What the Modern Compliance Tech Stack Actually Looks Like
In a world crowded with hype about compliance innovation, most professionals are after something far simpler: clarity. They want to know which tools are trusted, which vendors are gaining traction, and where the pain points still lie.
This is how the modern RegTech stack functions today. It is based on input from compliance teams, vendors, and operational leads.
1. Identity Verification and Onboarding
Automated ID verification now anchors most compliance workflows. Vendors like Trulioo, Jumio, and Onfido are widely used for checking government-issued IDs. They match biometric data and produce quick, high-confidence results. Fast turnaround times are no longer a nice-to-have. They are essential, especially for global firms onboarding thousands of users each day. These tools integrate into internal dashboards and support a mix of low-risk and high-risk onboarding paths.
2. Screening and Monitoring
Once a user is onboarded, continuous screening becomes the next focus. Firms monitor for sanctions, politically exposed individuals, and adverse media in real time. Vendors such as ComplyAdvantage, Dow Jones, and LexisNexis support this. They maintain constantly updated lists. These vendors offer APIs to plug into case workflows.
More advanced players now use AI-enhanced transaction monitoring to flag unusual behavior. This doesn’t replace humans but it raises the baseline for detecting non-obvious risks. Feedzai and Actimize are among those using behavioral models to improve detection quality across financial transactions.
3. Case Management Systems
All alerts eventually land in the same place: case management systems. These platforms allow compliance teams to investigate, collaborate, and resolve flagged items. They keep logs, link evidence, and ensure there’s a clear audit trail.
Fenergo, Salesforce, and Arachnys are common choices, helping firms triage by region, risk, and issue type. A strong case management layer reduces alert fatigue and sharpens the focus on real threats. For regulated entities facing multiple audits each year, these systems are becoming indispensable.
4. Regulatory Reporting
Firms are under pressure to produce accurate, timely regulatory reports across multiple jurisdictions. Until recently, this process was dominated by spreadsheets and manual checks. That is starting to change.
Platforms like Workiva, AxiomSL, and Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX now automate the extraction and formatting of key compliance data. They connect directly to internal systems and format outputs to match regulator requirements. This shift is still in progress. For firms handling high volumes of reporting, automation is moving from optional to necessary.
5. Policy and Document Management
Policies are no longer static documents. The tools that manage them are becoming more interactive and intelligent. Platforms such as Clausematch and Ascent help map internal policies to external regulations and provide alerts when obligations change.
This enables teams to make updates in real time. It provides a clearer line of sight between what the law says and how the company responds. It also reduces the risk of outdated internal controls remaining in place long after regulations have shifted.
6. Integration and Interoperability
Most teams now rely on multiple RegTech tools, but integration between them remains inconsistent. Many vendors offer APIs, but the quality and usability of those APIs vary. Middleware platforms like Workato and MuleSoft help fill some of the gaps. However, data still often moves manually. It also gets lost between systems.
Lack of integration slows down investigations, increases duplication, and introduces risk. For all the gains in compliance tooling, this remains one of the biggest challenges in building a truly modern stack.
Toward a Coherent Stack
While every organization’s setup is unique, a pattern is starting to appear across the industry. Most stacks now include digital onboarding at the front, followed by continuous screening and behavioral monitoring. Case management platforms connect investigations, and reporting tools automate regulatory submissions. Policy systems are moving to real time, and integration is the glue holding everything together.
Compliance is no longer managed through paper and email. It is now built into software. The tech stack has become the operating system of modern compliance.
