Watchlist screening has become the most-scrutinized area of AML compliance, and the area that has been hit with the most outsized fines by regulators.

Financial institutions must screen customers and/or counterparties at every stage of the AML compliance value chain. This includes during know your customer (KYC), customer due diligence (CDD), and enhanced due diligence (EDD) checks and periodic customer reviews, as well as when initiating wires and other payments. Watchlist screening is also an important component of ongoing transaction monitoring.

Celent’s 2018 review of watchlist screening vendors profiles 3i Infotech, Accuity (Firco Continuity/Trust and Firco Compliance Link), ACI Worldwide, Aquilan Technologies, BAE Systems, CGI Group, EastNets, Fair Isaac, FIS, Fiserv, Infrasoft Technologies, Innovative Systems: FinScan, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, NICE Actimize, Oracle, Pelican, SAS Institute, Tata Consultancy Services, and Temenos.

A companion report, Solutions for Anti-MoneyLaundering: 2018 Transaction Monitoring ABCD Vendor View, evaluates providers of anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring software.