Off-channel communications:
A review of the solutions landscape
Compare leading compliance-enabling solutions
Off-channel communication solutions use a combination of technology, policy and processes designed to capture, archive and monitor business interactions that occur outside of corporate-owned channels. For firms who have customers who wish to communicate over consumer messaging apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat, SMS, Slack, Telegram, LINE and others, this is critical.
Under regulatory rules like SEC Rule 17a-4 and FINRA Rule 3110, in-scope companies are required to retain, supervise and produce records related to business activities. For other firms, having ownership and visibility over client communications is a strategic business consideration versus a regulatory requirement.
Without a technology solution, employees could text clients via personal accounts without any corporate recordkeeping or oversight, creating enormous risk for the enterprise. But with an omnichannel solution, employees can message their clients on their preferred channel while these messages are archived, monitored and can be accessed after employees leave the firm.
Compare features
Symphony Messaging vs industry alternatives: Feature comparison
The landscape of compliance-enabling on-channel messaging technical solutions is broad. Here is how Symphony Messaging compares to the wider market.
Capability
Symphony Messaging
Common Industry Features
Channel Connectivity
- Native integrations to WhatsApp, WeChat, SMS and LINE via official network APIs. Connectivity to iMessage, Telegram and Slack with custom integration.
- Largely reliant on fragile app scraping wrappers or mobile-first apps.
User Experience
- Unified AI-enabled workspace with consolidated view of all message channels. Persistent desktop and mobile experience.
- Fragmented workflows without a centralized business view of all channels. Clunky desktop interfaces.
Microsoft Teams Interoperability
- Full platform capabilities embedded and accessible within the main chat screen of Microsoft Teams.
- Siloed communications. Users must switch between the compliance wrapper app and Microsoft Teams.
Security & Compliance
- Bank-grade security with built-in, proactive surveillance for preventative compliance and DLP.
- Reactive archiving. Compliance treated solely as a data-storage exercise, often lacking true advanced privacy controls.
AI Enablement & Workflow
- Purpose-built for finance with bots and agents tailored for complex, financial workflows. Only platform with integrated AI Agent Studio deployed directly alongside chats.
- Limited or non-existent workflow integration tools. Generic workflow integrations.
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- Secure messaging on WhatsApp, SMS, WeChat, LINE, iMessage, Telegram & Slack
- Transform client engagement
- Minimize risk of non-compliance fines
“Federation on mobile has been a game-changer. Email traffic dropped 20%.”
Mauricio Sada-Paz
Bank of America
Reasons why firms choose Symphony
Symphony Messaging is the only purpose-built collaboration platform for regulated industries which successfully bridges the gap between execution speed, regulatory compliance and seamless client engagement. Symphony unifies internal and external channels (WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, iMessage, Slack, Telegram and others) into a single, highly secure workspace. Symphony Messaging fulfils comprehensive external messaging needs.
While many solutions rely on fragile workarounds such as wrapper apps, Symphony delivers an enterprise-grade, unified workspace using official APIs. Beyond simply checking a regulatory box, Symphony transforms reactive archiving into a proactive, AI-driven defense.
Through Symphony’s secure-by-design AI infrastructure and Agent Studio capabilities, custom AI agents can be deployed directly alongside external client conversations and internal communications to eliminate costly context-switching.
By combining a highly functional desktop & mobile experience, deep workflow automations and a company-verified network of professionals with end-to-end encryption, Symphony empowers teams to both execute quickly and seamlessly engage with clients.
Talk to an expert to see how Symphony can futureproof your communications.
The industry standard for secure communication
Users across platforms
Investment banks
largest global by revenue
Institutions served by Symphony
Asset managers
largest global by AUM
