IBAN risk explained
Category: Security & Trust
Answer
When Swaps routes a payout to your bank, the receiving IBAN is checked against three independent risk lenses before the funds leave the provider. Understanding what each check looks at helps you avoid surprises. 1. Sanctions screening. Every IBAN is screened against OFAC (United States), the consolidated EU sanctions list, and the United Nations Security Council list. A direct hit blocks the transfer outright; a fuzzy match on the account holder's name flags the payout for human review. 2. Country risk.
The IBAN's country code (the first two characters) sits in a FATF risk tier — green, grey, or black. Grey-list countries can still receive funds but typically attract extra documentation requests. Black-list jurisdictions are blocked at the provider level, not the Swaps level. 3. Beneficiary reputation. Banks score their own customer accounts for AML risk. A correspondent bank can refuse an inbound transfer if the receiving account has prior chargebacks, mule-account flags, or unusual cash-in patterns.
Swaps cannot see this score, but the routing bank does and may delay or return the payment. A clean IBAN, sent from a non-sanctioned customer to a green-tier country, almost always settles in minutes for SEPA Instant or 1–2 business days for SWIFT. When any of the three lenses flags risk, expect a brief hold and a request for proof-of-funds or beneficiary verification before the payout completes.
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Swaps is a comparison and routing product for crypto on/off-ramp providers. Every quote shown is live, every receive amount is the actual amount your wallet (or bank) will get, and every corridor is filtered for whether it can actually complete in your specific country with your specific payment method.
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