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Is Shieldpay Safe and Legitimate?

If you've received a message saying your payment will come through Shieldpay, and you want to know whether we're a real, regulated company — yes, we are.

Shieldpay is a UK-based payments company authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Law firms use us to hold and distribute settlement funds securely on behalf of claimants. If your solicitor has told you Shieldpay will process your payment, that is a standard, regulated process.

This page sets out every credential you can independently verify.

Received a suspicious invoice or message asking you to send money? That's a different issue. Visit our Fraud Prevention and Scam Warnings page before doing anything else.

 

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Our credentials


Financial regulation

FCA authorised. Shieldpay Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Our firm reference number is 770210. You can verify this in seconds on the FCA Register — the FCA's own public database of every regulated firm in the UK.

HMRC registered. Shieldpay Trustee Services Limited is registered and supervised by HM Revenue & Customs as a Trust Services Provider for anti-money laundering purposes. Our firm reference number is XKML00000214627.

How your money is protected

Your funds are held in ring-fenced, safeguarded accounts kept entirely separate from Shieldpay's own money.

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How long we've been operating

Shieldpay was founded in 2017 and has processed over £18 billion in payments. More than 40 of the UK's top 100 law firms use our platform. We've been the payment partner for some of the largest group litigation settlements in UK legal history.

This is a legal requirement under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 - it means your funds are held in safeguarded accounts, meaning they are  kept separate and protected even in the unlikely event that something happened to Shieldpay as a business.

Our safeguarding banking partners are Citi and ClearBank — two of the most established names in institutional and regulated banking.

Independent security certifications

ISO 27001 certified (December 2024). This is the international standard for information security management, independently assessed and awarded. You can verify our certification directly via UKAS, the UK's national accreditation body: check our ISO certificate.

Cyber Essentials certified. A UK government-backed certification confirming we meet the national baseline for cybersecurity. View our Cyber Essentials certificate.

SecurityScorecard rated. Our cybersecurity posture is continuously and independently assessed across ten security factors and published publicly. See our Security score.

CREST-accredited penetration testing. Our systems are regularly tested by CREST-accredited security firms using CBEST methodology — the same framework used by UK financial institutions — to find and fix vulnerabilities.

Trustpilot

 

If you're receiving a payment, your case may be one of the following. Shieldpay has acted as the paying agent or payment distributor in all of these:

Cases you may recognise

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Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation (England & Wales)

One of the largest group actions in UK legal history, with a £193 million settlement.

Shieldpay distributed payments to claimants represented by Milberg London and Keller Postman UK (now KP Law).
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Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Claims (Charles Lyndon)

Shieldpay was instructed by Charles Lyndon to distribute compensation payments to claimants in their separate VW, Audi, SEAT, Skoda and Porsche diesel emissions action, covering vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2019.
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Pogust Goodhead collective actions

Shieldpay is the payment partner for Pogust Goodhead across multiple collective action cases spanning data breaches and environmental damage. Over 75,000 claimants across multiple jurisdictions have received payments through Shieldpay as part of this relationship.
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What if your case isn't listed?

If your case isn't listed, that doesn't mean we're not involved. Law firms sometimes don't publicise which payment provider they use. The best way to confirm is to contact your solicitor directly, or email us at fraud@shieldpay.com to verify.

What Shieldpay will and won't do

Understanding this can help you spot if something is a scam:

Shieldpay will:

  • Send you a verification email or SMS as part of the payment process
  • Ask you to confirm your bank account details so we can pay you
  • Give you a case reference number linked to your solicitor's case
  •  

Shieldpay will never:

  • Ask you to send money to us to receive your payment
  • Ask for your card number, PIN, or online banking password
  • Contact you out of the blue asking for payment
  • Pressure you to act urgently without time to verify

If something doesn't match the above, stop and check before doing anything. Email us at fraud@shieldpay.com and we'll confirm whether the contact is genuine.

litigation payment

Still unsure?

Email us at fraud@shieldpay.com. We'll confirm whether any communication, payment request, or bank account details are genuinely from Shieldpay.

You can also read about our full security framework on our Security page.

This page provides general information about Shieldpay and our regulatory status and is not a substitute for formal advice in relation to your individual matter.

Shieldpay Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (firm reference number 770210) to provide payment services. Shieldpay Trustee Services Limited is registered and supervised by HM Revenue & Customs for anti-money laundering purposes as a Trust Services Provider (firm reference number XKML00000214627).

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