Features in Sanctions Screening Software
for Treasury Compliance
Applications that check payment beneficiaries and financial counterparties against global sanctions lists to ensure compliance with international regulations.
We ask vendors to mark their product against our feature list. It is not available for all products and in some cases we have derived data from publicly available sources. The list of features follows. Vendors can add a further 10 key features of their own.
Compliance Management & Workflow
Features that support investigation, resolution, and documentation of matches to facilitate compliance processes.
- Alert Prioritization
- Automated risk scoring and prioritization of alerts.
- Audit Trail
- Detailed records of all actions taken and user interactions.
- Automated False Positive Suppression
- Identifies and suppresses recurring known false positives.
- Bulk Case Processing
- Approve, reject, or escalate multiple alerts at once.
- Case Escalation Workflow
- Automated escalation rules for high-priority or unresolved cases.
- Case Management
- Comprehensive management of hits, investigations, and resolutions.
- Decision Justification Capture
- Ability to record the compliance officer’s reasoning for each action.
- Evidence Attachment
- Attach supporting documents directly to screening cases.
- Task Assignment and Collaboration
- Assign cases and collaborate between team members.
- Workflow Customization
- Configurable workflows to match corporate policy or regulatory requirements.
Cost & Licensing Flexibility
Pricing, licensing, and deployment models to fit a range of client needs.
- Cloud/SaaS Subscription Model
- OPEX-friendly, as-a-service deployment.
- Discounts for Volume or Multi-Year Commitments
- Reduced pricing for bulk or long-term engagements.
- Enterprise Licensing Option
- Flat-rate or unlimited use licenses for large organizations.
- Free Trial/Proof of Concept
- Test the software before fully committing.
- Modular Pricing
- Ability to license just the features required.
- No Upfront Integration Costs
- Low or zero initial costs for configuration and setup.
- On-Premise Perpetual Licensing
- Traditional software license model supported.
- Pay-As-You-Go Option
- Flexible usage-based pricing.
- Scalable Cost Structure
- Total cost aligns with actual usage/growth.
- Transparent Pricing Model
- Clear, predictable pricing structure with no hidden fees.
Integration & Connectivity
Options for connecting the software to other systems, sources, or automation engines.
- API Integration
- Supports integration with ERP/TMS/other fintech systems through APIs.
- Cloud Deployment Option
- Available as SaaS/cloud solution for remote/global access.
- Enterprise SSO Support
- Allows single sign-on authentication with corporate credentials.
- Event-Driven Triggers
- Supports screening initiated by workflow/business events.
- File-Based Integration
- Supports secure file exchange (e.g., SFTP) for batch processes.
- Mobile Access
- Allows users to manage and review matches from mobile devices.
- On-Premises Deployment Option
- Available for on-site hosting to support data sovereignty or policy preferences.
- Plug-ins for Treasury Management Systems
- Direct connectors for commonly used TMS solutions.
- Real-Time Data Sync
- Keeps entity/master data aligned with source systems in real time.
- Support for Webhooks
- Can send notifications or data pushes on screening events.
Regulatory Compliance & Audit
Features that support legal, regulatory, and audit requirements.
- Audit Readiness
- Built-in capabilities for supporting internal and external audits.
- Automated Compliance Checks
- Regular checks and diagnostics to ensure ongoing compliance.
- Change Management Logging
- Documents and stores all system configuration changes.
- Configurable Retention Policy
- Set, control, and audit retention of records as required.
- Evidence Preservation
- Ensures all steps, investigations, and outcomes are preserved for audits.
- Legal Hold Functionality
- Ability to prevent data deletion due to impending investigations.
- Policy & Procedure Documentation Storage
- Store and manage related compliance documentation.
- Regulatory Certification/Assurance
- Compliance with industry standards (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2).
- Regulatory Change Notifications
- Proactive warnings on changes in regulatory watchlists or standards.
- Support for Regulatory Inquiries
- Tools to facilitate responses to regulatory agency queries.
Reporting & Analytics
Capabilities for producing compliance, operational, and management reporting as well as analytics.
- Alert Processing Times
- Tracks the time taken from alert creation to resolution.
- Audit Log Exports
- Downloadable logs for external/internal auditing.
- Automated Scheduled Reports
- Ability to schedule and automatically distribute reports.
- Custom Report Builder
- Create custom analytical or operational reports.
- Export Functionality
- Export data and reports to Excel, PDF, CSV, etc.
- Hit Rate Statistics
- Monitors the proportion of screened entities or transactions generating alerts.
- KPI Dashboards
- Key compliance indicators visualized in dashboards.
- Regulatory Change Impact Analytics
- Assesses potential impact of watchlist or regulation updates.
- Regulatory Reports
- Built-in reports tailored for external regulatory submission.
- User Activity Reporting
- Detailed tracking and reporting on user actions.
