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PEP & RCA Screening
Identify Political Exposure Before It Becomes Regulatory Exposure
Most PEP screening returns a name. It misses the network. Shufti maps politically exposed persons, their relatives, and close associates with tiered risk classification, so compliance teams act on structured intelligence, not raw alerts.
Political Exposure, Mapped with Clarity
Built to Turn PEP Alerts into Actionable Intelligence
Pre-Classified Risk, Not Manual Interpretation
Every match arrives pre-classified against a four-tier FATF-aligned hierarchy, with historical classification retained for former officeholders. Tiers map directly to configurable EDD thresholds, so the question "does this match trigger enhanced review?" is answered at the data layer , not during analyst triage.
Relationship Intelligence, Not Isolated Matches
Every PEP hit is delivered with its relationship graph already resolved: direct family, indirect family, and close associates are surfaced in-line with inherited tier logic. Compliance teams see exposure the way regulators expect it to be evaluated , as a network, not as a name.
Real-Time Triggers, Not Delayed Updates
Global political appointments, resignations, elections, and RCA linkages stream into the database on a 15-minute cycle. Rescreening triggers on the political event itself , so onboarded customers are re-evaluated the moment their exposure profile changes, not on the next weekly run.
EXPLORE THE FULL AML SUITE
Political Exposure Is One Layer. Here Are the Rest
Adverse Media Screening
Detects negative news across global sources with real-time multilingual monitoring and contextual risk insights.
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Sanctions Screening
Screen individuals, entities, vessels, and wallets against continuously updated global sanctions lists with explainable matches.
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Watchlist Screening
Screen against global watchlists including enforcement registers, debarment lists, criminal records, and law-enforcement lists with continuous refresh cycles.
Learn MoreBEYOND BASIC PEP CHECKS
PEP Classification, Matching, and Monitoring at Depth
PEP Classification & RCA Intelligence
Four-Tier PEP Classification
Every PEP match is assigned one of four FATF-aligned tiers: Tier 1 (heads of state, ministers, senior judicial and military leaders), Tier 2 (international and regional officials, senior civil servants, religious leaders), Tier 3 (executives in state-owned enterprises and public boards), Tier 4 (municipal, local, and district-level officials). Former officeholders are retained with their historical classification. Each tier maps to configurable EDD thresholds.
Automatic RCA Mapping
Every PEP match surfaces relatives and close associates automatically, categorised as direct family (spouses, partners, siblings, children), indirect family (in-laws, grandchildren), and close associates (business relationships, organisational ties, financial dependencies). RCA matches inherit the PEP’s tier unless the associate holds an independent political position.
Tier 4 Coverage as Standard
Municipal and district-level officials are included in every screening. Most screening vendors focus on national-level PEPs and treat local officials as optional. EU AMLD6 and updated FATF guidance increasingly expect sub-national coverage.
Matching & Detection
Contextual Phonetic and Fuzzy Matching
Shufti’s matching engine handles fuzzy variations (Jon Smyth → John Smith), transliteration across scripts (张伟 → Zhang Wei, Алексей → Aleksei), and phonetic similarities (Catherine, Katherine, Katrin). Match sensitivity is configurable on a 1–100 threshold, allowing compliance teams to control the balance between coverage and noise.
80+ Language Support
Native phonetic models for Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, and other non-Latin scripts reduce false positives that Latin-biased matching engines generate when processing transliterated names.
Biometric Screening
Upload or live-capture a facial image and screen it directly against PEP face data. Resolves ambiguity in name-only searches, particularly for high-risk onboarding or cases where aliases and transliterations create uncertainty.
Monitoring & Alerts
Alerts for Political Status Changes
Shufti monitors global political appointments, elections, resignations, and deaths in real time. When a PEP’s position changes, when an individual is newly linked as an RCA, or when any data related to a PEP is updated, pep screening compliance teams receive a structured notification , not a generic rescreening alert, but a specific event with context.
Configurable Ongoing Monitoring
Set monitoring duration, alert frequency, and notification channels (email or webhook). Shufti rescreens automatically on a schedule aligned to internal policy or trigger events.
