REGnosys chief urges UK to put RegTech at centre of fintech strategy

The UK’s ambition to remain a leading fintech centre will increasingly depend on its support for regulatory technology, according to Leo Labeis, founder and chief executive of REGnosys. In a Finextra opinion piece, Labeis pointed to the government’s additional £1mn for the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology and industry estimates that the global RegTech market could reach about $84bn by 2033 as signs of both policy interest and commercial opportunity.

Labeis said the UK has built a strong platform for fintech since the 2020 Kalifa Review, which helped define a national agenda for the sector and led to the creation of CFIT to improve coordination across finance, technology and policy. He argued that the next phase will require more attention to the infrastructure that helps firms comply with complex rules across products and jurisdictions.

RegTech refers to technology used to support regulatory monitoring, reporting and compliance. In financial services, that can include systems that interpret rules, organise data, automate reporting and help firms evidence controls to supervisors.

Labeis said the field has moved beyond a narrow focus on cutting compliance costs. More frequent, complex and cross-border regulatory changes have increased pressure on firms to make reporting and control systems more resilient and easier to scale, he wrote.

Reporting burden under scrutiny

The argument comes as UK authorities and European regulators examine how digital standards could reduce duplication in regulatory reporting. Labeis cited the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England as viewing automated and standardised reporting as part of efforts to reduce the burden of regulatory data collection.

He also referred to the UK’s Transaction and Post-Trade Reporting Taskforce, which he said shows a more deliberate attempt to harmonise reporting requirements across wholesale markets.

In the European Union, the European Securities and Markets Authority has identified digital regulatory reporting, machine-readable rules and common data models as tools in its work to simplify reporting frameworks, according to Labeis. ESMA’s preference for a “report once” approach points to reduced repetition, improved data quality and more consistent implementation, he wrote.

The mechanism is straightforward: when firms use shared data definitions and machine-readable rule sets, they can reduce repeated interpretation of requirements and limit the need to rebuild systems each time reporting rules change. Labeis said fragmented and manual systems raise costs, weaken resilience and create operational friction for both firms and supervisors.

Competition among financial centres

Labeis linked the RegTech debate to broader competition among global financial centres. He cited Dealroom’s Global Tech Ecosystem 2026 Index, which said London had regained its position as Europe’s leading tech ecosystem, ahead of Paris, supported by stronger investment in artificial intelligence and deep technology.

That position should not lead to complacency, he argued. Labeis said financial centres compete not only on capital, skills and market depth, but also on how effectively firms can operate under demanding regulation.

Fast-growing fintechs, including neobanks and embedded finance providers, face particular pressure, according to Labeis. He said these companies are often expected to meet standards similar to established banks while operating with fewer compliance resources. Automated and scalable compliance infrastructure can help such firms expand while maintaining governance, reporting, financial crime controls and operational resilience, he wrote.

Labeis said Britain has advantages in RegTech because of its developed regulatory system, capital markets, financial services base and concentration of legal, regulatory and technical expertise. He also pointed to the UK’s role in digital regulatory reporting and the Common Domain Model, technologies in which REGnosys acts as maintainer.

Policy support need not take the form of large state intervention, Labeis wrote. He called for smarter incentives, targeted backing for innovation, stronger collaboration among regulators, industry and academia, and support for standards that reduce repeated implementation work across the market.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.