African regtech company Smartcomply Group has expanded into the UK market as it seeks to address long-standing compliance bottlenecks that have complicated financial flows between Britain and Africa.
The company said its flagship platform, Adhere, uses artificial intelligence to automate anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC), and fraud detection processes for financial institutions operating across African payment corridors. The expansion positions Smartcomply to target electronic money institutions (EMIs), remittance providers, neobanks, and cross-border payment fintechs serving African markets from London.
The move comes as UK-Africa remittance flows continue to grow despite mounting regulatory scrutiny and rising compliance costs. According to industry estimates, remittances from the UK to Sub-Saharan Africa exceed £4 billion annually. Yet average transaction costs remain around 8.5%, significantly above the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%.
Smartcomply argues that many global compliance systems were not designed for the realities of African financial ecosystems, where fragmented identity systems, inconsistent customer data, and informal transaction patterns can trigger excessive fraud alerts and delays.
“Our view is that African payment corridors should be a growth opportunity, not a liability,” said Gbemisola Osunrinde, chief executive of Smartcomply Group.
The company said Adhere currently monitors more than $1 billion in monthly transactions across its client network and serves more than 100 financial institutions operating in Africa. Smartcomply claims the platform reduces manual compliance workloads by 70% while cutting false-positive fraud alerts by 40%, metrics that could appeal to UK-based firms facing rising operational costs tied to regulatory obligations.
The UK launch initially focuses on major African remittance and payment corridors including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Rwanda. Smartcomply also disclosed plans to expand further into Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire in 2026 as demand for cross-border compliance infrastructure accelerates.
The company’s expansion reflects a broader shift in the global fintech sector, where regulators and financial institutions are increasingly investing in specialised compliance technology, commonly referred to as “regtech,” to manage growing risks linked to money laundering, sanctions breaches, and digital fraud.
Smartcomply’s strategic positioning could also benefit from its status as a verified member of the Mastercard Engage Partner Program, a network designed to connect fintech infrastructure providers with financial institutions and payment companies globally.
Chief technology officer Anita Ajalla said the company’s competitive edge lies in its Africa-first approach to compliance design.
“We are bringing infrastructure built for African reality to London,” Ajalla said.
Industry analysts say firms capable of reducing compliance friction without increasing regulatory risk may gain an advantage as cross-border African fintech activity continues to attract global capital and institutional interest.
