Reducing false alerts is of critical importance because of new National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) regulations taking effect on Sept. 18 and changes to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) message formats taking effect Nov. 21. These changes will significantly increase the number of payments classed as international and therefore subject to sanctions regimes and result in a corresponding increase in the number of high-priority alerts requiring immediate investigation.

"As businesses that handle International ACH Transactions or SWIFT payments face impending regulations, they must considerably alter their current payment screening process to avoid being buried in alerts and to maintain the integrity of their sanctions screening programs," Rupert de Ruig, managing director of Risk & Compliance for Dow Jones & Company said. "Dow Jones Sanction Alert employs a customizable dataset and proprietary technology to help significantly reduce false positives and speed up investigations, allowing businesses to comply with the new international payment regulations without overextending their workforce or budget."

The Dow Jones Risk & Compliance Sanctions Team monitors international sanction lists 24 hours a day on a "follow-the-sun" basis from five research centers around the world. Dow Jones Sanction Alert clients benefit from strict quality controls and a comprehensive set of secondary identifiers which maximizes efficient clearing of alerts whilst providing the greatest possible protection from risk.

"New regulations, heightened enforcement and internal budget pressure mean compliance and operations departments must implement new solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness," de Ruig said. "Dow Jones Sanction Alert answers this requirement with a product that can be customized to meet firms' regulatory obligations and easily integrated into current compliance systems."