Sanctions List Coverage
Features that determine the breadth and depth of sanctions lists supported by the software.
- API-Accessible Watchlist Management
- APIs available for automated management and querying of watchlists.
- Automated List Synchronization
- Automatically pulls updates from official sources without manual intervention.
- Custom List Upload
- Allows organizations to upload and screen against their own internal or third-party lists.
- Geographical Coverage
- Number of countries’ sanctions lists supported.
- Global List Support
- Supports major international sanctions lists like OFAC, EU, UN, HMT, and others.
- Historical List Archiving
- Retains and allows screening against historical versions of sanction lists.
- Language Support for Lists
- Supports lists in multiple languages for global compliance.
- List Update Frequency
- Frequency at which sanctions lists are refreshed and updated.
- List Version Tracking
- Ability to track and report the version of lists used for each screening.
- Watchlist Expansion
- Ability to expand coverage to PEP, adverse media, and other watchlists.
Scalability & Performance
The ability of the software to handle increased loads and grow with organizational needs.
- Concurrent User Support
- Maximum number of users supported at the same time.
- Disaster Recovery Capabilities
- Automated failover and data recovery features.
- Dynamic Resource Allocation
- System can auto-scale resources based on demand.
- Elastic Licensing
- License model supports easy scaling up/down.
- Geographically Redundant Hosting
- Options for hosting in multiple global data centers.
- High Availability Architecture
- Designed for minimal downtime disruptions.
- Load Balancing
- Distributes screening workloads across multiple servers/nodes.
- Response Time SLA
- Service level agreement for maximum allowed response times.
- Transaction Processing Capacity
- Number of transactions that can be processed per hour.
- Zero Downtime Upgrades
- Software updates do not require service interruptions.
Screening Capabilities
Core screening engine capabilities and flexibility in matching logic.
- AI/ML-Driven Screening
- Incorporates artificial intelligence/machine learning to improve screening accuracy.
- Alias & AKAs Detection
- Identifies matches to aliases and also-known-as (AKA) entries.
- Batch Screening
- Supports bulk screening of large numbers of transactions or counterparties.
- Multi-Field Screening
- Screening uses multiple data fields (name, address, date of birth, account number, etc.).
- Name Matching Algorithm Quality
- Uses fuzzy logic, phonetic matching, and other methods to minimize false negatives/positives.
- Partial Match Detection
- Detects partial matches for name permutations.
- Real-Time Screening
- Screens payments and counterparties instantly as transactions occur.
- Screening Speed
- The average time taken to screen a transaction or party.
- Tolerance Configuration
- Adjustable thresholds for matching sensitivity.
- Unicode and Diacritic Support
- Handles names with various alphabets and non-Latin characters.
Security & Data Protection
Security and privacy measures to ensure safe handling of sensitive data.
- Audit Logging
- Records and retains all user activities for review and investigation.
- Data Masking
- Sensitive fields can be masked from non-authorized users.
- Data Retention Policies
- Configurable settings to define retention and purging of data.
- End-to-End Encryption
- Data is encrypted during transfer and at rest.
- GDPR/CCPA Compliance Support
- Helps organization comply with data protection regulations.
- Granular Access Controls
- Fine-grained permissions to restrict data and function access.
- Incident Response Support
- Features to assist with detecting and managing security breaches.
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Strong authentication options for system access.
- Secure APIs
- All integrations use secure, authenticated API protocols.
- Vulnerability Management
- Regular security testing and patch management.
Support, Maintenance & Vendor Services
Features and services provided by the software vendor.
- 24/7 Technical Support
- Access to around-the-clock technical help.
- Community/User Forum
- Online community and peer support.
- Comprehensive Documentation
- User guides, technical specs, FAQs, and release notes.
- Custom Feature Requests
- Process for requesting bespoke enhancements.
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Named representative for customer relationship management.
- Implementation Support
- Assistance with software deployment and integration.
- Multilingual Support
- Support offered in multiple languages.
- Regular Feature Updates
- Frequent enhancement and patch cycles.
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
- Clear commitments for service performance and bug fixes.
- User Training & Onboarding
- Systematic onboarding and periodic product training.
User Experience & Accessibility
Elements affecting the ease of use, accessibility, and adaptability of the software.
- Accessibility Standards Compliance
- Meets accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
- Bulk Actions on UI
- Ability to process multiple alerts or cases from the user interface.
- Contextual Help and Support Tools
- On-screen help, tooltips, and tutorials.
- Intuitive User Interface
- Modern and user-friendly web interface.
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Efficiency features such as keyboard navigation.
- Mobile Responsiveness
- UI designed for usability on mobile and tablet devices.
- Multi-Language Support
- User interfaces available in multiple languages.
- Personalized Dashboards
- Customizable dashboards based on user or role.
- Role-Based Access Controls
- User permissions governed by roles and responsibilities.
- User Preference Settings
- Save and recall user preferences for interface and workflows.