| name | payment-screening |
| description | Screen an outbound payment against limits, sanctions/watchlists, and duplicate checks before a human releases it. |
payment-screening
Use this skill when an operator asks you to check, validate, or screen an
outbound payment (wire or ACH) before release.
This skill is read-only. It does not release, send, or settle anything.
Release requires a human approver — see the release-packet skill.
Inputs
- Queue: an ISO 20022
pain.001 credit-transfer file
(data/payment-queue.json). The screener flattens every
CdtTrfTxInf transaction and screens it by EndToEndId.
- Sanctions: a bundled, dated OFAC SDN public-data fixture
(
data/ofac-sdn-fixture.json). It contains three real public SDN records
selected for deterministic demonstration; it is not a complete sanctions
list. Only the payments are synthetic.
Procedure
1. Screen the payment
Run the screener against a payment ID from the queue (omit --id to screen
the whole batch):
/usr/bin/python3 /sandbox/.hermes/skills/payment-screening/scripts/screen_payment.py \
--queue /sandbox/.hermes/skills/payment-screening/data/payment-queue.json \
--sanctions /sandbox/.hermes/skills/payment-screening/data/ofac-sdn-fixture.json \
--id WIRE-1007
The screener returns structured JSON with a decision
(CLEARED_FOR_REVIEW or HOLD) and a per-check breakdown. Sanctions hits
cite the matched OFAC SDN name and program.
2. Report the result
Use this structure:
- Decision: CLEARED_FOR_REVIEW or HOLD
- Checks: limit · sanctions · duplicate · beneficiary (pass/fail each)
- Exceptions: the exact rule that fired, in plain language
- Next step: what the human checker should verify before releasing
- Caveat: screening is support; the human approver is accountable
3. On HOLD
Never recommend overriding a hold. State the rule, and route to the
appropriate human queue (sanctions analyst, treasury, compliance).
Pitfalls
- Do not claim a payment passed if any check failed.
- Do not invent a sanctions match or clear a real one — report what the
OFAC SDN fixture returned, with the matched name and program.
- Do not release the payment. You cannot reach the payment rail, and you
must not imply that you can.
