Navigating the RegTech Universe: Charting a Path Through a Maze of Offerings

In today’s rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, organizations face an increasingly complex and dynamic environment where managing compliance obligations demands agility, efficiency, effectiveness, resilience, and innovation. At the intersection of technology and regulation, RegTech has emerged as a pivotal component/segment within the broader Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) market, offering transformative solutions that enable organizations to stay ahead in the fast-moving regulatory world.

As the number #2 influencer in RegTech (ask ChatGPT), here are some thoughts . . .

Regulatory Technology, or RegTech, leverages technology — most notably with artificial intelligence (AI) — to streamline compliance processes, enhance risk management, and automate the monitoring and reporting of regulatory obligations. As part of the broader GRC market, RegTech has significantly reshaped how organizations approach compliance, transforming what was once viewed merely as a burdensome cost center into a strategic enabler of business agility, efficiency, and resilience.

A core facet of my analysis at GRC 20/20 has been evaluating RegTech’s evolution, capabilities, and market traction. The landscape is rich, complex, and rapidly expanding. While AI dominates discussions around innovation in RegTech, I frequently caution organizations to look beyond the buzzword. In reality, there are compelling and sophisticated implementations of AI in RegTech, but equally, there are solutions akin to the “Wizard of Oz” — where behind the curtain, humans continue to operate many processes manually, diminishing the true promise and effectiveness of AI-driven RegTech automation.

Ultimately, navigating the RegTech universe demands clear-sighted evaluation of technologies—understanding what truly offers innovative AI capabilities versus solutions where AI is more promise than reality. As we delve deeper into this universe, we equip organizations with the insights and tools needed to leverage RegTech strategically, driving true governance, risk, and compliance effectiveness.

As RegTech continues to evolve and mature within the GRC landscape, staying informed, critical, and forward-looking remains key to successfully managing regulatory risk and harnessing technology’s full potential.

GRC 20/20 maps several key areas within RegTech:

• Regulatory Change Management. Ensuring firms keep pace with evolving regulations globally, from horizon scanning to implementing controls and updating policies.
• Regulatory Reporting. Automating the collection, analysis, and submission of regulatory data.
• Operational Risk and Internal Control Management and Benchmarking. Enhancing and benchmarking resilience and internal control effectiveness.
• Transaction and Trade Monitoring. Real-time monitoring to detect unusual or suspicious activities.
• AML & Financial Crime (FinCrime). Leveraging technology to monitor, detect, and prevent financial crime.
• Know Your Customer (KYC). Streamlining customer due diligence processes and improving accuracy.
• Conduct and Surveillance. Monitoring behaviors and transactions to ensure compliance with internal and external regulations.
• Financial Risk Management. Managing risks associated with financial operations, including market, credit, and liquidity risks.

One area of RegTech experiencing tremendous traction globally is Regulatory Change Management. At GRC 20/20, I’ve observed this as one of the most pressing and prominent use cases gaining traction worldwide. Regulatory Change Management, vital in today’s turbulent compliance environment, encompasses monitoring regulatory changes through horizon scanning, assessing the business impact, and managing responses to ensure organizations remain compliant.

My interactions around the globe underscore that efficient Regulatory Change Management solutions can dramatically mitigate compliance risks and optimize operational efficiency. The traction in Regulatory Change Management has been evident in my international engagements. Soon, I’ll be sharing insights in the upcoming workshops in Toronto and Zurich:

• Mastering the?Regulatory Rollercoaster: Navigating New Rules and Emerging Risks, TORONTO
• Riding the Compliance Carousel: Managing Emerging Regulatory Risks & New Rules, ZURICH

In the context of AML and FinCrime RegTech, this engagement continues at the AML & FinCrime Summit in New York City tomorrow, where I’ll moderate both the keynote panel and another significant session, bringing into sharp focus how RegTech effectively combats financial crime through smarter AML processes, transaction monitoring, and KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols. These panels are:

• Addressing the Future of Financial Crime Prevention: Challenges, Technology, and Global Threats in 2025
• Behind the Regulatory Doors: Perspectives on AML & FinCrime Tech Innovation

Looking ahead, I am also deeply involved with the Global RegTech Summit 2025 in London (May) and New York City (September), highlighting RegTech’s growing global significance. These summits reflect critical industry insights, innovation trends, and practical adoption strategies to help organizations thrive in increasingly complex regulatory landscapes.

Looking forward, the Global RegTech Summit 2025 in London in May, and later this year in New York City in September, where these events serve as pivotal platforms for industry leaders and innovators to collaborate, exchange ideas, and explore solutions that define the future of regulatory compliance.