Meet a core screening need
Meet a core screening need
Check OFAC risk before onboarding.
OFAC API for business sanctions screening
OFAC API for business sanctions screening
Check businesses and associated people against OFAC sanctions lists, then review possible matches with the full business profile.
Trusted by teams that need sanctions screening connected to onboarding decisions.
Trusted by teams that need sanctions screening connected to onboarding decisions.
What is an OFAC API?
What is an OFAC API?
An OFAC API helps teams screen businesses and associated people against sanctions lists published by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. OFAC screening is a key part of risk-based compliance for many financial services and regulated onboarding workflows. OFAC results should not be reviewed alone. Middesk connects OFAC screening to business identity, registration, address, people, and review data so teams can understand possible matches in context and expand to broader watchlist screening when needed.
How the OFAC API works
How the OFAC API works
Step 1:
Submit business and people data. Provide business details and associated people to support screening.
Step 2:
Screen OFAC sources. Middesk checks enabled OFAC sanctions sources and returns hit details.
Step 3:
Review potential matches. Use match details and business/person context to resolve possible hits.
Step 4:
Monitor after approval. Detect new sanctions or watchlist events when monitoring is enabled.
Information you can get with the OFAC API
Information you can get with the OFAC API
[need to update]
01
OFAC hit status
Whether the business or associated person matched an OFAC source.
02
List detail
Which OFAC list or source produced the result.
03
Associated people
People connected to the business who may be part of the match.
04
Business context
Identity, registration, address, and submitted details that support review.
05
Broader screening
Additional watchlist, PEP, or adverse media checks when enabled.
06
Monitoring
New sanctions or watchlist events after approval.
Applications of the OFAC API
Applications of the OFAC API
Companies in a variety of different industries need to verify business to effectively manage their B2B relationships.
Fintechs
Verify business customers quickly while meeting KYB, AML, and fraud-prevention requirements.
Insurance
Assess business identity and risk before underwriting commercial customers.
Commercial banking
Confirm a business is real, registered, and safe to serve before opening an account.
Lenders
Understand business identity and risk before extending capital.
Marketplaces
Keep fraudulent or non-compliant sellers out while reducing friction for legitimate businesses.
Payments
Screen merchants before enabling payment activity and monitor for risk after onboarding.
Accelerated business verification
Accelerated business verification
Resolve hits with context
Review matches beside the business profile.
Expand when risk requires it
Add broader watchlist, PEP, and adverse media screening.
Stay current
Monitor for new sanctions events after approval.
What makes Middesk's OFAC API different?
Middesk keeps OFAC screening connected to KYB. Teams can start with OFAC-specific intent and expand into broader watchlist screening, business verification, review, and monitoring from the same workflow.
Edge cases make KYB hard. We had significant fraud at the end of last year because our previous solution missed basic signals.
For example, the applicant name didn't match the officer name on the state registration, and the applicant email didn't match what was publicly listed on the business website. We were auto-approving businesses that should have gone to manual review. It cost us tens of thousands of dollars.
Head of Risk
Fintech Company
Frequently asked questions about the OFAC API
Frequently asked questions about the OFAC API
OFAC screening checks businesses and associated people against sanctions lists published by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.