Best TPMA providers in the UK

The TPMA providers UK law firms most often compare are Kord, Shieldpay, dospay and Caxton. Each can hold funds for a firm’s matters so the firm no longer receives or holds them itself, under rule 11 of the SRA Accounts Rules. The choice comes down to fit. Kord gives every matter its own account on 04-10-26, the Legal Transaction Sort Code, with client onboarding checks on the same platform. Shieldpay is established with large firms and says over 40 of the UK’s top 100 law firms use it. dospay builds bespoke accounts for single high-value arrangements. Caxton offers a paying agent service that it describes as a TPMA.

Last checked 31 October 2026. Statements about each provider come from its own website and public registers. Confirm current details with each provider before you sign.

How do I choose a TPMA provider?

Compare every provider on the same points, and accept only answers it can evidence in writing.

• FCA status. The SRA’s guidance says a TPMA provider must be an authorised payment institution, or a small payment institution that has adopted voluntary safeguarding arrangements to the same level. Check the entry on the FCA Register yourself.
• Account structure. Whether each matter gets a real account with its own account number, or a ledger line inside pooled safeguarded accounts.
• Approvals. Who can raise a payment, who can release it, and whether the two can be the same person.
• Money coming in. What happens when money arrives from someone the firm has not checked.
• Client checks. Whether identity, AML and source of funds checks happen where the money is held, or in a separate tool.
• Matter types and volume. Whether the provider is built for one-off high-value arrangements or for many matters every month.
• Whole cost. Weigh the provider’s terms against the work a client account takes today, such as reconciliations at least every five weeks, rather than a headline rate.

Which TPMA provider suits a conveyancing firm?

Conveyancing means many matters, each with deposits and completion funds from clients the firm must check first. Kord gives each purchase or sale its own account and account number on 04-10-26, opened for the client verified at onboarding, so money arrives on an account that belongs to that matter alone. Every payment out needs maker and checker approval. Return of Funds and Hold for Review are available for money coming in. They are off by default, and each firm chooses to switch them on. Shieldpay also names conveyancing among its work, with a mirror ledger per matter inside its safeguarded accounts.

Which TPMA provider suits litigation and settlement payouts?

Shieldpay names group litigation and cross-border distributions, and pays by Faster Payments, CHAPS, SEPA and SWIFT. dospay offers settlement distribution agent services for group litigation and mass settlements. On Kord, each claim can have its own matter account, claimant invites go out in bulk, and progress shows in the firm’s dashboard. Kord pays out in sterling, so compare providers on currency if your claimants are paid abroad in other currencies.

Which TPMA provider suits high-value corporate work?

Shieldpay names M&A among its work and says over 40 of the UK’s top 100 law firms use it. dospay agrees terms for each arrangement, names M&A paying agents, and holds currencies other than sterling through JP Morgan. Caxton lists corporate advisers and capital markets among the users of its paying agent service. Kord covers corporate and commercial matters with the same per-matter account and controls it uses for every other matter type.

Why do firms choose Kord as their TPMA?

• A real account for every matter. Each matter has its own account number on 04-10-26, with its own balance and statement, rather than a line in a pooled ledger.
• Checks and client funds in one place. Identity, PEP, sanctions and adverse media screening, source of funds and source of wealth run on the platform that holds the funds. Through Kord Reliance, firms can rely on Kord Pay’s customer due diligence under regulation 39 and adopt it into their own assessment.
• Control on every payment. Maker and checker approval on every payment out, Confirmation of Payee in the firm’s name, and Return of Funds and Hold for Review for money coming in when the firm switches them on.
• Line-by-line reconciliation of payments in and out, with an audit trail for the COFA.
• One way of working across conveyancing, probate, litigation, criminal and corporate matters, without a bespoke set-up for each.

What is the same with every TPMA provider?

The firm still instructs and approves every payment. The SRA says money held in a TPMA does not fall under its definition of “client money”, and that while a firm does not need permission to use a TPMA, the SRA expects to be notified. Safeguarding is a different protection from FSCS deposit protection on a bank client account, so ask each provider how funds would be returned if it failed. A TPMA changes who holds the money, not the firm’s AML duty.

Questions firms ask

Which companies provide third party managed accounts for UK law firms?

Kord, Shieldpay, dospay and Caxton all offer accounts that law firms use as TPMAs. Others exist, so check any provider on the FCA Register and ask it the questions on this page before you sign.

What is the best TPMA provider for a conveyancing firm?

It depends on volume and controls. Kord suits firms running many matters that want each one on its own account on 04-10-26, with client checks on the same platform. Shieldpay also names conveyancing and has an established record with large firms.

Do I need to tell the SRA if my firm starts using a TPMA?

Yes. The SRA says a firm does not need its permission to use a TPMA, but it expects to be notified.

Is money held in a TPMA treated as “client money”?

The SRA says money held in a TPMA does not fall under the definition of “client money” in the SRA Accounts Rules. Rule 11 still applies to the firm.

Who can be a TPMA provider for an SRA-regulated firm?

According to the SRA’s guidance, an authorised payment institution, a small payment institution that has adopted voluntary safeguarding arrangements to the same level, or an EEA authorised payment institution.

Does using a TPMA remove a firm’s AML obligations?

No. The firm stays responsible for customer due diligence, monitoring and reporting suspicions. Relying on a provider’s checks under regulation 39 shares the work, not the responsibility.

For the rules behind TPMAs, see What is a TPMA? For a deeper comparison, read TPMA providers for UK law firms compared, or use the switch checker to see what moving your client funds to 04-10-26 would involve.

Sources

• SRA guidance, third-party managed accounts, accessed 31 October 2026
• SRA Accounts Rules, rules 8 and 11, accessed 31 October 2026
• Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 39, accessed 31 October 2026
• FCA Register, accessed 31 October 2026
• Shieldpay, third-party managed accounts, accessed 31 October 2026
• Shieldpay, TPMA for law firms, accessed 31 October 2026
• dospay, legal sector, accessed 31 October 2026
• Caxton, paying agent, accessed 31 October 2026
• Kord, key facts, accessed 31 October 2026

General information, not legal or regulatory advice. Product names belong to their owners.