Community banks
OFAC Screening for Banks and Credit Unions
OFAC screening for banks checks customers, wire parties and other transactions against the OFAC lists, then re-checks the customer base whenever the lists change. OfacScanner gives community banks and credit unions customer, batch, monitoring and payment screening with a full audit trail.
What is OFAC screening for banks
Banks and credit unions are U.S. persons, so they may not open accounts for, process transactions for or hold property of blocked persons. When a bank finds property of a blocked person, it must block it and report to OFAC within 10 business days. When it must refuse a transaction that is prohibited but not blockable, it files a reject report within the same period. Blocked property is also reported every year.
Examiners review OFAC compliance as part of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti money laundering examination. The FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual has a section on OFAC that looks at the risk assessment, written policies, internal controls such as screening of customers and transactions, independent testing, a responsible person and training. These match the five components of the OFAC Framework for Compliance Commitments.
In practice that means two kinds of screening. Customer screening checks new and existing account holders. Transaction screening checks parties to wires, ACH items and other payments, including originators, beneficiaries and intermediary banks.
Where OfacScanner fits next to your core system
Many banks already have an interdiction filter inside the core banking or wire platform that holds a payment before it is released. OfacScanner does not replace that filter by itself. It can serve as the screening engine behind it when your core or wire system calls the sanctions screening API, and it covers the gaps many community banks fill by hand today: onboarding checks, full book re-screening after list updates, vendor and loan party checks, and a single place to keep evidence. The decision on any match stays with your BSA or OFAC officer.
Bank grade controls
What banks and credit unions get
Full book monitoring
Monitor up to 500,000 records on Scale. Each list update triggers a re-screen and alerts only on new or changed hits.
Wire and payment screening
Screen originator, beneficiary, bank, free text and vessel fields in real time, under 300 ms on Scale.
SSO and SCIM
SAML single sign on on Scale, plus SCIM provisioning and custom roles on Enterprise.
Thresholds and allow lists
Set your own matching threshold and record reviewed false positives so the same customer is not raised again.
Internal blocklists
Upload your own lists on Enterprise and screen against them with the official ones.
Contract and data terms
Enterprise includes a 99.9 percent uptime SLA, a DPA, a security questionnaire pack, invoice billing and data residency in the US or EU.
Manual screening compared with OfacScanner
Many smaller banks still search the Treasury tool by hand for onboarding and keep screenshots. Here is the difference.
| Manual search and screenshots | OfacScanner | |
|---|---|---|
| New customers | One name at a time | Single checks, batch files or API |
| Existing customers after list updates | Rarely re-checked | Automatic monitoring |
| Wires and payments | Depends on the core filter | Payment screening on Scale |
| Decision record | Screenshots and notes | Case with reviewer, comments and reason |
| List version used | Not recorded | Saved with every check |
| Audit export | Assembled by hand | Audit log export on Scale |
See the full manual vs automated screening comparison.
Ready for the examiner on any day
Examiners and independent testers ask to see how a sample of alerts was handled and which list version was used at the time. OfacScanner keeps that for every check, so the answer is an export, not a project.
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Evidence per check
List version, timestamp, user, score breakdown and matched alias.
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Cases with a trail
Assignment, comments, decision and closing reason for each possible match.
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List freshness
Official files checked every 30 minutes, with the source and update date of each list.
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Long retention
Export records at any time and keep them for the 10 years OFAC requires.
Plans for community banks and credit unions
Scale at $1,999 a month, or $999 a month billed yearly, fits most community banks and credit unions. It includes 500,000 checks a month, the REST API, payment screening, monitoring of up to 500,000 records, allow lists, 20 users, SAML single sign on, audit log export and priority email support.
Enterprise at $4,999 a month, or $2,499 a month billed yearly, adds 2,000,000 checks a month, unlimited users, SCIM, custom roles, custom list upload, a 99.9 percent uptime SLA, a DPA, data residency in the US or EU, invoice billing and an account manager by email. Both plans use the same checkout as every other plan, listed on the pricing page. Security details are on the security page.
OFAC screening questions for banks
Another question? Write to [email protected].
Can OfacScanner replace our core interdiction filter?
Does OfacScanner help with the OFAC section of an exam?
Which lists do banks get?
Can we keep our data in the US?
Do you offer PEP screening or ownership data?
Is support available by phone?
Keep exploring
Screen your first name in seconds
Type a person or company name, see the risk rating and top candidates from the current OFAC list, and keep the evidence when you sign up.
Results support your compliance decisions, and the final decision stays with your team. OfacScanner is not affiliated with OFAC or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.