancing their digitisation and optimisation efforts to free up public resources, increase productivity and reduce costs.��

Sitestream has long leveraged Polaris’ platform. The acquisition paves the way for large-scale expansion across a wide range of municipal compliance applications in the US.

This announcement follows Polaris’ acquisition of Clarity Information Solutions in October 2024, bringing a total of five companies under the umbrella since August Equity first backed the business in 2023.

The investment for August is managed by Mehul Patel, Greg Walsh and Ollie Reynolds.��

“Bringing Sitestream into the portfolio demonstrates our ongoing commitment to identify adjacent businesses, assemble sector leaders and generate sustainable organic growth through strategic, market-expanding M&A,” said Patel.��

“We are excited to be building a high-quality market leader and expand the Polaris brand into the US. This trend continues the internationalisation of our portfolio companies including Integrity 360 and One Touch.”

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Kevin McCallum (pictured), CEO of Polaris, added: “We are thrilled that Sitestream has joined the group. Our companies have shared vision and values which will propel us into new geographies as well as new areas of compliance, safety and data-driven decision-making.��

“Together, with in-depth industry knowledge and excellence in software innovation, we can change driver behaviour and elevate road safety for all who share the road.”

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Our readers and an expert judging panel have together decided the 50 companies blazing a technology trail in regulation.

The RegTech 50 celebrates businesses of all sizes creating original tech for regulation, risk management and fraud detection.

C365Cloud, a system designed to support organisations in auditing, managing & improving their level of statutory compliance, tops the ranking.��

The SaaS platform for managing risk, compliance, health & safety, and CAFM Help Desk is complemented by a mobile app – C365Onsite – for field service management.

Wakefield firm is followed by three London companies in Cleverchain, Konfir and Adclear – respectively builders of KYC solutions, instant employment verification, and compliance for financial promotions.

is a real-time intelligence hub for verifying, assessing, and monitoring companies, individuals and digital wallets. Founded by the minds that pioneered major anti-money laundering control transformations – including ‘perpetual KYC’ – at leading European banks, it fuses high-quality global data with explainable AI to deliver actionable intelligence and large-scale automation trusted by users and regulators alike.

VERA, its autonomous AI Digital Due Diligence Agent, performs in-depth, contextual, end-to-end due diligence based on the users’ individual policies, including audit logs and quality assurance checks. Meanwhile, its AI Digital Consultants KIRA and LEXI interactively enable in-depth investigations and regulatory reviews.

The top five is completed by Glasgow-based Profylr, which is behind an ‘ecosystem’ which connects banks and regulators with trusted data.

builds intelligent, AI-powered technology that enables institutions to instantly see their regulatory position across multiple regulations through one connected compliance ecosystem.

RiskSmart, based in Manchester, is in sixth. ��is changing the game for governance,��risk and compliance professionals – by centralising�����Ի���digitalising risk management, its customers can wave goodbye to manual processes and say hello to richer insights, powerful reporting tools, and streamlined workflows.

TAINA Technology (London), Red Flag Alert (Manchester), Datactics (Belfast) and Ravelin (London) complete the top 10.

Also featuring is , which transforms third-party risk management through automated workflows, integrated risk scoring, multilingual open-source intelligence, enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring.

The ranking in full:

RegTech 50 – UK’s most innovative compliance tech creators for 2025

�Ͼ�Ʒ��Cloud called on its readers to vote for companies from the 90-strong shortlist. A combination of these votes and choices from an expert judging panel determined the top 50.

The judging panel was comprised of: �� ��

• Samiah Anderson, head of digital regulation, techUK

• Sajedah Karim, partner, PwC

• Helene Panzarino, associate director, Centre for Digital Banking and Finance

• Jonathan Symcox, editor, �Ͼ�Ʒ��Cloud

The post Revealing UK’s RegTech 50 for 2025 appeared first on �Ͼ�Ʒ��Cloud.

Northrow, based in London, is a know your business (KYB) platform. Dublin-based ID-Pal, an identity verification platform, says the deal brings together two businesses focused on helping organisations meet rising regulatory demands and combat the growing threat of AI-driven document fraud.

Continuous monitoring is becoming more central to compliance frameworks in the UK, Europe and the US, it says.

ID-Pal currently provides AI-powered know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) screening to organisations across Europe, the UK and the US.��

Its platform operates in more than 250 jurisdictions, covering over 16,000 document types and drawing on more than 400 trusted data sources.��

By adding NorthRow’s technology, it will now offer native, end-to-end KYB checks, enabling firms to verify businesses at onboarding and to continuously monitor changes in company structure, directors or status.