Risk-Related Entity Identification
PEP or their associated RCA appears in negative news, alerts fire in real time classified across 400+ risk categories in 80+ languages , so your EDD process captures reputational risk, not just status changes
Operational Tools
AI Compliance Co-Pilot
Shufti's AI layer reads every match before it reaches an analyst, filtering out low-relevance results. L1 reviewers see only what matters, with clear reasoning attached to every alert so decisions are fast, consistent, and defensible.
Customisable Risk Scoring Engine
Assign specific weights to countries, risk categories, databases, and other variables. Shufti’s engine calculates a risk score for every match, aligning screening outcomes with internal risk appetite and jurisdictional requirements.
Bulk Upload Search
Upload a CSV with multiple entities and parameters. Run high-volume screenings via API or back office in a single request.
Search Profiles
Create reusable screening templates based on use case, geography, or risk appetite. Reduce irrelevant matches by applying pre-configured filters.
Who It's Built For
Built for Regulated and High-Risk Businesses
Screen Every Seller, Merchant, and Beneficial Owner
Merchants and high-value sellers are screened against a live PEP and RCA database at onboarding so platforms meet AML obligations before politically exposed individuals transact on the network.
Don't just take our word for it, hear from our customers
The Confidence Our Clients Share
The future of digital identity is defined by trust, interoperability, and regulatory alignment, so our partnership with Shufti reinforces DevCode Identity's commitment to supporting our global customers with the most secure, best-in-class, complaints identity verification solutions available today.
Combining our Conversion Driven Compliance Orchestration Platform with Shufti's global KYC and IDV capabilities allows our customers not only to navigate complex regulatory demands but also to maintain a seamless customer onboarding experience with the highest achievable conversion rates.
Shufti gives us verification journeys we can trust across every market we serve. The ability to route players through passive database checks, eID authentication, and full biometric liveness — all behind one API — has reshaped how we think about onboarding compliance.
Their team acts like an extension of ours. When regulators added new requirements across two European markets, Shufti’s journey builder let us adapt in days, not months.
FXBO customers demand speed without compromising AML rigour. Shufti’s eIDV fits exactly there — high-assurance verification for large deposits, invisible background checks for everything else, and one compliance trail across the board.
Integration took a single sprint. The SDK handled the full journey, so our product team stayed focused on trading features instead of building KYC screens.
As a regulated European payments platform, we need identity verification that meets eIDAS 2.0 and AMLD6 without multi-vendor stitching. Shufti delivers both — native eID authentication for high-assurance markets and docless database checks where eIDs don’t reach.
One contract, one audit log. That changes the compliance conversation entirely.
Everything you need to know in one place
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PEP screening?
PEP screening solutions identify individuals who hold or have held prominent public positions, and their relatives and close associates, due to elevated financial crime risk. FATF, EU AMLD, and FinCEN guidance require organisations to apply appropriate due diligence to PEPs.
Why is RCA screening important?
Relatives and close associates often present indirect exposure to corruption or misuse of political influence. Screening the network, not just the individual, uncovers risks that name-only checks miss.
What AML pep screening classes does Shufti use?
Four classes aligned with FATF guidelines: Class 1 (senior national figures), Class 2 (international and regional officials), Class 3 (state-owned enterprise leadership), and Class 4 (local government). Former officeholders are retained with their historical classification.
How are RCA relationships categorised?
Three categories: direct family (spouses, partners, siblings, children), indirect family (in-laws, grandchildren), and close associates (business relationships, organisational ties, financial dependencies). Each inherits the PEP's classification tier unless they hold an independent political position.
How often is PEP data updated?
Every 15 minutes , capturing role changes, elections, appointments, and political transitions in near real time.
Can PEP screening be automated?
Shufti's API supports automated screening during onboarding, ongoing monitoring, periodic review, and trigger-event rescreening with structured PEP tiers and RCA links.
Does PEP screening apply to business onboarding?
During KYB flows, Shufti screens UBOs, directors, and authorised signatories against the same PEP and RCA database used for individual screening.
Turn PEP Alerts into Clear, Defensible Decisions
See how Shufti delivers classified, RCA-linked PEP results that compliance teams can act on and auditors can verify.