SWIFT launched Sanctions Screening, a centralized service for small- and medium-sized financial institutions in need of a cost-effective, easy route to compliance with sanctions regulations.

SWIFT developed the Sanctions Screening service to help its community keep up with increasing regulatory obligations. Complying with evolving sanctions regulations and frequently updated lists has become more complex, costly, and time-consuming for financial institutions.

SWIFT's Sanctions Screening service combines FircoSoft's filtering application and list update service with SWIFT’s capabilities to provide a service that helps small- and medium-sized financial institutions comply with the sanctions laws under which they operate.

Because of its position in the international payments business and by operating and maintaining the Sanctions Screening service centrally, SWIFT is able to offer a shared, cost-effective, zero-footprint service that is easy to implement.

Users of the Sanctions Screening service will be able to request selected SWIFT FIN messages be routed to the centralized screening application, where they will be filtered in real time, and checked against customers' selected sanctions lists. If there is no match to the sanctions list, the message will be delivered as usual. If there is a match, customers will be asked to instruct SWIFT as to whether to release, block or flag the message via an alert management system.

 

 

[This article was posted on April 24, 2012, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com.] 

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