SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Shield Compliance (https://www.shieldbanking.com/) has signed new agreements to provide its compliance management platform to financial institutions serving legal cannabis markets in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington. Combined with its partnership with a multi-state MRB payroll processor, the company now serves all states with legalized cannabis sales programs.
Shield also announced a $5 million Series A funding round led by Copia Investments, bringing the company’s post-money valuation to $20 million. Building on its $5 million seed round in March, the funds will be used to support the continued development of the Shield Data Hub (https://www.shieldbanking.com/shield-data-hub) while increasing the pace of deployment at financial institutions across the U.S.
“Shield Compliance offers a complete and secure platform built for bankers by bankers,” said Scott Walker, fund manager of Copia Investments, a growth venture equity firm focused on services and software within the financial technology industry. “Shield’s solution meets the diverse compliance requirements faced by financial institutions serving MRBs and addresses a critical need in a rapidly growing, yet woefully underserved market. Under the direction of the company’s experienced leadership team, Shield is gaining strong traction in legal cannabis states and is quickly becoming the clear choice for the banking industry.”
“We are pleased to see the confidence Copia Investments and a growing set of customers across the country have in our product,” said Noah Carey, founder and CEO of Shield Compliance. “It reflects our core belief that the cannabis industry must have access to banking services, and that our purpose-built solution meets the compliance requirements of this industry while enabling financial institutions to operate efficiently and effectively.”
Shield Data Hub – Compliant Cannabis Banking
The Shield Data Hub is a central component of Shield’s cannabis banking platform. It works by aggregating financial institutions’ transaction data and demographic records with restricted and publicly available information from state and local governments, seed to sale tracking, and client financial statements. This automated approach allows banks and credit unions to streamline compliance and scale their operations while accessing new sources of low-cost deposits and gaining a first-mover advantage on MRB customers.
“Despite the ongoing conflict between state and federal law, a pathway exists for financial institutions to serve the cannabis industry and pass compliance exams,” said Tony Repanich, president and COO of Shield Compliance. “Shield is rapidly expanding its footprint serving banks and credit unions in legal cannabis states, helping them improve compliance outcomes, better manage risk, and drive down operational costs.”
Growing Demand for Cannabis Banking Services
Today, some form of medical or recreational marijuana is legal in 33 states, representing approximately 95 percent of the U.S. population. As more states pass legalization measures and federal cannabis legalization and banking policies gain support, demand for banking services is growing.
In Michigan and Illinois, legal recreational cannabis programs expected to generate millions of dollars in new state revenue are slated to go online on December 6 and January 1, respectively. Only a few financial institutions in each of these states, however, are offering services to MRBs. Ohio, which has a robust medical marijuana program, may only have two financial institutions serving this market. In mature cannabis states such as Colorado and Washington, banking competition for top-performing MRBs is escalating rapidly.
While increased competition will result in lower fees for MRBs, the costs to financial institutions serving these customers will remain relatively unchanged. As a result, many bankers are seeking to improve the efficiency of their compliance efforts as they launch new cannabis banking programs.
About Shield Compliance
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Shield Compliance is transforming the way financial institutions manage risk, comply with regulations, and satisfy operational demands associated with serving the legal cannabis market across the U.S. Its purpose-built AML/BSA compliance management software solution sits behind the financial institution to simplify compliance, automate processes across multiple data sources, create efficiencies, unlock new revenue, and scale operations. For more information, please visit https://www.shieldbanking.com or contact info@shieldbanking.com.
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