Everything you need to know about Comply Advantage
Last updated: May 2, 2026
ComplyAdvantage is a London-based financial crime risk intelligence company. Their platform, Mesh, combines a proprietary global risk database with AI-powered screening to help organisations identify sanctions exposure, politically exposed persons (PEPs), adverse media, and other financial crime risk signals at the point of onboarding and throughout the customer lifecycle.
On Dotfile, ComplyAdvantage powers the AML Screening Check. When triggered, the check screens a person or entity's identity data against ComplyAdvantage's database and returns a result indicating whether any risk matches were found. Screening can be run as a one-time check at onboarding or configured for continuous ongoing monitoring.
What kind if risks does ComplyAdvantage screen for?
ComplyAdvantage categorises risk into seven top-level types, each with multiple sub-categories. On Dotfile, the screening configuration determines which risk types are applied to a given client's checks. The default configuration covers the most common regulatory requirements.
⚠ A note on adverse media
ComplyAdvantage is known to return fewer false positives than other AML providers — however, as a consequence, it may also miss some adverse media hits. Adverse media is a known area of lower performance relative to other risk types across providers generally. Results can generate a higher volume of false positives, particularly for individuals with common names or ambiguous news coverage. Review adverse media matches carefully before taking action — not all flagged articles will be relevant to the individual being screened. Contact your Dotfile Solutions Consultant if you are experiencing an unusually high false positive rate on adverse media.
Understanding screening results and match statuses
When ComplyAdvantage returns match candidates for a screening, each candidate must be reviewed and given a match status a disposition that records the compliance team's decision on that match. Getting this right is critical: match statuses feed into the audit trail and determine how the case progresses in Dotfile.
Screening result statuses
Configuration and custom lists
ComplyAdvantage Mesh supports a high degree of configuration, allowing the screening parameters to be tailored to a client's specific risk profile, regulatory jurisdiction, and operational requirements. On Dotfile, most configuration is managed through the Dotfile back-office and no ComplyAdvantage portal access is required for standard adjustments.
What can be configured
Ongoing monitoring
A one-time screening at onboarding is often insufficient for regulatory compliance most AML frameworks require regulated firms to continuously monitor customers for changes in their risk profile throughout the relationship. ComplyAdvantage supports ongoing monitoring, which automatically re-screens monitored individuals and entities against updated data sources and alerts Dotfile when a new match emerges.
Once the initial screening is complete, monitoring runs every 24 hours until manually switched off. The underlying data is updated within minutes.
Monitoring isn't enabled by default in your workspace
To ensure continuous oversight, you must explicitly activate ongoing monitoring within your configuration. If you’re unsure of your current status, you can verify your Settings -> Checks -> AML Screening inside Dotfile and enable the monitoring option.
Note: For those operating in regulated sectors such as financial services, payments, or crypto enabling monitoring is a standard requirement for maintaining compliance.
How is ComplyAdvantage AML billed?
ComplyAdvantage operates on a per-screening basis, meaning a charge is applied for every API call that returns a result, regardless of whether a match is found.
Ongoing Monitoring Fees: If you choose to activate ongoing monitoring, the billing structure is as follows:
Year 1: You are billed for both the initial screening and the annual monitoring fee.
Subsequent Years: You will only be billed the annual monitoring fee on the anniversary date of the initial check, provided the individual remains under monitoring.
To avoid recurring charges in Year 2 and beyond, ensure you deactivate monitoring on any profiles that no longer require active oversight before their anniversary date.
Existing ComplyAdvantage contracts
If you already have a direct contract with ComplyAdvantage, you can leverage your existing agreement within the Dotfile platform.
Dotfile has the ability to import your screening history directly into Dotfile without the need to re-run every check from scratch. Because these migrations depend on your specific contract and data structure, they are handled on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to explore migrating your existing ComplyAdvantage data, please contact your Dotfile Solutions Consultant. We will work with you to evaluate your setup and ensure a smooth transition of your compliance history