RelyComply partners with the Building Societies Association (BSA) to strengthen financial crime resilience

RelyComply is proud to announce its partnership with the Building Societies Association (BSA), a key UK industry body representing building societies and major credit unions.

This collaboration deepens RelyComply’s engagement with the mutual financial sector, while contributing specialised AML and financial crime expertise to initiatives supporting member-owned institutions responding to evolving regulatory demands.

The partnership is centred on strengthening financial crime resilience across the building society landscape, combining the BSA’s sector insight with RelyComply’s lifecycle-driven AML capabilities across onboarding, transaction monitoring, and ongoing risk management.

Together, the organisations aim to support building societies in addressing financial crime risk in a way that reflects their distinct operating model – balancing strong compliance frameworks with the need to maintain trust, accessibility, and long-term member relationships.

Supporting the mutual sector in a changing risk landscape

Building societies operate within a unique financial services model defined by member ownership, community focus, and long-term customer engagement.

The Building Societies Association (BSA) plays a central role in representing these institutions, facilitating engagement with regulators, and supporting members as they navigate regulatory change across AML, fraud prevention, and broader financial crime risk management.

For RelyComply, this partnership provides valuable exposure to the operational realities, risk priorities, and regulatory pressures shaping the mutual sector – ensuring its technology is aligned to the needs of building societies, rather than adapted from traditional banking frameworks.

What the Building Societies Association (BSA) enables

Through this collaboration, the Building Societies Association (BSA) provides structured access to the mutual ecosystem and the regulatory discussions shaping financial crime compliance:

• Access to a network of building societies and credit unions operating under member-owned governance models
• Insight into evolving regulatory priorities, including financial crime guidance from key authorities
• Opportunities to contribute technical expertise to sector-wide discussions on AML, KYC, and fraud prevention
• Collaboration through specialist groups focused on compliance, risk, and financial crime
• Participation in industry dialogue shaping practical approaches to financial crime controls

What RelyComply contributes

As part of the partnership, RelyComply brings practical, implementation-focused expertise to support building societies in strengthening their financial crime frameworks:

• Experience in lifecycle-based AML spanning onboarding, transaction monitoring, and ongoing customer risk assessment
• Proven capability in supporting regulated institutions implementing risk-based compliance aligned to regulatory expectations
• Insight into modernising financial crime controls while preserving trusted, member-centric service models
• Technical expertise in AI-enabled monitoring systems designed to respond to evolving fraud and money laundering typologies
• Contribution to industry collaboration focused on improving financial crime resilience across the mutual sector

Aligning financial crime prevention with mutual values

At the heart of this partnership is a shared understanding: effective financial crime prevention must reflect the structure and principles of the institutions it serves.

By combining the BSA’s convening power and sector expertise with RelyComply’s compliance technology capabilities, the partnership supports AML approaches that are both practical to implement and aligned with regulatory expectations.

Together, RelyComply and the BSA aim to help building societies strengthen their financial crime frameworks, improve visibility into risk, and enhance monitoring capabilities – while preserving the member-first experience that defines the mutual sector.

Demonstrating collaboration in practice

RelyComply has already begun contributing to industry dialogue through its engagement with the Building Societies Association (BSA), including participation in discussions exploring the role of AI in supporting the mutual sector.

Earlier this year, RelyComply took part in the BSA OneBanx event:

Mutual intelligence: How AI can strengthen purpose, people and performance

The session explored how AI can enable mutual organisations to balance innovation with trust, improving operational efficiency while maintaining strong member relationships.

RelyComply will also participate in the upcoming Building Societies Annual Conference 2026, taking place on 28–29 April in Edinburgh.

As the flagship event for the UK mutual sector, the conference brings together senior leaders from building societies, credit unions, regulators, professional services firms, and technology providers. With over 1,200 delegates attending in previous years, it serves as a key platform for discussion on regulatory developments, operational priorities, and emerging financial crime risks.

RelyComply’s participation reflects its ongoing commitment to supporting the mutual sector through knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and practical engagement on financial crime challenges.

Looking forward

As the financial crime landscape continues to evolve, partnerships between sector bodies and technology providers remain essential to ensuring compliance approaches stay aligned with the realities of mutual financial institutions.

RelyComply looks forward to continued collaboration with the Building Societies Association (BSA) , contributing insight, engaging with industry stakeholders, and supporting efforts to address financial crime risk across building societies and credit unions.