Compliance tops adoption drivers at 54% with FIs recognising RegTechs wider commercial potential

Primary drivers of RegTech adoption

Key views of primary drivers of RegTech adoption as reported by FIs and vendors:

  • The Global State of RegTech surveyed 300 compliance decision-makers and 100 vendors on what drives RegTech adoption across financial institutions
  • Vendors rated every driver higher than institutions, with compliance obligations topping both groups at 73% and 54% respectively
  • The data points to a growing recognition that RegTech delivers value well beyond regulatory compliance

The Global State of RegTech surveyed 300 compliance decision-makers and 100 vendors on what drives RegTech adoption across financial institutions

The Global State of RegTech was produced by RegTech Analyst and Parker & Lawrence Research.

It draws on global surveys of 300 senior risk and compliance decision-makers at financial institutions and 100 RegTech vendors.

The study is supplemented by qualitative interviews with regulators, regulated entities and market experts, alongside deep-dive analysis across six risk and compliance domains.

Among the questions posed was which outcomes currently drive RegTech adoption in financial institutions, with institutions self-reporting and vendors offering their own perception of the same question.

Vendors rated every driver higher than institutions, with compliance obligations topping both groups at 73% and 54% respectively

The responses reveal broad alignment between the two groups, though vendors consistently rated each driver higher than institutions themselves.

Multiple responses were permitted.

Meeting regulatory compliance obligations ranked first for both, cited by 54% of institutions and 73% of vendors.

Improving operational efficiency and reducing cost came second at 49% and 62% respectively.

Reducing regulatory exposure followed at 41% among institutions and 53% among vendors.

Improving data quality and transparency was cited by 37% of institutions and 32% of vendors, one of the few areas where institutions rated the driver more highly.

Managing regulatory change more effectively stood at 36% and 27%, enhancing customer experience at 33% and 17%, supporting business growth and competitiveness at 28% and 23%, and remediation of control weaknesses or supervisory findings at 22% and 10%.

The data points to a growing recognition that RegTech delivers value well beyond regulatory compliance

The consistent gap between vendor perception and institutional self-reporting is one of the more striking features of the data.

Vendors appear to see RegTech as a more powerful force than institutions currently give it credit for.

That divergence may reflect a genuine difference in perspective, or it may point to an opportunity that institutions have yet to fully realise.

Compliance obligations and efficiency gains dominate the agenda for now.

But the fact that more than a quarter of institutions already view RegTech as a driver of growth and competitiveness suggests the technology’s perceived value is broadening. The case for RegTech is no longer purely defensive.

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