Platforms and payouts
Marketplace Sanctions Screening Before Every First Payout
Marketplace sanctions screening checks sellers, buyers and payout recipients against the OFAC lists before money changes hands, then keeps re-checking them as the lists change. OfacScanner screens sellers before the first payout, opens a case for any possible match and saves the evidence.
What is marketplace sanctions screening
A marketplace connects many sellers with many buyers and usually controls the money in between. When the platform pays out to a seller, it is the party sending funds. If that seller is a blocked person or a company owned by one, the payout can breach OFAC rules even though the platform never met the seller.
Screening on a marketplace covers both sides. Sellers, hosts, drivers, freelancers and creators are checked before they receive money. Buyers are checked where the risk is higher, such as large orders, business buyers or orders shipped abroad. Because accounts stay open for years, the check has to repeat whenever the sanctions lists change.
Payment partners that move funds for marketplaces commonly ask the platform to screen its sellers and to show records of those checks. A documented process also protects the platform when a partner, auditor or regulator asks how a payout was approved.
How to screen sellers from signup to payout
A simple flow that keeps good sellers moving and stops the rest before money leaves.
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01
Collect the right details
Ask for the legal name, country and date of birth for individuals, or the registered company name and country for businesses. More data means fewer false alarms.
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02
Screen before payouts are enabled
Run the check when the seller adds payout details. A Clear rating turns payouts on. Review or Likely match keeps them off until someone decides.
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03
Work possible matches as cases
Each possible match becomes a case with the candidate, the score breakdown and the matched alias. An analyst compares details and closes it with a reason.
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04
Add the seller to monitoring
Every approved seller is re-screened after each list update, so a seller who is listed later is caught before the next payout.
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05
Screen buyers by risk
Use the same account to check business buyers, large orders and cross border orders at checkout.
Tools that match how marketplaces work
High volume, many reviewers and payouts that cannot wait days.
Bulk screening of your seller base
Upload a CSV of up to 100,000 rows per file with batch sanctions screening and get a rating for every row.
Webhooks into the payout flow
screening.completed, case.created and monitoring.alert events tell your system when to enable, hold or pause payouts.
Cases with owners
Assign, comment, decide and close with a reason. Analyst, Reviewer and Admin roles keep decisions with the right people.
Global sellers, global lists
On Growth and higher, sellers are checked against UN, EU, UK, Canadian and Australian lists as well as OFAC.
Allow lists for reviewed sellers
On Scale, a seller cleared after review is not raised again for the same listed entry.
A seller who was clear last month may not be clear today
The OFAC lists change several times a month and other authorities publish their own updates. Re-checking thousands of sellers by hand is not realistic. With ongoing sanctions monitoring OfacScanner re-screens every monitored record after each update and alerts you only about new or changed hits.
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Official files checked every 30 minutes
Each list shows its source and last update date.
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Alerts only for real changes
Records already reviewed against an entry are not raised again unless that entry changes.
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Monitoring keeps running at your check limit
New checks pause at the monthly limit, monitoring of existing records continues.
Evidence that answers a payment partner
When a payment partner asks how a seller was approved, open the seller in your search history. The record shows the list versions used, the time, who reviewed it, the score breakdown and the reason for the decision. Download it as a PDF or export the audit log for a whole period.
OfacScanner tells you what the lists say and how close a name is. Ownership checks under the OFAC 50 percent rule, where a company owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons is blocked too, stay part of your own review.
Choosing a plan for a marketplace
Growth at $499 a month, or $249 a month billed yearly, suits most marketplaces. It covers 50,000 checks a month, batch CSV files, monitoring of up to 50,000 records, case management, global lists, webhooks and 5 users.
Scale at $1,999 a month, or $999 a month billed yearly, adds the REST API for real time checks at signup and checkout, payment screening, allow lists, SSO and monitoring of up to 500,000 records. Compare all limits on the pricing page. There are no overage fees and yearly billing saves 50 percent.
Marketplace sanctions screening questions
Another question? Write to [email protected].
Do we need to screen buyers as well as sellers?
When should a seller be screened?
Can we screen our existing sellers in one go?
How do we avoid holding payouts for common names?
Does OfacScanner check who owns a seller company?
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.