SME Bank picks Flagright for AML & watchlist tools

Digital lender SME Bank has selected Flagright for real-time transaction monitoring and watchlist screening as it expands its services for small and medium-sized businesses across northern Europe.

The Vilnius-headquartered bank said it has deployed Flagright's platform across transaction monitoring, screening, and investigations. The move adds a single system for alerting and casework linked to financial crime controls.

SME Bank operates with a specialised banking licence issued by the European Central Bank. It provides day-to-day digital banking services and lending products for business customers. Its current markets include the Baltic states, Finland, and the Netherlands.

Monitoring focus

Transaction monitoring is a central part of anti-money laundering compliance. Banks use it to identify patterns of suspicious activity and to meet regulatory requirements on oversight of payments and customer behaviour. Watchlist screening adds checks against sanctions lists and other databases used to flag higher-risk individuals and organisations.

Flagright positions its product as an AI-native, no-code platform for transaction monitoring and AML compliance. The firm said SME Bank evaluated the system before rollout.

According to the companies, SME Bank will use configurable, risk-based rules for monitoring transactions and customer activity in real time. The bank also plans to screen customers and counterparties against relevant watchlists. Flagright's system generates alerts with context for investigations.

The deployment also covers investigations and case management. The platform includes structured workflows and documentation designed for audit trails, according to details provided by the companies.

SME Bank also plans to use roles and permissions, including maker-checker controls. Those tools are used in many compliance teams to separate the creation of decisions from approvals and reviews.

Partner criteria

SME Bank framed the choice as part of maintaining controls while moving quickly in a digital model.

"Trust and speed, maintained through rigorous control, are the key criteria we expect from our partners," said Vaidotas Cucėnas, Chief Operating Officer, SME Bank. "This ensures we stay aligned with regulatory expectations while providing our clients with a secure environment to scale their operations."

The bank also pointed to the need to change processes as products and customer needs evolve.

"We looked for a platform that could quickly adapt to an ever-changing business environment and evolving processes. Flagright's system gives us the control to evolve our operating model alongside our clients' growing needs," said Tomas Smalakys, Chief Information Officer, SME Bank.

Vendor expansion

Flagright counts fintechs and banks among its customers and operates in more than 30 countries, according to the company. It markets its platform to compliance and operations teams that want centralised monitoring and investigation tools without extensive custom development.

The firm also cited industry recognition. It said it was listed in Sifted's Europe 250 in 2025 as the fastest growing AML compliance platform in Europe. It also said Chartis recognised it as a leader in AI for financial crime compliance in the Financial Crime Compliance50 2025 report.

Flagright claims its technology reduces false positives and lowers compliance costs, though such outcomes depend on data quality, implementation choices and risk appetite. Financial institutions typically balance automation with analyst review, particularly for higher-risk cases and regulatory reporting.

Baran Özkan, Co-founder and CEO of Flagright, described the partnership as aligned with SME Bank's digital banking approach for business customers.

"SME Bank is building the kind of modern banking experience SMEs expect - digital, efficient and built for growth," said Baran Özkan, Co-founder and CEO of Flagright. "We're excited to partner with their team and provide real-time monitoring, watchlist screening and unified investigations that help them scale with confidence and meet regulatory expectations."

SME Bank said it is continuing to expand its regional footprint, with the Flagright deployment covering real-time monitoring, screening and investigations as part of that operating model.