How Kerv Re-Engineered Its Assurance Platform to Set a New Standard for Regulatory Compliance

Published 20/11/25 under:

In an environment where FCA, MiFID II, SEC and CFTC communication recording requirements continue to tighten, financial institutions are re-evaluating the tools they rely on to manage risk, evidence compliance, and respond rapidly to regulatory requests.

At the XLoD event in London, Kerv unveiled how—and why—we rebuilt our Guardian Assurance Platform from the ground up to meet the evolving needs of global banks, brokerages, and wealth management firms. This wasn’t a feature update. It was a strategic redesign to help compliance, surveillance, and risk teams operate faster, reduce errors, and gain full visibility across their communication recording estate.

Today, over 70% of Tier 1 banks, alongside leading brokerages and wealth managers, trust Kerv’s award-winning technology to safeguard their regulatory posture. Guardian’s redesign is the next stage in that evolution.

Why We Broke a Market-Leading Assurance Platform

Kerv’s CTO Kyle and Lead UX Designer Miranda shared the turning point: while the original Guardian platform was technically exceptional—secure, scalable, and fast—the user experience did not reflect how assurance and compliance teams actually work.

Compliance officers shouldn’t have to “fight the system” to retrieve data, prove retention, or respond to supervisory inquiries. Yet that was the reality across much of the industry.

The question that sparked the rebuild was simple: “If compliance processes are already complex, why should the tools be?”

The decision Kyle made next set a new direction: “We’re going to break everything and rebuild it around the user.”

This became the foundation for Guardian’s transformation—placing UX, accessibility, accuracy, and operational governance at the centre of the platform.

What Compliance Leaders Told Us: Three Core Pain Points

Following in-depth interviews with compliance stakeholders across the UK, Europe, North America, and APAC, three critical challenges emerged—universal across financial services.

1. Communication Retrieval Was Slow, Stressful, and Risk-Prone

Regulators increasingly request precise, multi-channel recordings:

• “All calls made by X to Y over this period.”
• “Every WhatsApp, voice call, or message relating to this client.”

Firms reported “retrieval trauma”—delays, data gaps, and manual searches across fragmented systems. Guardian’s rebuild focused on fast, targeted, accurate retrieval, giving teams absolute confidence in the evidence they present.

2. Lack of Estate-Wide Visibility Created Hidden Compliance Gaps

Many firms struggled to view system health across all regulated communication channels—voice, mobile, WhatsApp, Teams, iMessage, and more.
Guardian now provides a single-screen view of recording assurance, surfacing issues like misconfigurations or failed retention instantly.

3. Surveillance Tools Were Overloaded With Noise

Compliance systems were cluttered with unnecessary data, widgets, and distractions—slowing analysis and delaying decisions. Our redesign streamlined the user journey, reducing noise and highlighting what matters most: risk, assurance, and actionable insight. Additionally, clients made clear that many platforms failed to meet accessibility needs. In a regulated environment, inaccessible design = operational risk. Guardian now incorporates accessibility as standard, improving usability for all teams and reducing the likelihood of oversight.

UX as a Control: A New Approach to Communication Recording Assurance

The most significant insight from our redesign is this: In compliance, UX is not cosmetic—it is a governance control.

Traditional compliance technology builds from the back end forwards. We flipped the model. We started with the workflows, cognitive load, and day-to-day reality of surveillance and compliance teams, then engineered the platform behind that experience.

When the design makes it easy – and intuitive – to act compliantly, the system becomes a built-in control.

Guardian Assurance now delivers assurance through design, not just functionality:

• Built-In Assurance
  The interface guides users to the correct workflow automatically, reducing deviation and embedding compliant behaviour.
• Error Prevention by Design
  Clear visual patterns and simplified journeys minimise mistakes and make data validation intuitive.
• Guided Regulatory Response
  Every alert, test, or configuration change leads users directly to root cause, reducing investigation time.
• Human Workflow First
  Guardian is measured not only on technical performance, but on task completion time, clarity, and the number of manual checks eliminated.

This approach to “UX-driven governance” is now patent pending, and it differentiates Guardian from every other assurance platform in the market.

So Why does this matter to Financial Institutions right now?

For decision makers responsible for:

• Communication recording compliance
• E-comms and voice surveillance
• Record-keeping governance (FCA SYSC, MiFID II, SEC, CFTC)
• Operational resilience and conduct risk

…the redesign of Guardian addresses the industry’s biggest concerns:

• Faster, more accurate retrieval for audits and regulatory requests
• End-to-end visibility across all communication channels
• Reduced operational workload and manual checks
• Stronger assurance through embedded UX controls
• Accessibility-driven design that reduces operational risk
• Confidence that your recording estate is compliant, resilient, and proactive

Guardian no longer just monitors compliance—it enables it, enforces it, and enhances it.

Experience the Assurance Platform Built for Today’s Regulatory Demands

If your organisation is evaluating communication recording solutions, modernising your regulatory assurance model, or strengthening your control framework, Guardian offers a new benchmark for the industry. Find out more with our comprehensive guide or see it in action in this short video demonstration.