Compliance & Risk
By Ohmyfin Organisation Editorial Team · Published 2026-05-21 · Updated 2026-05-22
Every bank in a SWIFT payment chain runs the message through sanctions screening before processing. False positives — where a legitimate party name matches a listed name closely enough to flag — are the single biggest cause of cross-border payment delays.
The screening process: each bank receives the MT103, extracts names, addresses and account numbers, and matches against several lists — OFAC (US), HM Treasury (UK), EU consolidated, UN, plus country-specific lists. Fuzzy matching catches near-misses.
When a hit occurs, the payment is parked and a compliance officer reviews. If they can confirm the party is not the listed entity, the payment releases — typically same day if reviewed during business hours, otherwise next business day.
Payment Located
SWIFT GPI Network · Real-time status
Payment Not Found
No record found in SWIFT GPI or any correspondent banking data
Fraud Awareness Notice
If you received a payment document from a third party, verify directly with your own bank before releasing goods or funds. Fake MT103 / pacs.008 confirmations are widely used in advance-fee scams. See our fraud guide →
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Payments can appear hours after initiation — try again later
False positives are common because: (a) sanctions lists contain very common names like "Mohammad" or "Wang"; (b) addresses without country codes can match multiple jurisdictions; (c) abbreviations like "LTD" or "GMBH" trip name-matching.
Mitigation: fully structured ISO 20022 data (postal address with country code, town, street; ultimate-debtor / ultimate-creditor separated from agent debtor) reduces false positives by 30-50%.
For high-volume corridors with frequent screening hits (USD payments to common-name countries — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen — for example), some senders pre-register beneficiaries with their bank to bypass repeated screening.
True hits (the listed entity is the party) result in the payment being blocked indefinitely and reported to the relevant authority. Funds may be frozen depending on the regime.
Key takeaways
Every bank in the chain screens against OFAC, HMT, EU, UN.
False positives are the #1 cause of payment delays.
Structured ISO 20022 data reduces false positives 30-50%.
Typical 1-24 hours during business hours. Some banks have follow-the-sun teams; many do not. Friday afternoon hits often sit until Monday.
Can I see if my payment is in sanctions review?
GPI status will show ACSP (in process) at the screening bank. Your bank can ask the correspondent for the reason if status hangs there for more than 24 hours.
Are there OFAC lookups I can run myself?
Yes — OFAC publishes the SDN list publicly. Pre-screening beneficiary names is a useful sanity check for high-value flows.
What happens if my legitimate payment is blocked as a true hit?
You need to file a release request with the relevant authority (OFAC in the US). Process takes 6-12 months and requires legal support.
Does ISO 20022 actually reduce screening delays?
Yes — structured addresses with country codes give screening engines unambiguous signals. Early adopters report 30-50% fewer false positives.
Payment Located
SWIFT GPI Network · Real-time status
Payment Not Found
No record found in SWIFT GPI or any correspondent banking data
Fraud Awareness Notice
If you received a payment document from a third party, verify directly with your own bank before releasing goods or funds. Fake MT103 / pacs.008 confirmations are widely used in advance-fee scams. See our fraud guide →
Monitor for 7 Days — Free
We re-check every few hours and notify you the instant this payment appears — no account, no spam.
Watching — we'll email you the moment it appears.
Not sure what to do next?
Ask SwiftMate, our SWIFT assistant, for guidance on payment delays, rejections, and next steps.
Payments can appear hours after initiation — try again later