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Q: |
What is the OFAC Scout Program used for? |
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The OFAC Scout program has been developed to help ensure that financial institutions are in compliance with the U.S. Dept of Treasury’ OFAC regulations. This easy-to-use application provides financial institutions with the ability to run updated (SDN) lists of organizations and individuals identified as being associated with terrorism against new applicant information as well as your existing membership/customer database to search for potential matches.
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How does the Program work? |
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The OFAC Scout Program is designed to scan an ASCII text file of names. The file is normally created by exporting the names from your current member/customer information file or from a file of transactions. For single name searches it simply requires a single name input.
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What are the system requirements? |
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256MB of memory (minimum), Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT or Windows XP
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Can the Program run on a network? |
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The OFAC Scout Program Windows Solutions is network enabled. If you have multiple users, we highly recommend that you install the software on your network. This reduces the installation time, consolidates all of the tracking reports, and makes updating the data much faster.
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What features does the OFAC Scout Program include? |
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Unlimited User License Install the OFAC Scout program on as many workstations as necessary within the network of your credit union with no additional costs.
Live Update Function Simply hit the live update button to obtain the OFAC provided SDN lists that are routinely updated every 7 to 10 business days.
Full Search Capabilities Examine names for OFAC entities interactively with a single name search, useful for verifying transactions and wire transfers for OFAC entities. The OFAC Scout also provides a batch mode function for searching a list of names simultaneously.
Accept List Prevent false name matches by adding them to an Accept List for future searches.
Product Updates As new governmental requirements arise, additional lists will be added for searches.
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Q: |
What are the benefits of purchasing and using the OFAC Scout Program? |
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Cost-Effective The OFAC Scout Program is the most cost-effective solution available and it eliminates the necessary labor and time involved to conduct manual inputs and searches. There are no monthly maintenance fees or per inquiry or use charges.
Member Security The OFAC Scout Program is installed on your in-house workstation(s) or on your network server eliminating the vulnerability of transmitting your confidential member information over the Internet to another facility for processing.
Ease of Use The OFAC Scout Program installs in just a few minutes and simply needs a text file input to conduct searches.
Product Support Purchasing the OFAC Scout Program entitles you to telephone technical support to assist with installation or questions that may arise.
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Are their other fees in addition to the cost of the OFAC Scout Program such as per use charges or monthly fees? |
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There are no additional costs outside of the program purchase. The price is a yearly license fee, which includes unlimited licensing, whether you install it on a network or stand-alone PCs. Customers also receive software updates, telephone technical support, and data updates for one calendar year from the date of purchase.
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How is the SDN list update delivered? |
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The program has a live update button, clicking on it every 7 to 10 days will pull the SDN list that is updated from OFAC at the US Department of Treasury.
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What information should be checked, in order to be compliant? |
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In general, all transactions should be checked for OFAC compliance. Also, you should always re-check your customer list following a data update. This will ensure that none of your current customers were added to the list.
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Is your software able to handle proprietary file formats? |
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Yes, if it is a text file. If it is a binary file then we need the file format information.
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Does the Program produce reports? |
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The Report function allows you to create and maintain clear audit trails by giving you the ability to compile and print detailed reports yearly, quarterly, or even daily. Reports include selected records in detail or summary form, as well as Blocked Submission reports, and Rejected Submission reports.
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Does the Program have a method of keeping well-known members/customers from appearing on the match list? |
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The Accept List is used to reduce false positive matches by identifying good members/customers whose names closely match those on designated lists. This helps remove false matches from future examinations. In addition, the Accept List can be easily maintained after each search, decreasing the time necessary to maintain an accurate database.
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How often do we need to examine our files? |
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There is no regular schedule for data changes, however it is recommended to examine your files at least once per month as well as upon new member/customer applications and unusual or large transactions activities. Changes depend in part upon worldwide politics and information from counter-intelligence. There may be three separate changes within one week, or there may not be any changes for several months.
To check for specific changes, or to find out more information, please visit the OFAC Website at: http://www.treas.gov/ofac/
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Q: |
How do I contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)? |
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For information specific to OFAC violations, please contact OFAC at:
Office of Foreign Assets Control
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Treasury Annex
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20220
800-540-6322
You can also visit their website at: http://www.treas.gov/ofac/
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