Every Payee, Screened Against the Real SDN List
Before a payment leaves Fintra, the payee is screened against the actual Treasury Specially Designated Nationals list - not a stale copy - so a sanctioned party is caught by policy, not luck.
Illustrative product view
What OFAC screening does
Paying a sanctioned individual or entity is a real legal exposure, not a theoretical one. Fintra screens every payee against the real Treasury Specially Designated Nationals list before a payment is scheduled, holding any match for review rather than letting the payment proceed.
- Every payee screened against the actual Treasury SDN list, not a stale internal copy
- Screening runs before a payment is scheduled, not after it clears
- Matches - including partial name matches - are held for human review
- New vendors and payees are screened as they are added, not only at payment time
Core capabilities
| Capability | What it does | What it replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Real SDN list screening | Checks payees against the actual Treasury SDN list | No screening, or a manually maintained list |
| Pre-payment hold | Screens before scheduling, not after the payment clears | Screening as an afterthought or not at all |
| Match review queue | Routes any match, including partial ones, to a person | A missed match with no review step |
| New-vendor screening | Screens payees as they are added to the system | Only screening at the moment of payment |
How it works
From new payee to cleared payment
- 1
Add the payee
A new vendor or payee is screened against the SDN list as soon as they are added.
- 2
Screen before scheduling
Every payment run screens payees again before scheduling, catching any list update since onboarding.
- 3
Hold on a match
A match, including a partial name match, holds the payment and routes it to a person for review.
- 4
Clear or escalate
A reviewer confirms whether it is a false positive or escalates it before any payment proceeds.
A control, not a suggestion
AgentFence policy makes OFAC screening a hard gate: a flagged payee cannot be paid until the flag is explicitly reviewed and cleared by a person. The SentriAI audit trail preserves every screening result, match, and review decision.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SDN list?
The Specially Designated Nationals list is maintained by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and names individuals and entities that U.S. persons and businesses are prohibited from transacting with. Fintra screens against the real, current list rather than a static or outdated copy.
When does screening happen - at onboarding or at payment?
Both. A payee is screened when first added to the system, and screened again before any payment is scheduled, so a list update that happens after onboarding is still caught before money moves.
What happens if a payee matches the SDN list?
The payment is held and the match is routed to a person for review, including partial name matches. No payment proceeds against a flagged payee until the flag is explicitly reviewed and cleared.
Can OFAC screening be turned off or bypassed?
No. AgentFence policy treats sanctions screening as a hard control on payments, so it is not a setting that can be disabled to speed up a payment run - every payee is screened as part of the standard payment process.
Stay in the loop
One practical finance briefing a week - new guides, checklists, and benchmarks.
Screen every payee before the money moves
Start free, no card required. Sanctions screening runs automatically on every payment.
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