Shieldpay

When a UK law firm handles a £5M M&A completion or a multi-party litigation settlement, someone has to hold the money, verify the parties, and distribute the funds — traditionally the firm itself, using a client account that creates regulatory risk and ties up staff time. Shieldpay is an FCA-regulated payments platform that provides digital escrow, Third Party Managed Accounts (TPMAs), and paying agent services specifically for UK law firms. Founded 2016 in London. Well-funded: £41.3M raised across 4 rounds (latest Series A May 2025, investors include Marqeta, Elliott Investment Management). Parent company is SPG Technologies, which also owns Paycast. Claims to work with Top 100 UK law firms, confirmed partnership with KPMG Law (Jun 2024). Processed over £8 billion in transactions. Three core capabilities: Verify (KYC/KYB checks), Hold (funds safeguarded in tier 1 banks), Disburse (digital release). FCA authorised (firm reference 770210) under Payment Services Regulations 2017. SRA Accounts Rules compliant (Rule 2.5 — TPMAs as alternative to holding client money). HMRC registered for AML purposes. Primary use cases: M&A deal completions/escrow, litigation settlement distribution, real estate conveyancing completions. This is a UK-focused product — no US/international equivalent found. The SRA consultation on whether law firms should continue holding client money (Feb 2025) is a tailwind for TPMA providers like Shieldpay. Competitors include dospay, Transpact, Cashfac, and traditional bank escrow (Barclays Corporate Escrow). Trustpilot 4.5/5 (695 reviews). ‘Shieldpay scam’ brand keyword exists (10 searches/mo) — likely from consumers unfamiliar with B2B escrow services, not a genuine fraud signal.

Company Info

• Founded: 2016
• Team size: 51-200 employees
• Funding: $50.4M
• HQ: United Kingdom
• Sector: Transactions

What We Haven’t Verified

This page was assembled from publicly available information. Feature claims and workflow mappings are based on what the vendor and third-party listings publish — not hands-on testing or practitioner feedback.