Sanctions screening and blocked regions
Why some sign-ups and payments are refused, what a name review means, and what to do if you think it is a mistake.
SignSpry screens for sanctions in two ways: it refuses paid services in comprehensively sanctioned regions, and it checks organisation names against official sanctions lists. A lookalike name is never refused automatically. A person looks at it first.
1. Blocked regions
The default list is Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea and Sevastopol, and the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. SignSpry sets and can change the list.
SignSpry checks these details:
| When | What is checked |
|---|---|
| Creating an account (including with Google) | The time zone your browser reports |
| Saving Invoice details on Plan & billing | The country and address words you enter |
| Paying for a plan or a top-up pack | The billing country, address and the organisation's time zone |
A match is refused with this message:
2. Name screening
When an organisation is created and when invoice details are saved, its name is compared with these lists:
- the UN Security Council consolidated list
- the US OFAC SDN list, including aliases
- the EU consolidated financial sanctions list
- the UK Sanctions List
The lists are refreshed daily.
A name that looks like a listed one is not refused. Names collide, and a false refusal is a harm of its own. The match goes to a review queue that SignSpry's compliance reviewers work through.
- If the reviewer clears it, nothing changes for you, and you are not contacted.
- If the reviewer confirms a real match, payments for that account are put on hold. You see: "Payments for this account are on hold while we complete a compliance review. Write to support@signspry.com and we'll help."
What keeps working
An open review, or even a confirmed one, does not delete anything. Sending envelopes, signing and downloading your documents carry on. Only payments (plan and top-up purchases) are held.
If you think it is a mistake
False alarms happen: a VPN or a laptop clock set to another zone, travel, or a city name that collides with a place on the list. Write to support@signspry.com, say what you were doing, and SignSpry will look at it by hand.