Ongoing monitoring
Sanctions Monitoring That Re-Screens Every Customer on Each List Update
Sanctions monitoring is the automatic re-screening of customers you already checked, every time a sanctions list changes. A customer who was clear at onboarding can be listed next week. OfacScanner compares each new list version with your records and alerts you when someone matches.
What is sanctions monitoring
Sanctions monitoring, also called ongoing or perpetual screening, keeps checking the people and companies you do business with after the first check. A screening at onboarding is a snapshot of one day. The lists keep moving, and OFAC publishes changes to the SDN list several times a month. New names are added, entries get new aliases, and some are removed.
Without monitoring, the only way to catch those changes is to screen your whole customer base again by hand. Most teams cannot do that every time a list moves, so the gap between a new designation and the moment someone notices can grow to weeks. That gap is where a prohibited payment or shipment slips through.
Regulators and bank partners expect a sanctions program to cover existing relationships, not only new ones. The OFAC Framework for Compliance Commitments lists internal controls as one of its five parts, and screening that keeps up with list changes is a basic internal control.
Why monitoring compares list versions
Re-screening everyone against everything after each update would bury your team in the same old alerts. Monitoring works on the difference instead.
Each time OfacScanner picks up a new version of a list, it compares it with the version before. The result is a short diff with entries that were added, entries that changed, such as a new alias or a new date of birth, and entries that were removed.
Your monitored records are then screened against the added and changed entries only. A customer you cleared last month is not raised again for the same old candidate, because that decision is already saved. A customer who now resembles a newly listed party is raised right away. This keeps the alert queue short and focused on what is actually new.
Added entries
A newly designated person, company or vessel. Every monitored record is scored against it with the same fuzzy matching, aliases and transliteration as a normal check.
Changed entries
An existing entry gets a new alias, address or identifier. A record that did not match the old details can match the new ones, so changes are screened too.
Removed entries
Delistings are recorded in the list version history, so a reviewer working on an open case can see that the entry is gone and close it with the right reason.
From a list update to an alert on your desk
Monitoring is quiet when nothing changes for your customers and fast when something does. Here is what happens after a list update.
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New version detected
The official file is checked every 30 minutes. A new version is saved with its publish date and a diff against the previous one.
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Records re-screened
Your monitored customers, vendors and payees are scored against every added or changed entry.
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Alert raised
A record above your threshold becomes a monitoring alert with the score breakdown and the matched alias.
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Case opened
The alert opens as a case your team can assign, comment on, decide and close with a reason.
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Your systems told
A signed monitoring.alert webhook can freeze an account or hold a payout in your own product.
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Daily digest sent
One email per day sums up new alerts and open cases, so nothing sits unseen in a queue.
How to set up sanctions monitoring
Four steps. After that it runs on its own.
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01
Add records to monitoring
Turn on monitoring for any screened name, or add a whole file with batch sanctions screening. Records added through the API can be monitored with POST /api/v1/monitor on Scale.
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02
Choose the lists
OFAC lists are always on. On Growth and higher you can include the UN, EU, UK, Canadian and Australian lists for the same records.
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03
Set threshold and recipients
Keep the default threshold of 85 or pick Strict, Balanced or Broad. Choose who receives the daily digest and who reviews cases.
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04
Connect a webhook
Point the monitoring.alert webhook at your system if you want accounts held automatically while a case is open.
What your team gets with monitoring
Hands free re-screening
No calendar reminders and no repeated uploads. Every list update triggers the work for you.
Case management
Assign alerts to Analysts, send them to a Reviewer, record the decision and close each case with a reason.
Daily alert digest
One clear email per day with new alerts and open cases, instead of a message for every event.
Signed webhooks
monitoring.alert and case.created events are signed with HMAC SHA-256 so your system can trust them.
History an auditor can follow
Each alert stores the list version that caused it, the score, the reviewer and the final decision.
Global lists in one place
OFAC plus the UN, EU, UK, Canadian and Australian lists, each with its source and last update date.
Monitoring keeps running at your check limit
Monitoring is part of Growth, Scale and Enterprise. Growth covers up to 50,000 monitored records and Scale up to 500,000. If your account reaches its monthly check limit, new manual checks pause until the next period, but monitoring continues, so a list update is never skipped. An alert supports your decision. Your compliance team still decides whether to block, reject or clear, and OfacScanner is not affiliated with OFAC or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Sanctions monitoring questions
Another question? Write to [email protected].
How fast does monitoring react to a new designation?
Will I get the same false positive again after every update?
Which records should I monitor?
Do I need monitoring if I already screen at onboarding?
Can monitoring hold a payment automatically?
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.