NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comply, a leading AI and SaaS provider of compliance technology and consulting for financial firms, today announced the launch of Comply Communications Archiving, including native mobile capture for iMessage and WhatsApp. Unlike standalone archiving vendors, Comply connects captured communications directly to firms’ broader compliance programs, giving compliance officers the full context they need to supervise, document, and defend business communications within a single, exam-ready platform. The expanded solution enables firms to capture, store, and supervise business-related communications across email, websites, social media, and mobile messaging, all within a single archive.
The Regulatory Imperative
As regulators continue to intensify enforcement of books and records obligations, firms face mounting scrutiny around off-channel communications. Under SEC Rule 17a-4 and SEC Rule 204-2, firms are required to retain all business-related communications, regardless of the medium, in a tamper-proof, readily accessible format. The SEC’s 2026 Examination Priorities explicitly identify off-channel communications, including text messaging, as a key area of focus. This follows years of enforcement actions and more than $1 billion in fines issued to firms that failed to capture and supervise employee communications.
Comply’s Communications Archiving is designed to help firms proactively address these risks with full-fidelity capture, centralized supervision, and defensible record retention.
"Firms are under increasing pressure to supervise all business communications, not just email. Texting clients is already standard practice. The real risk is when firms try to control it with tools employees won’t use. That’s where compliance breaks down. Our approach removes that friction while ensuring every interaction is captured, reviewable, and regulator-ready." — Michael Stanton, CEO, Comply
Why a Unified Platform Outperforms Point Solutions
Firms evaluating dedicated communications archiving vendors—including standalone providers—face a familiar tradeoff: best-of-breed capture at the cost of yet another siloed system, another vendor contract, and another integration to maintain. Comply is purpose-built to eliminate that tradeoff.
Because Comply Communications Archiving operates within the same platform as firms’ policy management, employee supervision, marketing review, and compliance governance tools, captured data doesn’t just sit in storage, it becomes immediately useful to and actionable by the compliance team. When communications, policies, attestations, and exam history all live in one place, compliance officers have the full context to make better-informed decisions: a flagged WhatsApp message means more when the reviewer can also see that employee’s attestation status and open review items, without toggling between systems.
For firms already on the Comply platform, Communications Archiving is an opportunity to consolidate, replacing a standalone archiving vendor with a solution that is already embedded in their compliance program. That means one less contract, one less integration to maintain, and one less system for compliance teams to reconcile during an exam. The result isn’t just cost savings, it’s a stronger, more defensible program with less operational overhead.
"Firms shouldn’t need five vendors to run one compliance program. Every new point solution adds cost, complexity, and risk. Bringing archiving into Comply means firms get more intelligence, not more overhead." — Michael Stanton, CEO, Comply
Native Mobile Capture Without Changing How Employees Work
Comply is one of the few providers to offer truly native capture of iMessage and WhatsApp. Employees continue using their existing devices and phone numbers as they regularly would, while firms gain a complete, tamper-proof record of business communications.
Captured records include full conversation threads, timestamps, attachments and multimedia, edited and deleted messages, and message reactions. All data is stored in a WORM-compliant (write once, read many) archive, encrypted throughout its lifecycle and aligned with Apple and WhatsApp terms of service. In Q2 2026, Comply will introduce controls that allow employees to exclude designated personal phone numbers from Communications Archiving reviews to ensure personal communications remain private.
"Most resistance to mobile capture comes from tools that disrupt how people work. Native capture changes that dynamic. Employees communicate as they always have, and compliance teams get the complete, defensible record regulators expect." — Michael Stanton, CEO, Comply
One Archiving Strategy, Built for Supervision
Comply Communications Archiving brings mobile messaging into the same supervisory framework as email, web, and social media capture. Compliance teams can apply consistent review workflows, sampling, keyword monitoring, and documentation—creating a single, auditable record of oversight tied directly to the firm’s broader compliance program.
The solution is designed to support firms of all sizes, from lean advisory teams to complex, global RIAs, broker-dealers, and private funds, and aligns with key regulatory requirements including SEC Rule 204-2, SEC Rule 17a-4, and FINRA Rule 4511.
Expert Oversight, Connected Across the Entire Compliance Program
Communications Archiving is part of Comply’s broader platform strategy—one that pairs purpose-built compliance tools with expert human oversight at every step. Where appropriate, AI-assisted capabilities help compliance teams work more efficiently on high-volume, policy-driven tasks—but the judgment, review, and accountability remain with the compliance professional, not the technology. Every output is designed to be explainable, auditable, and defensible to regulators.
The launch follows Comply’s recent announcement of ComplyAI, a comprehensive framework for responsible AI governance, and reflects the company’s continued investment in exam-ready infrastructure for regulated financial firms.
"A supervision program is only as strong as the records behind it. Native mobile capture closes the last gap in that record. When that record is connected to everything else—policies, reviews, attestations, exam history—compliance teams have what they need to supervise confidently and defend their program under scrutiny." — David Bliss, Chief Product Officer, Comply
Availability
Comply Communications Archiving is available today – standalone, integrated with Comply for RIA, or as part of Comply’s unified compliance platform, which combines employee and firm compliance technology with expert advisory services and, where appropriate, AI-assisted tools that operate under structured human oversight.
Financial services firms gain access to a fully integrated compliance program spanning regulatory risk, policy creation and management, employee supervision, marketing review and books and records retention, all governed under expert human oversight and aligned with SEC and FINRA examination priorities.
For more information, visit www.comply.com
About Comply
Comply is a global technology and services leader transforming regulatory compliance for financial institutions through AI-enabled software, data intelligence, and expert advisory services. Trusted by more than 5,000 firms, including broker-dealers, insurers, investment banks, private funds, RIAs, and wealth managers, Comply combines deep regulatory domain expertise with advanced automation, machine learning, and integrated data solutions to deliver a unified platform that streamlines oversight and strengthens governance across the enterprise. With a relentless focus on innovation and client partnership, Comply is building the financial industry’s most intelligent and future-ready compliance ecosystem, helping institutions worldwide turn regulatory complexity into strategic advantage.
Media Contact: PR@Comply.com
