Company Description
SHF Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFS), doing business as Safe Harbor Financial or Safe Harbor, is a specialized financial technology company focused on the regulated cannabis and hemp industries. The company describes itself as a cannabis-exclusive financial platform that delivers banking, lending, payments and business services tailored to how the cannabis industry operates. Safe Harbor emphasizes compliant access to the financial system for cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) through a network of regulated financial institution partners.
According to multiple company disclosures, Safe Harbor has facilitated more than $26 billion in cannabis-related transactions across 41 U.S. states and territories. It operates as a financial technology company, not a bank; banking services are provided by partner financial institutions. Safe Harbor is based in Colorado and its Class A common stock and redeemable warrants trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols SHFS and SHFSW, respectively.
Business focus and core platform
Safe Harbor positions its platform as a way for licensed cannabis operators to bank, borrow, operate and grow within a compliant, transparent framework. The company highlights its proprietary Cannabis Banking Solutions™ Platform, which works in conjunction with partner banks and credit unions. Through this platform, Safe Harbor supports daily banking needs, payments, cash logistics coordination and detailed reporting designed to meet audit and regulatory requirements for cannabis banking programs.
Safe Harbor’s disclosures describe a fully managed cannabis banking model in which partner financial institutions can retain cannabis-related deposits while outsourcing high-risk compliance and operational functions to Safe Harbor. The company states that this model is intended to address complex requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act and related guidance for cannabis-related businesses, including enhanced due diligence and transaction-level monitoring.
Services for cannabis operators
Safe Harbor reports that it has evolved from an initial focus on compliant cannabis banking into a broader multi-service financial platform for cannabis operators. Public communications describe four primary functional areas:
- Bank: Compliant financial access for licensed cannabis operators, including secure accounts, digital access tools, payment support, cash logistics coordination and detailed reporting for regulatory and audit purposes.
- Borrow: A lending program aimed at established cannabis operators, with the company indicating it supports capital access and can help financial institutions resell cannabis-related loans and manage portfolio risk.
- Operate: Operational and financial support services, which the company lists as including bookkeeping, payroll, reporting, collections, cash management, merchant services, HR, insurance, logistics and other cannabis-focused solutions.
- Grow: Strategic finance and advisory services, including fractional CFO support, forecasting, budgeting, valuations, investor preparation, multi-entity structuring, 280E-related guidance and M&A support.
Safe Harbor presents these capabilities as flexible components that can supplement an operator’s existing finance team or function as a more comprehensive outsourced solution, with the goal of improving financial clarity, control and stability in a highly regulated environment.
Services for financial institutions
In addition to serving cannabis operators directly, Safe Harbor also targets regulated financial institutions that wish to serve cannabis-related businesses. The company has announced a Fully Managed Cannabis Banking Program for banks and credit unions, described as a turnkey platform that enables these institutions to offer cannabis banking while outsourcing compliance and operational elements to Safe Harbor.
Safe Harbor’s public statements indicate that its consulting and managed services capabilities have been expanded through the integration of a cannabis-focused consulting and managed services firm, 420 IT Solutions. This integration brought existing client contracts, advisory frameworks and digital and operational assets focused on regulated banking environments into the Safe Harbor platform. The company highlights this as strengthening its ability to serve both financial institutions and cannabis operators with a broader set of compliant solutions.
Lending, credit and capital access
Safe Harbor describes itself as a fintech leader in providing financial services and credit facilities to the regulated cannabis industry. The company has emphasized the expansion of its lending platform, including leadership hires focused on lending strategy and partner development. Public disclosures state that Safe Harbor works to expand access to capital beyond traditional banking channels through relationships with private equity, family offices and institutional partners, with the objective of building a more flexible lending platform for cannabis operators.
The company has also put in place a common stock purchase agreement and equity line of credit with CREO Investments LLC, as detailed in its SEC filings. This arrangement is described as providing up to $150 million of potential equity financing, with the possibility of increasing the total commitment, subject to conditions and shareholder approvals. Management has indicated that this structure is intended to support high-return lending and growth opportunities in the company’s core cannabis banking and lending markets, while also affecting its capital structure.
Compliance, risk management and regulatory context
Safe Harbor’s business model is closely tied to the regulatory environment surrounding cannabis. The company frequently references the need for specialized compliance infrastructure to meet Bank Secrecy Act obligations and evolving federal and state expectations for cannabis-related banking. It positions its platform as purpose-built to handle enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring and ongoing oversight for cannabis-related accounts.
In public statements, Safe Harbor has commented on federal cannabis rescheduling and proposed banking legislation, noting that changes such as rescheduling to Schedule III and the SAFER Banking Act could influence operator economics, financial institution participation and the overall addressable market for its services. The company distinguishes between policy shifts and comprehensive reform, and continues to emphasize the ongoing need for specialized compliance capabilities even if federal banking protections expand.
Product and feature innovation
Safe Harbor has announced specific product initiatives that illustrate its sector focus. One example is Payroll Boost, a payroll cashflow solution developed in partnership with Canopy HR, a payroll-service provider in the cannabis sector. According to company communications, Payroll Boost allows cannabis operators to keep payroll-related funds in their accounts for up to two additional days each payroll cycle, using information already collected by participating payroll providers. Safe Harbor presents this as a way to strengthen weekly liquidity and improve cashflow predictability for cannabis businesses, while also creating new banking relationships and revenue opportunities for the company.
Another area of expansion is cannabis-specific insurance solutions, introduced through partnerships with Frontier Risk and AlphaRoot. Safe Harbor states that, through these partnerships, clients gain streamlined access to tailored insurance products, including property, workers compensation, general liability, product liability and other risk management solutions. These offerings are delivered through the Safe Harbor Advantage Partner Network and are described as a new service category and complementary revenue stream that deepens client relationships.
Consulting and managed services
Through the integration of 420 IT Solutions’ founders and operating assets, Safe Harbor has expanded its Consulting and Managed Services division. The acquired business brought cannabis-focused consulting capabilities serving both financial institutions and cannabis operators, along with proprietary advisory frameworks and established client relationships. Safe Harbor describes this as adding immediate revenue, experienced leadership and expanded access to financial institution relationships, supporting a more diversified and scalable financial services model.
Corporate and listing information
SHF Holdings, Inc. is incorporated in Delaware and maintains its principal executive offices in Golden, Colorado, as reflected in its SEC filings. The company is classified as a smaller reporting company and emerging growth company under SEC rules. Its securities, including Class A common stock and redeemable warrants exercisable for Class A common stock, are listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Recent SEC filings detail actions such as an amendment to the company’s certificate of incorporation to increase authorized common shares, approval of issuances related to Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and warrants, and authorization for a potential reverse stock split within a specified range. The company has also reported recapitalization transactions that raised new capital and converted a substantial portion of its debt into preferred equity, as well as the establishment of the equity line of credit with CREO.
Strategic positioning within cannabis finance
Across its public communications, Safe Harbor portrays itself as one of the original pioneers of compliant cannabis banking in the United States and as a Nasdaq-listed fintech platform serving both cannabis operators and financial institutions. The company’s strategy centers on combining banking access, lending, payments, operational services, advisory support and partner-delivered solutions into a single platform that is purpose-built for the legal cannabis and hemp industries.
By focusing exclusively on cannabis-related financial services and by working through regulated financial institution partners, Safe Harbor aims to address the structural challenges that cannabis businesses face in accessing traditional banking, managing cash-intensive operations and navigating complex regulatory requirements.