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What are Watchlists?

Watchlists provide continuous monitoring of entities (persons or organizations) against sanctions lists, enabling automated compliance screening over time. Instead of performing one-time checks, watchlists automatically re-screen subjects at configured intervals and alert you when matches are found or status changes occur.

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Key Features

Automated Screening

Schedule automatic checks daily, weekly, or on-demand to ensure continuous compliance.

Real-time Alerts

Receive notifications via webhooks and email when new matches are detected.

Multi-List Monitoring

Monitor against multiple watchlists (OFAC, UN, EU, SENACLAFT) simultaneously.

Batch Management

Add multiple subjects at once for efficient bulk screening operations.

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Common Use Cases

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1. Customer Onboarding

Create a watchlist for new customers during onboarding. Continue monitoring throughout the customer lifecycle.

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2. Vendor Due Diligence

Monitor vendors and suppliers continuously to detect sanction changes that could impact your business.

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3. Employee Screening

Maintain watchlists for employees in sensitive positions with automated periodic rescreening.

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4. Ongoing Compliance

Meet regulatory requirements for continuous monitoring of high-risk individuals and entities.

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How It Works

1

Create Watchlist

Create a watchlist and configure monitoring parameters (check frequency, alert settings, lists to monitor).
2

Add Subjects

Add one or more subjects (persons/organizations) to the watchlist with identifying information.
3

Automatic Screening

The system automatically screens all subjects at the configured frequency (daily, weekly, etc.).
4

Receive Alerts

Get notified via webhook or email when matches are found or statuses change.
5

Review Results

Access detailed screening results and historical data for compliance reporting.

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Check Frequencies

FrequencyDescriptionBest For
DailyScreen all subjects once per dayHigh-risk entities, regulatory requirements
WeeklyScreen all subjects once per weekStandard monitoring, lower-risk entities
On UpdateOnly screen when subjects are added/modifiedStatic lists, manual control

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Alert Configuration

Configure when to receive alerts. Note that notification channels (webhook URLs, emails) are configured at the tenant level, not per-watchlist. 
{
  "alert_config": {
    "on_new_match": true,
    "on_status_change": true
  }
}

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Alert Types

  • New Match: Triggered when a subject matches a watchlist for the first time
  • Status Change: Triggered when a subject’s match status changes (e.g., added to sanctions list)
Webhook URLs and notification emails are configured in your tenant settings. Contact support to configure your notification channels.

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Available Operations

Create Watchlist

Create a new watchlist with initial configuration

List Watchlists

Retrieve all watchlists for your tenant

Get Details

Get detailed information about a specific watchlist

Update Configuration

Modify watchlist settings and configuration

Delete Watchlist

Remove a watchlist and all associated data

Add Subjects

Add subjects individually or in batch

Remove Subject

Remove a subject from a watchlist

Trigger Monitoring

Run an immediate screening check on all subjects

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Permissions Required

OperationPermission
Create watchlistwatchlist:create
List watchlistswatchlist:list
Get watchlist detailswatchlist:read
Update watchlistwatchlist:update
Delete watchlistwatchlist:delete
Add/remove subjectswatchlist:update

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Best Practices

  • Use daily checks for high-risk entities or regulatory requirements
  • Use weekly checks for standard monitoring to reduce costs
  • Use on_update for static lists where changes are rare
  • Set up webhook endpoints that can handle POST requests
  • Implement retry logic for webhook failures
  • Monitor email notifications to avoid missing critical alerts
  • Test webhooks before going to production
Create separate watchlists for different risk categories:
  • High-risk customers (daily monitoring)
  • Standard customers (weekly monitoring)
  • Vendors (weekly monitoring)
  • Employees (monthly or on-update)
When adding multiple subjects, use batch endpoints to:
  • Reduce API calls and stay within rate limits
  • Improve performance
  • Simplify error handling
Track your watchlist activity with the Usage API to:
  • Understand screening volumes
  • Optimize check frequencies
  • Manage costs
  • Plan capacity

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Webhook Payload

When alerts are triggered, your webhook endpoint receives a POST request: 
{
  "event_type": "watchlist.match.found",
  "watchlist_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "watchlist_name": "High Risk Customers",
  "subject": {
    "subject_id": "660e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001",
    "full_name": "John Doe",
    "identifier": "12345678"
  },
  "matches": [
    {
      "list_name": "ofac",
      "entity_id": "12345",
      "confidence_score": 0.95,
      "programs": ["SDGT"]
    }
  ],
  "checked_at": "2024-11-22T09:00:00Z"
}

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Seats and Subject Expiration

Watchlist subjects are managed through a seat-based system:
  • Each tenant has a configured number of available seats
  • Each active subject in monitoring consumes one seat
  • Subjects have a TTL (Time-To-Live) and automatically expire after the configured duration (default: 365 days)
  • Expired subjects are automatically removed and free up seats
When adding subjects, the API validates available seats. If no seats are available, the request returns a 402 Payment Required error prompting you to purchase more seats.

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Pricing Considerations

Watchlist monitoring costs are based on:
  • Number of seats purchased (determines max concurrent subjects)
  • Check frequency (daily checks = 30× monthly volume)
  • Number of lists monitored per subject
Use the Usage API to track your consumption and optimize costs.

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Next Steps

Get started with watchlists:
  1. Create your first watchlist
  2. Add subjects for monitoring
  3. Configure webhooks to receive alerts
  4. Monitor results with the Usage API