We recently launched a free PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) screening API. Here's how it works and what we learned.
The problem: Compliance teams need to screen names against PEP lists, but existing solutions are expensive and require enterprise contracts. We wanted to build something simple: a single API call that returns matches.
The data: We ingested 19,408 unique PEP records from Wikidata and OpenSanctions. The data covers politicians, judges, military officers, and state-owned enterprise executives.
The API: It's a simple GET request:
text
GET https://compliance-engine.boring-saas-infra.workers.dev/check/pep?q=Rosneft
The payment: We use x402 (HTTP 402) for pay-per-call. It's a new protocol that lets AI agents pay for API calls with USDC on Base. No signup, no API keys. Just send a request and pay 0.01 USDC per call.
The MCP server: We also built an MCP server that exposes the PEP screening as a tool for Claude and Cursor. You can find it on GitHub.
What we learned:
x402 is a game-changer for AI agents. They can pay for tools without human intervention.
MCP is becoming the standard for AI tool integration.
19K records is enough to cover most compliance use cases.
If you're building compliance tools, feel free to test our API. It's free for 50 requests/day.
Top comments (3)
This is a great example of how MCP + x402 can work together. I'll definitely test it with Claude this week. Thanks for making it open-source!
I am having trouble setting up automatic payments on an exchange.
Are you trying to set up x402 payments on an exchange, or just trying to pay for API calls using USDC from an exchange account?
If it's the latter (paying for the API), you usually need to withdraw USDC to a self-custody wallet (like MetaMask, Rabby, or Coinbase Wallet) that supports the Base network. Exchanges typically don't let you sign x402 payment headers directly from your trading account.
Once you have the USDC in your own wallet on Base, the API client (or an agent like Claude Code) can handle the automated micro-payments.
If you are trying to set up a merchant account to receive payments, let me know which exchange you're using—some have specific restrictions on Base network USDC deposits for businesses!