What is an RFI?
A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process used by Checkout.com to gather additional information from merchants regarding transactions that have triggered alerts during our sanction screening process. This step is crucial to ensure compliance with regulatory obligations and to prevent transactions involving sanctioned entities.
What is a "sanction match”?
When we receive a payment request, we check the information you provide against sanction lists. If some or all the details match a record, it triggers a "sanction match".
Example: If you send a payment to John Smith and there's a John Smith on a sanctions list, it will trigger a match.
Why is an RFI needed?
- Regulatory compliance: Financial service providers like Checkout.com must comply with sanctions regulations. These regulations include verifying that neither the sender nor the recipient of a transaction appears on any sanctions list.
- Accurate screening: When our systems detect a potential match with a sanctioned entity, we must verify the transaction details. If there is insufficient information to dismiss the alert, we request more details from the merchant through an RFI.
- Risk mitigation: An RFI helps us confirm whether a transaction is legitimate or if it should be blocked to prevent prohibited business activities.
The RFI process
- Trigger: A transaction triggers an alert during the screening process.
- Initial review: If our systems cannot automatically dismiss the alert, it undergoes manual review.
- RFI issuance: If additional information is needed, our Operations (OPS) team sends an automated RFI to the merchant via email. The email will be sent from rfi@compliance.checkout.com.
- Merchant response: The merchant is required to provide the requested information through a web form linked in the email.
- Resolution: Once the necessary information is received, the alert is either dismissed or, in extremely rare situations, the transaction is blocked if it involves a sanctioned entity.