XKOVA Docs
Screening (KYT and BSA)
Every transaction on the rails is screened before it is signed. An always-on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) sanctions baseline runs on every transfer, and know your transaction (KYT) risk scoring plugs in as an upper tier through the same swappable provider adapter, so the institution screens with the vendor it already trusts and the vendor can change without changing the flow above it.
What screening gates
Screening sits in the compliance pipeline in front of money movement. Before a transfer is signed and relayed, the addresses and the transaction are screened, and the result determines whether the transfer proceeds, pauses for review, or is blocked. This is the orchestration model from Integrations and Orchestration applied to compliance: the provider is an adapter behind a stable interface, and the pipeline above it does not change when the provider does.
The two checks
| Check | What it asks |
|---|---|
| BSA sanctions | Does an address match a sanctions list (for example an OFAC hit)? Always on, for every transfer. |
| KYT | How risky is this transaction, given the counterparties and on chain history? An upper-tier check available to tenants with the full-screening feature; the vendor is provisioned by XKOVA. |
Decision outcomes
A screen returns a decision with a risk score and reason codes. The pipeline acts on the decision:
| Decision | Effect |
|---|---|
| Allow | The transaction proceeds to signing and settlement. |
| Review | The transaction is held for an operator to triage in the console. |
| Block | The transaction is stopped, for example on a sanctions match. |
A review outcome surfaces as a compliance case an operator triages, holds, or releases. How held actions clear, and how high blast actions are gated, is covered in Policies and Quorum Governance.
Sanctions list updates
Sanctions lists change, and screening always reflects the provider's current list: a list update takes effect immediately, so an address screened moments before the update is re-evaluated against the new list on its next screen. As defense in depth, a screening result is also never trusted beyond a short lifetime, so even a missed update cannot leave a stale result standing for long.
Example vendors
The screening adapter is interchangeable. The always-on sanctions baseline runs on Chainalysis screening with an OFAC list fallback; upper-tier KYT vendors such as TRM Labs plug in through the same adapter when configured. The institution screens with one provider, and moving to another is an adapter change, not a change to how the rails enforce screening. In the sandbox, deterministic scenarios produce allow, review, and block outcomes so you can exercise each compliance path before going live; see Sandbox Scenarios.
Related
- Policies and Quorum Governance: how held and high blast actions clear.
- Identity Verification: the KYC and KYB side of compliance.
- Transfers and Settlement: where a passing screen leads next.