KAREN JOY BACUDO

Finance Editor

ComplyCube has been named RegTech Partner of the Year at the British Bank Awards for the third consecutive year, as UK banks face rising fraud and tighter compliance demands.

The recognition reflects its work with banks and financial institutions on identity verification, fraud checks and customer onboarding. It is now processing more than 10 million transactions a week worldwide.

Pressure on the sector has intensified as fraud cases rise. According to Cifas, UK fraud reached a record 444,000 cases in 2025, with almost three-quarters linked to identity fraud and facility takeover.

That has increased scrutiny of how banks verify customers while keeping digital sign-up processes simple enough to avoid losing applicants. Firms are also dealing with stricter regulatory expectations and a shift towards digital-first account opening.

ComplyCube’s platform supports verification in more than 250 countries and territories and uses more than 3,000 data points from external sources and partners. It has verified more than 4 million identities to date and maintains a 98% client onboarding rate.

The group offers biometric and document verification, sanctions and politically exposed persons screening, fraud intelligence signals, and a no-code workflow engine. Financial institutions use those tools to identify customers, flag risks, and adapt internal processes as rules and fraud patterns change.

The award adds to a run of recognition in the financial crime technology market. ComplyCube has also been included in the FinCrimeTech50 and says its clients include Citi, Lyca Mobile, AXA and Accenture.

Demand for digital identity checks has grown as financial institutions try to reduce fraud losses without creating long delays for legitimate customers. That has strengthened the position of verification and compliance software providers as banks review older onboarding systems.

Market pressure

The latest fraud figures underline why identity systems have become a central issue for lenders and payments groups. Identity fraud and account takeover can expose firms to direct financial losses, regulatory penalties and reputational damage, while weak onboarding controls can also hinder customer growth.

For banks, the challenge is not only detecting suspicious activity but doing so quickly enough to avoid disrupting applications from genuine users. This has become more important as more retail and business customers open accounts remotely rather than in branches.

ComplyCube says the scale of that challenge has helped drive its growth over the past year. It positions its products as helping regulated firms reduce fraud, meet compliance requirements and improve digital onboarding flows.

“Winning RegTech Partner of the Year for a third year running is a real milestone for the team, and a reflection of the trust UK banks and financial institutions are placing in ComplyCube. The compliance landscape is shifting fast – fraud is becoming more sophisticated, regulatory expectations are rising, and customers expect onboarding to be seamless. Our job is to give financial institutions the tools to meet all three at once, without compromise. This recognition is a credit to our customers, our partners and a team that refuses to stand still,” Tarek Nechma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ComplyCube, said.

The British Bank Awards are organised by Smart Money People and draw on customer feedback. Organisers said this year’s responses indicated demand for stronger digital identity and fraud-prevention measures.

“Congratulations to ComplyCube for winning RegTech partner of the year for the third year running. Following feedback in this year’s British bank awards, clients say that ComplyCube continues to demonstrate excellence in regulatory technology, delivering innovative solutions that help organisations stay compliant while strengthening the safety and integrity of customer interactions. This year, firms are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny and growing focus on digital identity and fraud prevention, so ComplyCube’s approach to streamlined and scalable compliance is more important than ever. A huge well done to the entire team on this fantastic achievement,” said Peer Jelendorf, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Money People.

Located within Oxford North, a £1.2 billion innovation district, the fully fitted lab and office space marks the latest milestone in the development of the 64-acre site.

The space is designed to support start-ups, spin-outs, and established businesses across the life sciences, technology and artificial intelligence sectors.

Simon Ruck, managing director of Oxford North, said: “Oxford North has been purposely designed to support businesses at all stages of their development, from start-ups to scale-ups to global corporates.

“Fast-growing businesses require flexible, adaptable space, and this fully fitted lab space means companies can expand quickly in line with funding and research milestones, saving time and costs on fit-outs and delivering operational efficiencies.

“This is essential for smaller companies across the science, technology and innovation sectors.

“Delivering this latest phase at Oxford North, on time, is an important step as we continue building out one of the UK’s most dynamic mixed-use ecosystems, which benefits stakeholders across the city and beyond.”

The new labs, totalling 13,500 sq ft, include on-site technical support, a shared equipment room, and access to specialised facilities such as an -80°C freezer and a fume cupboard.

The associated write-up space features sit-stand desks and has a direct data connection to its lab.

Oxford North’s first phase also includes The Red Hall, a 33,000 sq ft workspace hub spread across four floors.

A new 100-seat auditorium is part of the community-focused amenities on the ground floor of The Red Hall and is available for hire.

Designed to support collaboration across the district, the auditorium can be used for conferences, lectures, or subdivided for smaller meetings and seminars.

Co-working and breakout areas for up to 40 people are located nearby, alongside Taylor’s Oxford North café, which faces Fallaize Park.

The scheme is being delivered by Oxford North Ventures, a joint venture between Thomas White Oxford (the development arm of St John’s College), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and London property developer Stanhope.

Kevin Darvishi, head of leasing at Stanhope, said: “This is the latest milestone in our vision to create the UK’s leading purpose-built innovation district which caters for the whole science and technology lifecycle ecosystem.”

Oxford North already counts international law firm Mishcon de Reya among its occupiers.

The firm recently signed a five-year lease for 3,500 sq ft of office space on the first floor of The Red Hall.

The company is reminding people across the Thames supply region to conserve water as spring has so far been ‘very dry’.

A spokesman for Thames Water said: “This spring has been very dry so far and it is vital that we all play our part and use water wisely through periods of dry weather.

“Our water resources are in a reasonably healthy place now, but we are constantly monitoring reservoir levels, groundwater levels, and river flows.

“We all have a role to play when it comes to saving water and we encourage everybody to play their part in conversing resources where possible.”

Thames Water supplies more than 2.6 billion litres of water each day to 10.1 million customers.

Approximately 70 per cent of that supply comes from rivers and reservoirs, with the remaining 30 per cent drawn from underground aquifers.

In April 2026, just 38 per cent of the long-term average rainfall was recorded across England, according to the Met Office.

Temperatures were also 1.1C higher than average, making it the seventh warmest April on record.

The South East was classified as a ‘seriously water stressed’ region by the Government in 2007.

Thames Water continues to monitor conditions closely and promote water efficiency to help protect against potential shortages.