Contego, the RegTech platform, providing multi-source identity verification and compliance checks, today announced the acquisition of Working Status Ltd, the comprehensive software solution for Right-to-Work compliance and Human Resources management. The acquisition will accelerate Contego’s current growth, which may well include further acquisitions of RegTech technologies whose capabilities contribute to the Contego vision of providing a single global platform to verify and risk-score people, ID documents and companies in onboarding, monitoring and investigation processes.

Contego helps financial services, property and FinTech firms to improve and automate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and processes. Its single risk-scoring platform can handle complex, multi-entity fraud detection and compliance checks in real time, all delivered via a single API, which expedites and improves customer onboarding.

Working Status provides a proven Right-to-Work solution supported by an industry-leading immigration consultancy.  Its widely adopted technology improves and optimises Right-to-Work compliance in the employee onboarding process. It combines automated ID document screening with an intelligent mobile document capture function and robust validation checks in line with the very latest immigration regulations.  Working Status’ proposition aligns perfectly with Contego’s goal to help clients improve process automation and efficiency when onboarding and monitoring employees and customers. This drives down operational costs and considerably reduces the risk of compliance failures, fines and reputational damage.

Contego’s CEO, Adrian Black, will continue to lead the company, while Working Status co-founder & CTO James Meyer will lead future development of document verification and biometrics services across the group. Fellow Co-Founder Anne Morris, an immigration lawyer and expert on the evolving Right-to-Work, Right-to-Study and Right-to-Rent legislation, will join the Contego board.

Adrian Black, CEO, Contego said: “This acquisition increases the range of clients that we can help in an increasingly regulated world and broadens the expertise and capabilities of Contego. We are committed to continuing to develop and strengthen our position as a leading RegTech platform providing a comprehensive and holistic view of both people and companies, enabling our customers to make informed data-driven decisions about how and with whom they do business. Working Status is a great fit for us both commercially and culturally and may well be followed by further acquisitions which fit within our vision for both sector and international growth.”