With Symitar planning to sunset its OFAC functionality in the Episys 2018.00 release, Synergent has plans in the works to continue to support your credit union during and after this process. Amy Keaten, AVP – Credit Union Services, shared the following insights in advance of this update:
What is the OFAC initiative?
In August 2016, Symitar Announced that they would be phasing out the OFAC PowerOn solution in Episys by the 2018.00 release. OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control) is an office of the US treasury that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted individuals and entities such as foreign countries, regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in certain activities such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or transnational organized crime. This decision came after significant inquiry and determination that the FinCEN requirements for financial institutions has changed significantly and now requires sophisticated software that supports complex name search algorithms and allows for name-match sensitivity based on risk profile level. Because the legacy OFAC PowerOn specfile solution does not allow for customization, nor does it provide robust advanced screening and reporting tools. Synergent understands the impact that this change will have on our credit unions and is reviewing potential replacement options.
What will happen for credit union users when Symitar sunsets its OFAC functionality in the Episys 2018.00 release?
When the current PowerOn is sunset and removed during the 2018.00 release, all OFAC processing as is exists today will be removed. This update is scheduled for September 2018 and will force credit unions to utilize different means to verify OFAC. If the current services are not replaced, the credit union could face steep fines and criminal penalties.
How will Synergent be able to assist during this transition?
Synergent is in the process of reviewing various vendors who are offering similar functionality. Our goal is to review and recommend vendors that can provide all of the services that are used today with very little impact on the credit union.
What services do credit unions need in the interim?
- Account-opening verifications
- New loan-opening verifications
- Batch member, vendor, payee and participant checks
- On-demand verifications
- Verification of payee with check disbursements
- ACH verifications for domestic originations and IAT postings
