Name
Global FinTech Guide
Country _ Name
Germany
SectionTitle
RegTech and compliance management
Body
RegTech is composed of the words “regulatory” and “technology”. It is a collective term for the application of modern technologies, to get the increasing regulation in the banking- and financial sector under control both from an IT and a legal standpoint.

Introduction

Attitude of the country towards RegTech-services

Basically, the attitude towards RegTech is positive. However, general, and well-known concerns can be cited, such as those against digitisation and the use of artificial intelligence, both of which are key drivers in the RegTech market.

Moreover, the success of RegTech solutions heavily depends on the structuring of banks operating models and their affinity to change current models.


Legal affairs

Obligations and requirements to provide RegTech-services

RegTechs are not subject to an authorisation requirement in and of themselves, because, first and foremost, their business model consists of helping in handling the compliance with the growing regulation in the banking area.
A key word in this context is the blockchain, whose application is conceivable in different areas. Supervisory assessments hinge on how the technology might be applied and which activities are to be conducted with it. Generally, when assessing a business model or business activities and the associated use of blockchain technology, the following questions can be expected to figure prominently in deciding whether authorisation is required:

  • Which areas and/or which financial instruments will the business activity involve?
  • Can the regulatory requirements for the planned business activity be fulfilled by using blockchain technology?
  • Is the business activity subject to legal provisions on the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal offences?
Due to the wide range of potential applications of blockchain technology, it would be both difficult and inappropriate to make any general statements about notification requirements.

Additional comments regarding the legal situation for RegTech-services or what RegTech’s must be aware of in this business area

N/A


Economic conditions

Market size for RegTech-services and biggest companies in this business area

The global RegTech market continues its rapid expansion. It was valued at approximately USD 16.2 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to USD 18.9 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach around USD 33.8 billion by 2029–2030, reflecting a robust CAGR of 15–17%. Germany already hosts at least one RegTech “unicorn”: Mambu, a cloud banking platform valued at USD 5.5 billion as of late 2021. Other major global players in the sector include Fenergo, Compendor, MetricStream, NICE Actimize, Thomson Reuters, and Chainalysis, among others.

Additional comments regarding the economic situation for RegTech-services or what RegTech’s must be aware of in this business area
Growth in RegTech adoption is being driven by heightened regulatory scrutiny, surging fraud, and increasing complexity in compliance demands. High-priority areas include compliance and risk management, identity verification (KYC/KYB), regulatory reporting, and AML/fraud detection.

Although large financial institutions currently dominate RegTech adoption, the sector’s rapid digitization—especially with emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, NLP, and blockchain—is unlocking new opportunities. Vendors must deliver scalable, cloud-native solutions with automated intelligence and real-time monitoring to meet accelerated compliance needs. Continued innovation in fraud analytics and regulatory intelligence will be crucial to maintain a competitive edge.

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