The combined platform is designed to give clients a single risk view across both individuals and businesses.��

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NorthRow’s portfolio includes financial services names such as Caxton, Equifax and Hargreaves Lansdown. They join ID-Pal’s existing global client list that features government organisations like the Irish Department of Justice, alongside Blackhawk Network, Zurich International, Mercer, U.S Bank, Elavon and a strategic partnership with Salesforce.

“Alongside co-founders James O’Toole and Robert O’Farrell, ID-Pal was created to support businesses with accurate identity verification built on privacy preservation,” said��Colum Lyons (pictured), founder and CEO of ID-Pal.��

“As the financial services space becomes more regulated, and with AI-driven document fraud becoming the biggest threat our industry has faced, it is essential that businesses have a unified view of the risks ahead and how to manage them.��

“Our acquisition of NorthRow allows ID-Pal to unify this process within one comprehensive platform that defends businesses against fraud at every entry point and avoids noncompliance fines.”

Alana Parsons, chief operations officer of payments company Caxton, added: “Using NorthRow’s technologies, Caxton has seen first-hand the value they bring to compliance processes.��

“This acquisition is a great step forward by combining their expertise with ID-Pal’s award-winning technology to create a powerful platform for the future.��

“We’re excited to start working with ID-Pal and to benefit from the innovation in KYC and KYB risk intelligence that this partnership will deliver.”

For NorthRow customers, ID-Pal said services and operations will continue without interruption.��

Over the longer term, the company plans to bring the two platforms closer together through a shared roadmap, with the aim of enhancing functionality, increasing client value and strengthening the overall user experience.

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AuditComply has developed a quality management platform which empowers manufacturers in multiple industries to track suppliers, drive higher quality, and increase throughput.

Led by Kevin Donaghy (pictured, right) and Susan Fitzsimmons (centre), the company has customers across the world using its software in 20 different languages.

The deal has resulted in a successful exit for Co-Fund NI, which was established by Invest NI and is managed by Clarendon Fund Managers. It invested��in 2015 alongside a number of private angel investors, with further investment following from BGF and First Derivatives in 2017 and subsequently from British �Ͼ�Ʒ�� Investments through its Regional Angel Programme.

“We are excited about the next chapter for the business as part of Nulogy. AuditComply and Nulogy have a shared vision of empowering manufacturers with the data and digital support they need to effectively manage and scale their operations in today’s marketplace,” said CEO Donaghy.

“We’d like to thank Brian [Cummings, investment director at Clarendon Fund Managers, pictured left] and the Clarendon team for their continued support from the early days of AuditComply. They have provided invaluable advice and funding as we have expanded the business and entered into new markets.”

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Cummings said: “We are really pleased for the AuditComply team and would like to congratulate Kevin and Susan on securing this partnership with Nulogy. While this results in a successful exit for Co-Fund NI, it is also a good news story for the Northern Ireland economy as it provides a further indication of how international investors view the calibre of business we have in this part of the world, across a wide range of sectors.”

The third iteration of Co-Fund NI, the £39m Co-Fund III, was launched earlier this year and is expected to leverage over £60m of additional investment from the private sector.

“Through Co-Fund NI and the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland, Clarendon has a range of equity investment options available to help ambitious companies to achieve their growth objectives,” added Cummings.

Clarendon managed the first two Co-Fund NI funds, investing a total of £53m in 102 investee companies to date across more than 370 investment rounds. This has leveraged £119m of additional matched investment from private investors and a further £211m from institutional investors bringing total funding supported by Co-Fund NI to £383m to date into over 100 companies across Northern Ireland.

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Alongside a panel of expert judges, your votes will help celebrate the most innovative startup, scaleup and established compliance technology firms.

We have shortlisted 90 companies for potential inclusion in the RegTech 50, an annual ranking which focuses on companies creating tech for regulation, compliance and fraud protection.

On the voting page,��available at the��below��link,��we’ve included the names of the��shortlisted��companies,��the��city or town and region in which��they are based, and a short description of what they do.

RegTech 50: Vote for most innovative UK compliance tech firms

Reader voting begins today and will run for seven days, ending at 23:59 on Sunday 23rd November.

The final RegTech 50 ranking, to be decided by a combination of judging panel selections and reader votes, will be published on Monday 8th December.

Subscribe to our newsletter to be among the first to see the results.

The judging panel:

• Samiah Anderson, head of digital regulation, techUK

• Sajedah Karim, partner, PwC

• Helene Panzarino, associate director, Centre for Digital Banking and Finance

• Jonathan Symcox, editor, �Ͼ�Ʒ��Cloud

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