Screening

What is Transaction Screening?

Transaction screening is the process of checking the parties involved in a transaction (the sender and receiver) against global watchlists and intelligence databases. It runs automatically as part of transaction submission, so you can catch high-risk counterparties at the point of transaction rather than retrospectively. Screening checks the names you provide against:

Sanctions lists: OFAC, UN, EU, HM Treasury, EFCC/CBN, and other global programmes
PEP databases: global politically exposed persons and their associates
Adverse media: news and intelligence sources for negative coverage

A screening hit does not automatically block the transaction. It returns a match result with a confidence score that your team uses to decide the appropriate action.

How to Enable Screening

Screening is triggered by including a screeningData object in your transaction submission. You only need to provide the names of the sender and receiver:

{
  "transaction_id": "txn-001",
  "amount": "50000.00",
  "type": "debit",
  "screeningData": {
    "senderName": "John Doe",
    "receiverName": "Acme Ventures Ltd"
  }
}

Both senderName and receiverName are optional. Include whichever names you want screened. If only the receiver carries risk in your use case, you can send just receiverName.

Understanding Screening Results

Screening results are returned as part of the transaction response. Each screened name gets a result with: matched: whether a match was found (true or false) confidence: how closely the name matches the record in the database:

Score	What it means
100	Exact match. Treat as a confirmed hit.
70 to 99	Strong match. Investigate before proceeding.
Below 70	Partial match. Likely a false positive, but review if the transaction is high value.

matchType: the category of the match: SANCTIONS, PEP, or ADVERSE_MEDIA dataset: the specific list or source the match came from (e.g. “OFAC SDN List”, “UN Consolidated List”)

What to Do with a Screening Hit

The appropriate response depends on the match type:

Match type	Recommended action
Sanctions	Do not process the transaction. A confirmed sanctions match carries a legal obligation to block. Document the hit and file an STR with NFIU if required.
PEP	Flag for enhanced due diligence. A PEP match is not a block; it means the relationship needs closer scrutiny. Review the confidence score and verify the match refers to your customer.
Adverse Media	Flag for review. Treat as a risk signal, not a verdict. Investigate the relevance and severity before deciding.

Screening at the transaction level complements your CDD screening. CDD screens customers during onboarding and periodic reviews. Transaction screening catches cases where a previously clean counterparty appears on a watchlist for the first time.

Standalone AML Checks

If you need to screen names outside of a transaction flow, for example during onboarding or a one-off investigation, use the dedicated AML endpoints directly.

See Anti-Money Laundering (PEP, Sanctions, Adverse Media)

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What is Transaction Screening?

How to Enable Screening

Understanding Screening Results

What to Do with a Screening Hit

Standalone AML Checks