Smartcomply’s AI Solution Supports Nigerian Banks in New AML Rollout

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

Smartcomply, a compliance and cybersecurity technology company with operations across Africa, said its AI-powered Adhere platform is already aligned with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions, issued on March 10.
The CBN circular (BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/019/002) mandates that all banks, mobile money operators, international money transfer operators, and other regulated financial institutions deploy automated AML solutions meeting 12 categories of minimum standards within 18 to 24 months. Institutions must submit implementation roadmaps within three months.

“Adhere was built to solve exactly the challenge the CBN is now mandating every financial institution to address. Our platform covers transaction monitoring, automated KYC and CDD, sanctions and PEP screening, risk assessment, case management, and regulatory reporting, all purpose-built for the African regulatory environment and integrated with national identity infrastructure including BVN and NIN,” said Gbemisola Osunrinde, CEO of Smartcomply.

The platform offers AI-driven transaction monitoring with behavioural pattern recognition, anomaly detection, and explainable alerts. It automates KYC, CDD, and KYB processes integrated with BVN and NIN databases, conducts real-time sanctions, watchlist, and PEP screening with fuzzy matching and adverse media monitoring, and provides dynamic, risk-based customer profiling that adjusts to new data and behavioural changes. Adhere also delivers enterprise case management with role-based workflows, maker-checker controls, and complete audit trails, as well as automated regulatory reporting in CBN-prescribed formats, including STRs, SARs, CTRs, and FTRs. Fraud detection spans multiple channels with real-time alerting, and the platform includes full data protection controls aligned with the Nigeria Data Protection Act. Workflows, alert thresholds, and risk scenarios are fully customisable for each institution.
Adhere is already operational with banking clients across multiple African markets, giving institutions confidence in a platform tested in live regulatory environments rather than a theoretical system.
“Compliance teams across Nigeria are right now evaluating how to meet these new requirements. The institutions that will move fastest are the ones that choose a platform purpose-built for African regulatory standards, one that can be customised to their specific risk profiles and operational workflows, rather than trying to retrofit a system designed for a different market,” Osunrinde said.
Smartcomply is a compliance and cybersecurity technology company with strong operations across Africa, serving financial institutions, healthcare organisations, telecommunications providers, and other regulated industries.

Its product suite includes Adhere (AML compliance and fraud detection), Seequre (GRC and cybersecurity compliance), Oculus (threat intelligence), and Smartcomply Academy (compliance education), serving over 100 businesses. The company is a pioneer in building purpose-built compliance technology for African and emerging markets.