From "blacklist" to "warning list": Modern terms for modern KYC compliance
Lists such as the so-called "blacklist" play a central role in money laundering prevention: They help to identify risks early by checking whether companies or individuals are on relevant risk lists. These lists are essential tools for identifying and assessing potentially compromised business relationships.
As part of our name screening and AFC index, KYCnow carefully and comprehensively searches such lists to PEPs, sanctioned persons, companies in high-risk countries, conspicuous constellations and similar names, in order to ensure a high level of security and accuracy.
Background: Lists in risk assessment
In the fight against Money laundering and Terrorist financing International organizations such as the FATF regularly publish reports on countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT systems. These are listed in documents such as "High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action" (often colloquially referred to as the "Blacklist") and "Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring" (often referred to as the "Greylist").
It is important to understand that "Blacklist", "Grey List" and "Whitelist" are not official technical terms of the FATF or the legislator, but rather simplifying terms that have become established over the years.
In addition to these FATF lists, KYCnow also incorporates many other data sources and criteria into its risk assessment, such as national sanctions lists, EU risk lists, user-defined risk lists and PEP registers.
Why we called “Blacklist” “Warning list“ have changed
In recent years, the realization has taken hold in many areas that terms like "blacklist" and "whitelist" can carry negative connotations and are no longer appropriate. Companies such as SAP, Google, GitHub and others have already switched to more inclusive formulations in order to establish respectful and modern wording.
We at KYCnow have also embraced this development and consciously understood this step as an expression of our values. We stand for diversity and openness – both towards our customers and towards our employees. ApplicantsIt is important to us that everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of origin, gender, religion or personal background.
Therefore, we also want to make a statement with our choice of terminology. We want to use language that is clear, inclusive, and self-explanatory – without diluting the function of the lists. That's why we've renamed the previous "blacklist" on our platform to "warning list," demonstrating that we act not only with regulatory precision but also with social responsibility.
Lists in KYCnow
KYCnow provides various lists that are used to assess risk. We'll give you an overview:
- PEP list (Politically Exposed Persons)This list contains politically exposed persons, meaning people who, due to their public office or function in politics, administration, or business, are at increased risk of bribery or corruption. This list helps to identify such individuals early and exercise appropriate due diligence.
- Sanctions lists (terrorism and embargo)These lists contain information on individuals, companies, and countries that are subject to restrictions due to terrorism, embargoes, or other international sanctions. Checking against these lists prevents prohibited business relationships.
- External watch and warning lists (monitoring and blocking)The lists We aggregate information from numerous global authorities and institutions – from financial regulators and law enforcement agencies to international organizations. This allows you to effectively identify individuals and companies with suspicious behavior, criminal records, or regulatory sanctions.
- Internal watch and warning listsInternal lists allow you to keep track of specific individuals or organizations – for example, known fraud attempts, blocked customers, or high-risk business partners. We integrate this customer-specific data directly into the screening process to enable tailored audit procedures.
The functionality of our name screening and AFC index remains unchanged: We continue to search PEP, sanction, watch and warning lists for relevant names – both of companies and of beneficial owners, legal representatives and acting persons.
For our customers, nothing changes except the name. The risk assessment remains comprehensive and precise. The option to display similar names to minimize typos and to individually assess relevance also remains.
Guide: Basics of sanctions list screening for German companies
Simply comply with your obligations regarding sanctions. Our free guide tells you everything you need to know as a German company about sanctions list screening.
Language shapes our culture and responsibility
Language is important – also in the area of compliance. By switching to a "warning list," we are helping to ensure that our platform is not only regulatory-compliant but also linguistically respectful and up-to-date.
Should you have any questions about the transition or wish to learn more about our name screening, please feel free to contact us.
Roczniewski