What a compliance review is

Every bank that handles an international payment must check it. The main checks are:

• Sanctions screening: comparing the names, banks and countries in the payment against official sanctions lists, such as those of the United Nations, the US Treasury and the EU.
• Anti-money-laundering (AML) monitoring: looking for payments that don't fit what the bank knows about the customer, or that match known patterns of fraud or laundering.
• Know your customer (KYC): making sure the bank's information about the sender or recipient is complete and up to date.

These checks are mostly automatic. A review happens when the system flags a payment and a person has to look at it before it can continue. The review can happen at any bank in the chain, which is why your own bank sometimes knows no more than "it's being reviewed".

If your bank can see the payment's tracker status, G003 means the recipient's bank is waiting for documents from the recipient. In that case, the recipient needs to contact their bank. Our SWIFT payment tracker explains every status.

Why the bank won't tell you much

It can feel like being stonewalled, but there are legal reasons:

• "Tipping off" rules. In many countries, the law forbids a bank from telling a customer whether it has reported a transaction to the authorities as suspicious. In the US, for example, federal law bars banks from disclosing a suspicious activity report. Staff may not be allowed to say more, even to you.
• The review may be at another bank. Your bank may genuinely not know what an intermediary or recipient bank is checking.
• Screening rules are kept private so they can't be worked around.

What the bank can usually do is tell you whether it needs anything from you, give you a case reference, and pass your documents on.

Common reasons a transfer is reviewed

• A name that resembles one on a sanctions list. Common names can partly match a listed person or company. A person has to confirm it isn't them.
• A vague or missing purpose. "Transfer" or "personal" tells the bank nothing. A specific purpose ("University of Lagos school fees, 2026/27 session") is easier to clear.
• A payment that doesn't fit your usual activity, such as a much larger amount, a new country, or a first payment to a new recipient.
• Missing or inconsistent details, such as the recipient's full name or address, or a sender name that doesn't match the account.
• The countries or banks involved. Each bank rates the risk of countries and corridors in its own way, so some routes get more checks than others.
• Business and personal mixed up, such as a personal-looking payment from a business account, or the reverse.
• Several payments that look split up. A series of smaller payments can look like an attempt to avoid reporting limits.

What happens to your money

While the payment is under review, the money stays with the bank that is reviewing it. It hasn't disappeared. The review then ends in one of these ways:

There is no standard time limit for a review. The quickest way to shorten one is to give the bank what it asks for, the first time.

What to do, step by step

1. Ask which bank is reviewing it: your bank, an intermediary, or the recipient's bank. Get the payment's UETR (tracking reference) and a case reference.
2. Ask whether anything is needed from you, and in what form. If the review is at the recipient's bank, tell the recipient to contact their bank.
3. Answer completely and consistently. Give the real purpose, the source of the money and your relationship to the recipient. Answers that change between calls cause more delay.
4. Send documents through official channels only: your bank's secure messaging, email address or branch. Keep copies and note the dates.
5. Don't resend, cancel and resend, or split the payment. A second payment can be reviewed too, and splitting looks worse.
6. Follow up with your case reference at the times the bank gives you. If it gives no timeline, ask for one in writing.

Documents that usually help

Only send what the bank asks for, but it helps to have these ready:

For more on the source-of-funds question, see why your bank is asking for source of funds.

If nothing happens: escalating

1. Make a formal complaint to your bank, in writing, quoting the case reference and UETR. Ask for the bank's complaint reference.
2. Use your regulator's complaint route if the bank doesn't resolve it. In Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria says you must first complain to your bank and allow two weeks. After that, you can take it to the CBN's Consumer Protection Department, with evidence that you complained to the bank first. In other countries, use the bank regulator's or ombudsman's complaint service.

A regulator can make a bank handle your complaint properly. It can't usually force a bank to release a payment that it has a legal duty to hold.

Reducing the chance next time

• Give a specific purpose on every international payment.
• Use full, correct names and addresses for both sender and recipient, exactly as the banks hold them.
• Tell your bank in advance about a large or unusual payment, and have documents ready.
• Keep your own details up to date with your bank, including ID, address and occupation.
• Check the recipient's bank details with our SWIFT code checker, IBAN validator or NUBAN validator.

For Nigerian users

• Nigeria is no longer on the FATF "grey list". The Financial Action Task Force, which sets global anti-money-laundering standards, removed Nigeria from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on 24 October 2025, after adding it in February 2023. The grey list was never the FATF's "high-risk" (black) list, which has three countries: North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Individual banks still set their own country risk ratings, so some payments will still be checked closely.
• Receiving money from abroad: your bank may ask about the purpose of an incoming payment or the sender before it credits you. Reply quickly. It's often the only thing holding the money.
• Sending money abroad: expect questions about purpose and source of funds, and keep supporting documents, such as school invoices, handy.
• If your bank doesn't resolve a complaint within two weeks, escalate to the CBN's Consumer Protection Department as described above.

Sources

• Financial Action Task Force, outcomes of the October 2025 plenary (22–24 October 2025), as reported by ComplyAdvantage and TEMPLARS: Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique and Burkina Faso removed from increased monitoring; the call-for-action list unchanged.
• Central Bank of Nigeria, Complaints management: complain to the bank first, allow two weeks, then escalate to the Consumer Protection Department.
• United States Code, 31 U.S.C. § 5324 (structuring prohibited) and 31 U.S.C. § 5318(g) (confidentiality of suspicious activity reports).
• Tracker status G003 and other codes, as sourced on our SWIFT payment tracker.

Last reviewed 24 September 2026. Spot an error? Tell us through our corrections page.