Security leadership, on retainer

vCISO for Fintech

For payment platforms, lending products, banking-adjacent SaaS, and embedded finance companies facing PCI DSS, SOC 2, and bank-grade diligence.


PCI scope design, SOC 2 run alongside PCI, ISO 27001 for European deals, and the diligence package that gets you through a partner bank review without three months of back-and-forth.

  Trusted for

SCOPE FOR Fintech

Security here has regulatory teeth

In most industries, a failed security review costs you a deal. In fintech, it can cost you the partnership your product runs on. Sponsor banks, BIN sponsors, and BaaS providers all run their own diligence, and their questionnaires arrive with a timeline that is shorter than it looks.


PCI adds a second problem. The scope you accept early defines your compliance burden and audit costs for years, and most companies accept a larger one than their business model requires because nobody designed the data flow first.


You need someone who has been through both before, not a platform and a dashboard.

WHAT WE DO

What we do for Fintech specifically

01

PCI DSS 4.0 scope design

We map how cardholder data actually moves through your product, then design toward the lowest-burden validation path your model can justify. SAQ-A for fully tokenised flows, SAQ-D for service providers, full ROC where it is genuinely required. We work alongside your QSA to document the design.

02

Customer security questions

Fintech questionnaires go deeper than most: identity model, SSO and SAML configuration, encryption standards, network segmentation, key management. We answer them, defend them, and keep responses current as your controls change.

03

Insident report leadership

Fintech incidents run on clocks: PCI notification, state breach laws, partner bank clauses, and in some cases a regulator. We write the playbook, run the tabletop, and lead the response.

04

Bank partner diligence

We write the responses, defend them on the joint call, and own the security side of the relationship until the partnership goes live.

05

SOC 2 run alongside PCI

Most fintech buyers want both. The underlying controls overlap heavily, so one evidence cycle covers both rather than two engagements duplicating work.

06

Security roadmap tight to revenue

Ordered by which gaps block which bank deals, BaaS launches, and partner integrations, and what survives the hardest diligence question you will face.

Ready to move faster?

Too much to do,

too important to ignore.

Start with a 30-minute discovery call. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you and point you in the right direction. If we are, we'll leave the call with a clear plan to get you up and running.

TIMING

When to engage

Your sponsor bank diligence is holding up launch.

A 200-item questionnaire, a 90-day timeline that is really 30, and a CTO reading PCI DSS line by line.

Your pipeline needs SOC 2 and PCI together.

Buyers want SOC 2 for general security and PCI for the payments component. Run them in parallel.

You do not know which PCI validation path you qualify for.

Your processor says one thing, your enterprise customers want another, and your QSA is expensive. Design the data flow first, then decide.

You are applying for a money transmitter licence.

The application includes security and compliance attestations. We write the security narrative and document the programme behind it.

FRAMEWORKS

Frameworks we run for Fintech

SOC 2 with PCI

Most fintech buyers want both. Run together because the controls overlap, so no duplicated evidence work.

ISO 27001:2022

For European and larger enterprise buyers. Scope, Statement of Applicability, risk treatment, Annex A. Stacks on top of SOC 2 and PCI

PCI DSS 4.0

SAQ-A through SAQ-D and full ROC. We minimise scope through data flow design and work with your QSA on documentation. Version 4.0 added continuous monitoring and authentication requirements that catch first-timers out.

HOW WE WORK

How we work together

01

Discovery call (30min)

Which bank or buyer is asking, what your payment flows look like, and the real deadline.

02

Scoped proposal

Fixed scope, timeline, and price within a few days. No open-ended hours.

03

Kickoff

We map cardholder data first, because that decision drives the cost of everything after it.

04

Delivery

We write the documentation and work alongside your engineers on the technical fixes. You approve decisions.

05

Ongoing

PCI validation is annual, SOC 2 Type II runs continuously, and bank relationships keep asking. We stay on or hand over documented processes.

The questions that come up on every first call.

  • When does a fintech need a vCISO?

    Three triggers: a sponsor bank or BIN sponsor diligence package, a PCI scoping decision that will set your compliance burden for years, or an enterprise questionnaire that exposed how thin the programme is.

  • Can you reduce our PCI scope?

    Often, and it is the highest-leverage thing we do here. Most companies default to a heavier validation path than their model requires because nobody designed the data flow first. Designing it properly can move you down a tier, and the savings on audit fees and ongoing burden usually exceed our fee within the first year.

  • Do you handle bank diligence questionnaires?

    Yes. We answer them, defend the answers on the joint call, and own the security side of the partnership through launch.

  • Do you work with neobanks, BNPL, lending, and BaaS?

    Yes. The common thread is bank diligence, PCI scope decisions, and SOC 2 for B2B distribution. The specifics differ: BNPL has different fraud-control expectations, lending has different state regulatory exposure, BaaS has different partner-bank dynamics.

  • What does it cost?

    Fixed monthly pricing by engagement level, quoted before work starts. PCI scoping and bank diligence sit within the appropriate level.

Book a discovery call

Thirty minutes on what is blocking the deal, what you have in place, and when you need it. You leave with a recommended engagement level.