OFAC screening for mass payouts, in plain language

What screening actually is

Software compares the names and details of your recipients against the sanctions lists. Most recipients clear instantly. A small number produce potential matches that need a human look.

False positives are normal

Common names match list entries all the time. A potential match does not mean your recipient is sanctioned; it means someone needs to compare details like date of birth or address and clear or escalate the match. Good screening tools make this review fast.

Potential match
      |
Compare available identifiers
      |
True match?
   /       \
 no        yes
 |          |
clear     escalate

Lists change constantly

Sanctions lists are updated frequently, sometimes daily. Screening once at signup is not enough; recipients need to be rescreened as lists change, which is why this is built into payout infrastructure rather than done by hand.

Why platforms handle this for you

At mass-payout scale, screening has to be automatic, logged, and consistent. When you use payout infrastructure, screening runs inside the payment flow: recipients are checked, matches are held for review, and clean payments proceed without delay. Your team sees the result, not the machinery.

Screening status
Review required

Payout status
Held

Reason
Potential sanctions match

Owner
Compliance

The short version

Sanctions screening is a legal requirement for moving money in the US, false positives are a routine part of it, and the right place for it to live is inside the payout system, not in a spreadsheet.

Where DiscoFi fits

Screening lives inside DiscoFi’s send flow: every transfer is checked in-line, potential matches are held with a case process attached, and the outcome lands on the same audit trail as the payment itself, so a clean batch is never waiting on a spreadsheet. Screening applies on every send, whether a batch starts in the dashboard or through the payout API.