In today’s rapidly evolving compliance landscape, financial institutions face the daunting task of keeping up with increasingly complex global sanctions regimes. When one of the UK’s top clearing banks sought to strengthen their sanctions screening processes, they decided to put their existing systems to the test. They had long relied on one of the world’s leading providers of sanctions data, but with regulatory expectations on the rise, the bank’s compliance team wanted to ensure they were capturing every possible risk. That's why they approached BankCheck for a rigorous Proof of Value (PoV) exercise—a true head-to-head test against their incumbent solution.
A Clear Winner: 30% More Sanctioned Entities Uncovered
During the PoV, both BankCheck and the current provider were asked to identify Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) belonging to sanctioned entities. The systematic test was carefully structured to cover a period marked by several OFAC list updates, ensuring a comprehensive assessment.
The results spoke volumes: BankCheck identified 30% more sanctioned BICs than the incumbent global data provider. It didn’t stop there. In a subsequent proof of concept, BankCheck went even further, uncovering 35% more sanctioned payment identifiers compared to another market leader.
Why Did BankCheck Outperform?
BankCheck’s superior detection isn’t by chance. It’s the result of a unique combination of deep SWIFT payments data expertise and advanced technology. Our close working relationship with SWIFT and our proven track record supplying reference data to the world’s largest financial institutions have given us an unparalleled, nuanced understanding of global payment data structures. This insight allows us to identify connections and entities that others often overlook, going far beyond a simple reliance on BICs listed in sources like OFAC.
But technical insight is only part of the story. Our platform seamlessly links Moody’s Orbis entity data with global SWIFT payments information—delivering comprehensive coverage across all payment processing branches, including affiliates connected by ownership, not just formal payment hierarchies.
Importantly, BankCheck also applies ownership criteria like the OFAC 50% rule, capturing not only directly sanctioned entities but also those where aggregate ownership triggers a sanctions designation—even when subsidiaries or affiliates appear unrelated in traditional data sets. We go beyond BICs, identifying sanctioned national clearing codes (NCCs) for broader compliance coverage.
Banks and payment platforms—whether they process payments directly or facilitate payment initiation—are increasingly turning to BankCheck to prevent sanctioned banking routes from entering their systems or being used in payment processing.
Delivering Proactive, Daily Protection
Compliance is a moving target. That’s why BankCheck continuously monitors all new BICs and National Clearing Codes (NCCs), cross-referencing them against sanctions lists every day. Unlike traditional data vendors, we catch changes and evasions the moment they surface, giving all our clients the assurance that they’re protected against emerging risks.
Market-Leading Results
For the UK clearing bank, the decision to test BankCheck uncovered critical risks hidden in their payments network and delivered immediate, measurable value—a 30% uplift in sanctioned identifier detection, with zero disruption to business as usual.
For global banks and financial institutions, it means greater security, peace of mind, and a sanctions screening partnership that keeps you ahead of regulatory demands.
