Also called: Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC screening, Sanctions screening
What OFAC is
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions set to support U.S. foreign-policy and national-security goals. Sanctions can target individuals, companies, governments, or entire jurisdictions.
OFAC publishes the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, commonly called the SDN List. It includes designated people and entities, as well as some parties owned or controlled by, or acting for, targeted parties. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with listed parties, and property in which a blocked party has an interest must be blocked.
A name match is a warning to investigate, not proof that a transaction is prohibited.
How screening works
OFAC screening compares names and transaction details against the SDN List and relevant sanctions programs. Businesses screen information about people and entities involved in a transaction, including customers, suppliers, and payment beneficiaries. Sanctions can also restrict activity involving a country or jurisdiction, even when a person is not named on the SDN List.
A name match is an alert to investigate, not proof that the person is sanctioned. Compare available identifiers such as address, nationality, date of birth, passport or tax ID, former names, and aliases. Screening software can produce false positives, so matching names alone are not enough to determine what action to take.
OFAC does not require every business to use screening software or run a scan. The legal obligation is to comply with applicable sanctions. A bank or payment provider can also screen transactions and pause or reject a payment while it reviews a potential match.
What it means for your business
OFAC does not set a standard card-processing fee, and its screening is not a card-network fee. The research does not identify a standard OFAC line on a merchant statement. A separate screening service could charge for its own software or review, but that is not an OFAC fee.
The practical risk is a blocked or delayed payment, or a transaction that violates a sanctions restriction. A false match can interrupt a legitimate sale; failing to address a true match can expose your business to enforcement and leave funds that should have been blocked in circulation. There is no general dollar threshold that makes a prohibited transaction safe.
Banks have formal compliance programs, and merchant underwriting commonly includes checking that a business is not on the SDN List. That screening does not remove your responsibility to understand who you are paying or doing business with, especially when a transaction involves a sanctioned party or jurisdiction.
What you can actually change
- Review the alert. Compare the name with available identifiers, including address, nationality, date of birth, and aliases. Do not treat a name-only match as confirmation.
- Pause and escalate. If the details indicate a possible match, do not complete the transaction until you understand the applicable restriction. Preserve the transaction and customer details for review.
- Keep screening records. Document what information you checked, how you resolved an alert, and who approved the decision. This creates a record when a bank or payment provider asks about a transaction.
Frequently asked questions
Does every small business have to screen customers against OFAC lists?
OFAC does not require every business to use screening software or scan every customer. You still have to comply with sanctions that apply to your business and transactions. Banks and payment providers also conduct their own screening.
Does OFAC screening add a fee to my card processing statement?
OFAC does not set a standard merchant processing or screening fee, and there is no standard OFAC statement line identified in the research. A screening vendor can charge separately for its service.
What should I do if a customer name matches the SDN List?
Treat the result as an alert, then compare identifiers such as address, nationality, date of birth, and aliases. A name match alone does not confirm a sanctions match. Hold the transaction for review if important similarities remain.