Runtime and Sumsub

Sumsub and Runtime both get pitched to compliance and onboarding leaders who want fewer hours in manual review. They do different jobs. Sumsub verifies the person or business and screens them. Runtime agents do the investigation and follow-up work that the check leaves behind, across every system and team involved. Most teams that use Sumsub would run both.

What each does

Sumsub is a verification and compliance platform used by fintech, crypto, iGaming, trading, and marketplace companies. It covers KYC (ID documents, liveness, proof of address, non-document checks, reusable KYC), KYB with UBO verification, AML screening and ongoing monitoring, transaction monitoring, fraud prevention, and the Travel Rule for crypto. On top sits an operations layer: case management, a workflow builder, a rule engine, risk scoring, FIU reports, and the Summy AI Copilot, which summarizes cases and surfaces risk signals inside the platform. Sumsub also offers an in-house team that manually verifies complex corporate documents, and in June 2026 it released an MCP integration and open-source agent skills so outside AI agents can configure Sumsub and help with daily compliance work. Sumsub says it serves more than 4,000 clients.

Runtime is the AI agent harness for payment and fintech teams. Anyone on risk, compliance, onboarding, payment ops, finance, or support builds agents from their SOPs. Agents work on their own isolated computers in your cloud and reach tools through APIs, databases, CLIs, MCP servers, and a browser for portals with no API. They start read-only, stop for approval before anything moves money, and every run is recorded end to end.

Put simply: Sumsub checks who someone is and whether they are risky. Runtime agents work out what to do about it across the business.

Where they overlap

Sumsub does more than verification, so the overlap is worth naming.

• Case management and AI review. Sumsub has its own case management, and Summy helps investigators summarize cases and spot risk signals. Sumsub also says AI agents analyze AML screening hits and filter false positives. If your reviews start and end in Sumsub, that may be enough.
• Agent access. Sumsub's MCP integration lets general-purpose AI agents review applicants, run analytics, and propose configuration changes, with configuration changes approved by a person. That is a door for agents, not a place to run them. Runtime is one place to run them.
• Workflows and rules. Sumsub's workflow builder and rule engine already route applicants. Runtime doesn't need to replace that.

The line is the edge of Sumsub's data. A compliance review on a payments company often needs the customer's transaction history, held funds at the processor, past support conversations, chargebacks, or notes from another team. Sumsub doesn't hold those. Runtime agents can reach them.

How they work together

A typical flow for a flagged customer or an ongoing-monitoring alert:

1. Sumsub flags. An applicant fails a check, an AML monitoring hit fires, or a transaction monitoring rule trips. The case opens in Sumsub.
2. A Runtime agent picks it up. Through Sumsub's API, a webhook, MCP, or a Slack alert, the agent pulls the applicant, the check results, and Summy's case summary.
3. It investigates beyond Sumsub. The agent checks your ledger for the customer's activity, the processor for related payouts or disputes, your support tool for recent conversations, and earlier cases on the same person or business.
4. It drafts the decision with evidence. Following your SOP, the agent writes what triggered the case, what it checked, what it found, and a recommendation: clear, request documents, restrict, or escalate for a SAR decision.
5. A person approves in Slack or Teams. Freezing an account, releasing funds, or replying to a sponsor bank always waits for a person.
6. The agent writes back and closes the case. It updates the case in Sumsub, notes the ticket, and keeps one record of the whole run: trigger, every query and tool call, approvals, cost, and result, exportable for your sponsor bank or examiner.

The same pattern covers periodic re-reviews. The agent pulls fresh Sumsub results, compares them to what the business is actually doing in your systems, and prepares the review for sign-off.

When you need both

• Your Sumsub alerts often need data from your ledger, processor, or support tools
• Compliance flags turn into work for payment ops, finance, or support
• You want agents running in your own cloud, with models you choose, for PII
• You want one record per case, including what happened after the flag
• You want agents on other queues too, not only compliance

When Sumsub alone is enough

• Your reviews can be resolved with Sumsub's own data and case management
• Summy and Sumsub's AI screening keep your backlog under control
• You want verification and its case queue from one vendor and nothing more yet
• Other teams aren't ready for agents

Frequently asked questions

Is Runtime an alternative to Sumsub?

No. Sumsub verifies people and businesses: ID documents, liveness, AML screening, KYB, and transaction monitoring. Runtime does not do those checks. Runtime agents work the exceptions and investigations around them, and can use Sumsub as a tool.

Does Sumsub have AI agents?

Yes. Summy AI Copilot, launched across the Sumsub platform in February 2026, summarizes cases, answers product and compliance questions, and builds analytics, with decisions left to people. Sumsub also uses AI agents in KYB and AML screening, and in June 2026 released an MCP integration so outside agents like Claude or ChatGPT can work with Sumsub.

How much does Sumsub cost?

Sumsub publishes pricing. Basic is $1.35 per verification with a $149 monthly minimum. Compliance is $1.85 per verification with a $299 monthly minimum. KYB, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention are on a custom plan through sales.

Can Runtime agents use Sumsub's MCP server?

Runtime agents can reach tools through APIs and MCP servers, so they can use Sumsub's API or MCP integration with credentials you scope. Anything that changes a decision or moves money waits for a person to approve.

Why use Runtime if Sumsub already has case management?

Sumsub's case management works on Sumsub's data. Many reviews also need your ledger, processor, support tickets, and other teams. Runtime agents work across those systems and keep one record of the whole investigation.