The new service will screen against governmental sanctions lists and firms’ proprietary lists, as well as against lists of PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) and RCAs (Relatives and Close Associates) supplied by Dow Jones’ Risk and Compliance data. Over time, Name Screening will expand to include automated batch screening of entire databases, such as consumer and supplier lists.

Name Screening is built around intuitive, easy-to-use case management, a world-class screening engine and advanced list technology in which SWIFT standardises public sanctions lists to increase accuracy and reduce false positives. By providing hosted utility service options to screen client and supplier names, SWIFT will enable both financial institutions and corporate entities to achieve effective sanctions compliance and customer due diligence.

Like Sanctions Screening, Name Screening will leverage SWIFT’s highly successful, industry-driven utility model and be a secure, fully hosted and cost-effective solution requiring no additional investment in hardware or software. SWIFT continually updates and maintains the system, as lists and regulatory requirements change, allowing customers to focus on their core business processes. Quality assurance will be provided by the same solution used by the world’s largest banks to test the performance and accuracy of their sanctions filters and lists.

“Name Screening will provide financial institutions and corporates with an all-in-one screening solution that is fast and secure, as well as easy and cost-effective to implement,” says Luc Meurant, Head of Compliance Services Division, SWIFT. “With our new Name Screening service, we continue to deliver on our strategy of providing secure hosted cloud services that support efficient compliance with sanctions and customer due diligence requirements via a central industry utility.”

The service will launch early in 2017, and will incorporate Risk and Compliance data from industry leader Dow Jones, covering more than 1.5 million PEPs and RCAs.

“Dow Jones Risk and Compliance data is a natural fit for SWIFT’s Name Screening service, and we are confident this partnership will deliver significant value to the SWIFT community,” said Joel Lange, Managing Director at Dow Jones Risk and Compliance. “As the regulatory environment grows more complex, financial institutions need to ensure they’re doing business transparently and with the right partners. This solution, powered by our data, will give them that confidence.