By · · last updated 2026-08-05
The honest buying guide for sanctions screening APIs: coverage, latency, the agent path, pricing, and the questions that separate tools from platforms.
Choosing a screening API looks like a table comparison. It is actually a workflow decision: who calls the API, when, and what happens with the result. Here is the framework.
1. Coverage. How many wallets, names, and jurisdictions? How fresh is the list? Hourly sync matters — designations land between releases.
2. Latency. If an agent calls the screen before a payment, the screen must be faster than the payment path. Sub-100 ms is the bar.
3. The agent path. HTTP, MCP, or CLI? Can an agent call it without a human?
4. Pricing. Per-check, per-seat, or enterprise contract? Is there a free tier to validate the workflow?
5. Audit. Is every result logged with the list version?
A 1-page compliance audit for your payment agent. Check your setup against the 7-point framework. Enter your email — we send it instantly.
Enterprise platforms (Chainalysis, Elliptic, TRM) are built for investigations, not the payment path. KYC platforms (Sumsub, IdentityMind) are built for onboarding. Both are good at their jobs — and neither answers the per-payment question an agent asks.
Screen every payment in the agent path. SanctionsAI is built exactly for that: 947 wallets, 19,218 names, 16 jurisdictions, sub-100 ms, free tier, $19/mo in production, MIT-licensed self-host. But the framework above applies to any vendor you evaluate — the questions are the deliverable.
Free tier, 5 checks/day. Add compliance before money moves.
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