Smartcomply, an international compliance and cybersecurity technology company with deep roots across Africa, announced that its AI-powered Adhere platform is helping banks and financial institutions detect and prevent financial crime in real time.
The platform, designed for African regulatory environments, provides end-to-end automated solutions for anti-money laundering, know-your-customer, customer due diligence, sanctions and politically exposed person screening, risk assessment, and regulatory reporting. It integrates with national identity systems, including Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number.
The announcement comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria issued circular BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/019/002 on 10 March 2026, mandating that all banks, mobile money operators, international money transfer operators, and other regulated financial institutions deploy automated AML solutions meeting 12 minimum standards within 18 to 24 months. Institutions are also required to submit implementation roadmaps within three months of the circular.
“Adhere was built to solve exactly the challenge the Central Bank of Nigeria is now mandating for all regulated institutions,” stated CEO of Smartcomply, Gbemisola Osunrinde. “Our platform covers transaction monitoring, automated KYC and CDD, sanctions and PEP screening, risk assessment, case management, and regulatory reporting, all purpose-built for Africa.”
Key features of the Adhere platform include AI-driven transaction monitoring with behavioural pattern recognition and anomaly detection, dynamic customer profiling that adjusts in response to new data, enterprise case management with role-based workflows, and automated regulatory reporting in formats prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, such as STRs, SARs, CTRs, and FTRs.
Already operational with banking clients across multiple African markets, Adhere offers institutions a tested solution in live regulatory environments rather than a theoretical system.
“Compliance teams across Nigeria are evaluating how to meet new AML automation requirements. Institutions that move fastest will be those using a platform built specifically for African regulatory standards, rather than retrofitting a solution from another market,” Osunrinde added.
