Shield Compliance
Shield Compliance is a privately held Seattle-based SaaS company that provides BSA/AML compliance and onboarding software (Shield Assure and Shield Engage) to U.S. community banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions serving high-risk business customers including cannabis operators, MSBs, and digital asset providers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Shield Compliance does
Shield Compliance is a privately held SaaS company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that provides a purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management platform for financial institutions serving high-risk business customers. Founded in 2018 (per the company's detailed history timeline), the firm initially focused on BSA/AML compliance for U.S. community banks and credit unions serving licensed cannabis operators; in February 2026 it broadened scope to also cover Money Services Businesses (MSBs), digital asset providers, and other high-risk segments within a unified ecosystem.
The company's product portfolio centers on two flagship platforms operating in a unified ecosystem: Shield Assure, a daily compliance management solution providing ongoing account monitoring with real-time alerts and comprehensive reporting; and Shield Engage, an informed client onboarding platform that streamlines the application and underwriting process between cannabis-related businesses and financial institutions. Underlying technology is a rules-based compliance management system with direct integration into BT Government's cannabis traceability platform for real-time sales data, and the platform supports SAR reporting, due diligence workflows, model validation, and examiner-ready documentation. Supporting resources include the Cannabis Banking Playbook and Cannabis Lending Guide. The platform monitors approximately 17 million transactions, $65 billion in deposit volume, 25,500+ active cannabis licenses, and 7,500+ cannabis-related businesses across 70+ financial institution customers.
Revenue is generated primarily through annual subscription licensing of the Shield Assure and Shield Engage platforms to banks and credit unions, supplemented by professional services and consulting engagements for FIs building cannabis banking programs. Pricing is quote-based with no publicly disclosed tiers, and sales are driven by enterprise field sales, banking-association channel partnerships (e.g., Community Bankers Association of Ohio as Preferred Partner, New Jersey Bankers Association as Associate Member), and active participation in industry events including the Acquire or Be Acquired, Cannabis Banking Conference, PBC Conference, and the company's own Shield Client Connect conference. Shield Compliance, LLC is the operating legal entity; the company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds beyond a 2019 round from Copia Agro & Food in the supporting record, and leadership is led by President and CEO Tony Repanich.
Shield Compliance firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shield Compliance
- Legal name
- Shield Compliance, LLC
- Website
- https://shieldbanking.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Shield Compliance is a privately held Seattle-based SaaS company that provides BSA/AML compliance and onboarding software (Shield Assure and Shield Engage) to U.S. community banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions serving high-risk business customers including cannabis operators, MSBs, and digital asset providers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shield Compliance industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cannabis Banking Compliance Software
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (56162), Investigation and Security Services (5616)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fraud Operations & Financial Crime (Monitoring, Investigations, SAR/STR Support) (FSABALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Account Opening, KYC/AML & Customer Due Diligence (CDD/EDD) (FSABALAA)
Keywords
Where Shield Compliance is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Shield Compliance business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Compliance Platform Subscription: Purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management software sold as subscription to financial institutions. Shield Assure for monitoring and Shield Engage for onboarding operate within unified ecosystem. Revenue generated from licensing compliance technology to banks and credit unions.
- Professional Services & Consulting: Expert guidance and support services for financial institutions building cannabis banking programs, including compliance consultation, program design, and implementation assistance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Quote-based enterprise pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Shield Compliance product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shield Compliance provides a purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management platform for financial institutions serving high-risk industries, primarily cannabis-related businesses. Its two flagship offerings are Shield Assure, a daily compliance management and ongoing account monitoring solution with real-time alerts and reporting, and Shield Engage, an informed client onboarding and underwriting platform that connects cannabis-related businesses to partner banks and credit unions. The platform also extends to Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and digital asset providers within a unified compliance ecosystem.
Product overview
Shield Compliance offers a unified BSA/AML compliance management platform for financial institutions serving high-risk business sectors, particularly cannabis-related businesses (CRBs), Money Services Businesses (MSBs), and digital asset providers. The core product portfolio consists of Shield Assure for daily compliance management and ongoing account monitoring, and Shield Engage for informed client onboarding and underwriting. Both flagship products operate within a unified ecosystem, providing comprehensive compliance coverage from onboarding through ongoing monitoring. The company also provides educational resources including the Cannabis Banking Playbook and Cannabis Lending Guide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Shield Assure: Daily compliance management solution for ongoing account monitoring
- Shield Engage
- Cannabis Banking Playbook
- Cannabis Lending Guide
Products and services
- Shield Assure Daily compliance management platform for ongoing account monitoring that helps financial institutions track and manage cannabis-related business accounts with real-time monitoring, automated alerts, and comprehensive reporting.
- Shield Engage Client onboarding and underwriting platform that facilitates the new client application process between cannabis-related businesses and financial institutions, with streamlined data collection and compliance-focused workflows.
- BSA/AML Compliance Platform Purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management software that sits behind the financial institution to simplify compliance, automate processes across multiple data sources, create efficiencies, unlock new revenue, and scale operations across cannabis, MSBs, and digital asset providers.
Quantifiable outcome
- For 12-month period ending Feb 28, 2025: $44.4M in fee income generated for partner FIs; $1.04B in deposit balances; $332M in loans outstanding; 7,500+ CRBs served; 25,500+ active licenses monitored
Companies that use Shield Compliance
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Shield Compliance technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Shield Compliance partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.
- BT GovernmentcoreShield expanded its direct integration with BT Government's traceability system, enabling financial institutions to access real-time cannabis sales data more efficiently. This enhancement improves risk management, compliance, and operational decision-making for banks serving licensed cannabis operators.
