Equinox Compliance Services
Equinox Compliance is a full-service agency offering compliance, legal, technology, risk leadership, and implementation under a single engagement. We design programs that strengthen governance, support innovation, and meet the expectations of regulators, auditors, and bank partners.
Our approach blends deep regulatory experience with a sophisticated understanding of models, machine learning, data architecture, and operational risk. Whether you need a named officer, a full compliance program build, an independent audit, or specialty risk coverage, we scope every engagement to your product, your rails, and your regulator.
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Fractional leadership
Hands-on, named-officer leadership embedded directly in your organization. Each fractional officer owns the program, manages deliverables, prepares Board materials, supports audits and exams, and scales with your growth.
- Chief Compliance Officer: Named CCO of record with full program ownership, board reporting, and examiner-ready regulatory leadership
- BSA/AML Officer + MLRO: Named BSA Officer with SAR filing authority, transaction monitoring oversight, and AML program management
- General Counsel: Senior legal counsel embedded in your team for regulatory strategy, licensing, enforcement response, and product legal review
- CISO / CIO: Named CISO of record with GLBA compliance, SOC 2 readiness, cybersecurity risk assessments, and security program leadership
- Chief Risk Officer: Enterprise risk leadership including risk frameworks, operational risk assessments, Board reporting, and regulatory risk positioning
Learn more about our fractional compliance leadership model.
Core risk + governance
The foundational compliance programs that regulators, auditors, and bank partners evaluate first. We design, build, and manage these programs end to end.
- Compliance Management System: CMS frameworks covering governance, policies, procedures, controls, testing, training, complaint management, and partner oversight
- AML / BSA + Financial Crime: Risk-based AML programs including risk assessments, CDD/EDD workflows, sanctions governance, transaction monitoring, SAR processes, and independent audits
- Licensing, Charter + Bank Formation: Full lifecycle state, federal, and international licensing including MTL applications, business plans, compliance narratives, and ongoing renewal obligations
- BaaS + Sponsor Bank Governance: Shared control frameworks, 1LOD/2LOD delineation, partner onboarding, oversight governance, and examination-ready BaaS program infrastructure
- Fintech, Third-Party + Partner Risk: Structured oversight programs for bank-fintech partnerships including partner due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and compliance program management
Audits, assessments + exams
Independent testing, audit support, and examination preparation that satisfies regulators, bank partners, and auditors.
- BSA/AML Independent Audit: Independent testing of your AML/BSA program including transaction monitoring, SAR processes, CDD/EDD, sanctions, and training
- CMS + Consumer Compliance Audit: Independent review of your compliance management system and consumer protection controls including UDAAP, fair lending, and disclosure compliance
- NACHA + Payment System Audit: TPS audits, NACHA operating rules compliance, ACH return rate monitoring, and payment rails risk assessments
- InfoSec + SOC 2 Audit: SOC 2 readiness assessments, controls implementation, trust service criteria mapping, audit coordination, and remediation support
- MLRO 2LOD Review: Second line of defense review of your AML program, BSA Officer function, and financial crime controls
- Exam Readiness: Mock exams, evidence preparation, response drafting, meeting preparation, remediation planning, and liaison support with regulators, auditors, and bank partners
Specialty + emerging risk
Deep subject matter expertise for the risk areas that require specialized knowledge beyond standard compliance program management.
- Credit, Consumer + Fair Lending: UDAAP, TILA, ECOA, Reg B, fair lending monitoring, disclosure review, and consumer protection controls for lending, payments, and deposit products
- Payment Systems, NACHA + Rails: NACHA compliance, ACH origination, wire transfer, RTP/FedNow, card network rules, and multi-rail payment compliance
- Sanctions + OFAC: OFAC sanctions screening programs, SDN list compliance, geo-fencing, financial crime governance, and sanctions compliance for crypto and cross-border payments
- Technology, Model Risk + AI Governance: Model validation, fairness and bias testing, AI oversight frameworks, drift monitoring, governance committee structures, and regulatory-aligned AI/ML compliance
- Privacy, Data Security + GLBA: Information security program design, NIST CSF and ISO 27001 alignment, GLBA safeguards, incident response, and vulnerability management
- Operational + Enterprise Risk: Enterprise-wide, AML, UDAAP, fair lending, product-level, and third-party risk assessments with actionable remediation plans
Industries served
We serve the full financial services ecosystem. Every engagement starts with your product, your rails, your regulator, and your bank partner.
Fintech + Digital Finance
Neobanks, embedded finance, BNPL, earned wage access, expense management, digital wallets, and AI-powered compliance platforms
Banking + Bank Sponsorship
Community and midsize banks, de novo charters, industrial banks, sponsor banks, and correspondent banking
Payments + Money Movement
MSBs, PayFacs, ISOs, ACH/wire/RTP operators, prepaid programs, remittance, cross-border payments, and card issuers
Digital Assets + Crypto
Exchanges, custody platforms, crypto MSBs, blockchain infrastructure, and virtual currency compliance
Lending, Specialty + Emerging
Marketplace lending, mortgage, healthcare payments, government disbursements, and mission-driven finance
Clients Under Regulatory Action
Consent order response, MRA remediation, supervisory review support, partner bank transitions, and urgent compliance buildouts
FAQs
What types of companies does Equinox Compliance work with?
We work with fintechs, banks, sponsor banks, BaaS platforms, payment companies, PayFacs, processors, card issuers, lenders, crypto and digital asset platforms, RegTech vendors, and technology companies developing financial products. If your company touches money or financial data, we have built the compliance program for your product type.
Can I engage Equinox for a single service, or do I need a full program?
Both. We deliver standalone engagements (a single risk assessment, an audit, a licensing project) and full program builds under one contract. Many clients start with one service and expand as needs grow. Every engagement is scoped to your specific requirements.
What does fractional leadership mean?
Fractional leadership means you get a named officer (CCO, BSA Officer, CISO, CRO, or General Counsel) embedded in your organization on a part-time or contract basis. They own the program, manage deliverables, interface with regulators, and report to your Board. You get senior-level expertise without the cost of a full-time executive hire.
How is Equinox different from a law firm or Big Four consultancy?
We are compliance operators, regulatory strategists, and legal counsel in one team. Our leaders have built and run these programs firsthand at banks, fintechs, and financial institutions. We deliver at up to 75% lower cost than traditional law firms, and we work at startup speed with enterprise rigor.
Can Equinox help if my company is under a consent order or regulatory action?
Yes. Regulatory action response is one of our core practice areas. We provide gap assessments, remediation planning, enhanced monitoring, corrective action implementation, and ongoing reporting. We can mobilize within days and have supported companies through consent orders from OCC, FDIC, state regulators, and FinCEN.