Swift partners with Omnicision for sanctions software roll-out

19 July 2012 | 1583 views | 0 Source: Swift

WIFT, the financial messaging provider for more than 10,000 financial institutions and corporations in 212 countries and territories, announced today it will partner with Omnicision to deliver its Sanctions Testing service, an application that integrates the testing and tuning of sanctions filters to help banks operate a more effective and efficient sanctions environment.

The need to comply with sanctions requirements has never been so visible. Banks can be exposed to significant fines and costly remedial actions for sanctions control failures. For global organisations, multiple sanctions lists are needed that evolve daily, and screening systems have to be precisely tuned in order to deliver operational and detection effectiveness.

The SWIFT Sanctions Testing service is a unique offering that enables banks to measure the effectiveness of their systems and reduce their number of false positives. Through a robust and repeatable process that integrates testing and tuning, users will be able to verify that their systems work as expected and are aligned with their risk appetite. A team of experienced professionals is on hand to help users make the most of the service.

Sanctions Testing is the first application that fully automates the creation and maintenance of test data and result analysis. Users will be able to manage their own testing programme and produce performance reports down to the smallest detail. The application also provides real-time alerts and navigation on changes to sanctions lists. The service is scheduled to go live in September 2012.

Nicolas Stuckens, Manager AML & Sanctions Initiatives, SWIFT, says, "The Sanctions Testing service addresses the growing operational challenges of global organisations that have to strike a careful balance between the amount of resources reviewing alerts and the risks of not meeting regulatory requirements."

Ian Horobin, CEO and founder, Omnicision, adds, "Automating the testing process is a natural evolution for organisations wishing to enhance compliance whilst reducing operational costs. Covering both customer and payment screening, an appropriate testing programme can be implemented quickly and without the need to install software internally."

Earlier this year, SWIFT launched Sanctions Screening, a centralised service for small- and medium-sized financial institutions in need of a cost-effective, easy route to compliance with sanctions regulations.