- Community Bankers Association of Ohio (CBAO)coreShield Compliance was approved as a Preferred Partner by CBAO, recognizing its expertise in helping financial institutions navigate cannabis banking complexities. The partnership empowers Ohio's community banks to access Shield's compliance technology and support required to serve the growing cannabis industry.
- New Jersey Bankers Association (NJBankers)coreShield Compliance is a proud Associate Member of NJBankers, positioning the company as a trusted partner for New Jersey financial institutions seeking cannabis banking compliance solutions.
- Association for Cannabis Banking (ACB)coreStrategic partnership for joint webinar programming including Cannabis Bankers Quarterly series. Shield Compliance co-presents educational content with ACB covering cannabis banking policy, lending, and regulatory topics for financial institutions.
- Cultivated MediasecondaryPartnership for Banker on Call podcast series. Shield Compliance President Tony Repanich co-hosts episodes with Cultivated Media covering cannabis banking topics, policy developments, and industry insights.
- CBIZsecondaryPartnership with CBIZ tax and business services for cannabis banking webinars. CBIZ experts contribute to educational content on cannabis tax strategy, 280E implications, and lending considerations.
- Wolf & Company, P.C.minorPartnership with Wolf & Company for expert insights on model verification best practices for cannabis banking compliance. Expert Meredith Piotti provides guidance on validating compliance models.
- Empyreal LogisticsminorPartnership with Empyreal Logistics for onsite inspection services. Empyreal provides third-party cannabis compliance specialists who help financial institutions meet due diligence requirements through operational site inspections.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Shield Compliance competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Metrc: Leading cannabis seed-to-sale tracking platform serving state regulators. Ecosystem partner rather than competitor — banks use Metrc-derived data in cannabis compliance workflows — and comparable in its regulatory specialization for cannabis.
- Safe Harbor Financial: Financial services company specializing in banking, lending, and compliance services for the cannabis industry. Not a SaaS competitor, but an adjacent ecosystem participant — and a potential partner or customer — that operates in the same cannabis banking compliance niche Shield serves.
- BioTrackTHC (by Akerna / Universal Corporation): Cannabis seed-to-sale traceability system used by state regulators. Adjacent rather than directly competing: BioTrackTHC touches traceability, while Shield sits downstream at the bank BSA/AML layer, but the two systems increasingly integrate (similar to Shield's BT Government integration).
Emerging players
- Featurespace: Behavioral analytics and AML/fraud detection platform with adaptive machine-learning risk scoring. Comparable as a specialized AML vendor that could be deployed into high-risk verticals including cannabis banking as the regulatory environment liberalizes.
- ComplyAdvantage: AI-driven AML and KYC platform serving fintechs and challenger banks. Comparable in providing modern, API-first compliance tooling that could be deployed into cannabis banking as the market opens up; competes with Shield's stack on the onboarding/monitoring side.
Broad incumbents
- NICE Actimize: Large incumbent AML, fraud, and KYC platform used by major banks globally. Represents the broad-market competitor that could move down into cannabis banking post-rescheduling; relevant as the alternative Shield must displace in enterprise bank RFPs.
- Akerna: Publicly traded cannabis technology company (legacy of MJ Freeway/MTech merger) offering seed-to-sale, ERP, and compliance software across the cannabis supply chain. Broader than Shield — touches operators, regulators, and ancillary services — but competes for the same cannabis-compliance IT wallet.
- Nasdaq Verafin: AML, fraud detection, and compliance platform serving thousands of financial institutions in North America. Comparable as a BSA/AML software incumbent; less cannabis-specialized than Shield but represents the broad-market alternative for bank AML modernization.
Direct peers
- Green Check Verified: Closest direct competitor to Shield Compliance: a SaaS platform that provides BSA/AML compliance, onboarding, and monitoring software for financial institutions serving cannabis-related businesses. Competes for the same bank and credit union customers with a similar product-led approach.
- Hypur: Cannabis-focused payments and compliance platform serving cannabis operators and their financial institutions. Overlaps with Shield in onboarding, transaction monitoring, and bank-facing compliance tooling for the cannabis vertical.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Shield Compliance social profiles
Digital presenceShield Compliance financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shield Compliance leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Shield Compliance funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shield Compliance M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shield Compliance
What does Shield Compliance do?
Shield Compliance provides a purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management platform for financial institutions serving high-risk industries, primarily cannabis-related businesses. Its two flagship offerings are Shield Assure, a daily compliance management and ongoing account monitoring solution with real-time alerts and reporting, and Shield Engage, an informed client onboarding and underwriting platform that connects cannabis-related businesses to partner banks and credit unions. The platform also extends to Money Services Businesses (MSBs) and digital asset providers within a unified compliance ecosystem.
Is Shield Compliance a public or private company?
Shield Compliance is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Shield Compliance founded?
Shield Compliance was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Shield Compliance based?
Shield Compliance is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Shield Compliance make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Compliance Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are professional Services & Consulting.
Who are Shield Compliance's main competitors?
Others on record are Metrc, Safe Harbor Financial and BioTrackTHC (by Akerna / Universal Corporation). Emerging players are Featurespace and ComplyAdvantage. Broad incumbents are NICE Actimize, Akerna and Nasdaq Verafin. Direct peers are Green Check Verified and Hypur.
Does Shield Compliance have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shield Compliance.
What industry is Shield Compliance in?
Shield Compliance's product category is Cannabis Banking Compliance Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSABALAJ, Fraud Operations & Financial Crime (Monitoring, Investigations, SAR/STR Support), with a secondary code of FSABALAA, Account Opening, KYC/AML & Customer Due Diligence (CDD/EDD). Its NAICS code is 56162 and its SIC code is 6199.