Fintech Companies
Your bank partners, enterprise clients, and investors all expect the same thing: proof that your technology and security program is built to the standard of a regulated financial institution. Teremark provides the Fortune 500 CIO and CISO leadership that makes that proof credible.
The Compliance Pressure Fintechs Face
Fintech companies are built to move fast. But every fintech operating in a regulated financial services category – payments, lending, banking-as-a-service, wealth management, insurance technology – faces compliance obligations that slow growth, close doors, and create existential risk when they are not managed by the right leader.
SOC 2 Type II certification is a de facto market requirement for any fintech selling to bank or enterprise clients. PCI DSS compliance is mandatory for any fintech handling payment card data. Security questionnaires from bank partners require attestations that only a qualified CISO can make credibly. OCC charter applications require technology and security programs that meet the standards of a regulated bank. And investors from Series B forward expect a mature governance posture that a technical founder cannot build alone.
The Cost of Getting This Wrong
The average cost of a data breach in the financial sector reached $5.9 million in 2025 — one of the highest across all industries (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025). A single failed SOC 2 audit can cost a fintech a major bank partnership contract. A rejected OCC charter application resets a 12-18 month process. The cost of fractional CIO and CISO leadership is a fraction of any of these outcomes.
Why Teremark CIO
Our consultants have built and led enterprise-grade information security programs at Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, and government-adjacent organizations – the very same types of sophisticated clients that your firm serves. Because we’ve designed and managed the programs that successfully pass these rigorous security reviews, we understand exactly what large clients demand in their vendor questionnaires and how to help you meet those expectations with confidence.
We are 100% vendor-agnostic. We do not sell, implement, or manage technology products. When we recommend a security platform, a document management system, or a collaboration tool, it is because it is the right choice for your firm’s risk profile and your clients’ expectations, not because of a vendor relationship.
What Makes Teremark Different
Confidentiality as a Core Operating Principle
We work inside the attorney-client relationship, the accountant-client relationship, and the structures of professional privilege. We understand the unique confidentiality obligations of professional service firms and design security programs that protect, rather than compromise, those obligations.
SOC 2 and PCI DSS Program Leadership
We do not just advise on compliance frameworks. We lead the design, implementation, and ongoing management of the programs that produce audit-ready results.
Speed
A qualified CISO search takes 6-9 months. A SOC 2 audit clock does not wait. A bank partner's security questionnaire deadline does not wait. Teremark can deploy an experienced executive within days of engagement.
Investor and Board Communication
We translate technology and security risk into the language your board and investors use: business risk, competitive positioning, and compliance exposure. Your next board meeting will not be derailed by a security question that no one in the room can answer.
100% Vendor-agnostic
We do not profit from the tools or platforms we recommend. When we recommend a security technology or a compliance platform, it is because it is the right choice for your company, not because of a vendor relationship.
Services Summary
CISO Services
SOC 2 Type II Program Leadership
Executive leadership of your SOC 2 Type II compliance program – from initial scoping and control design through audit preparation, auditor management, and ongoing program maintenance. We ensure your SOC 2 program is built to sustain the scrutiny of your largest bank and enterprise clients, not just to pass the audit.
PCI DSS Compliance Program
Design and oversight of your Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance program, including scope definition, control implementation, assessor management, and ongoing compliance maintenance. We manage the complexity so your engineering team can focus on building product.
Bank Partnership Security Readiness
Preparation for the security questionnaires, vendor risk assessments, and on-site reviews that bank partnership teams require before signing. We assess your current posture against the standards your bank partners apply, remediate gaps before they become deal-killers, and provide the executive attestations that procurement and compliance teams require.
OCC Charter Technology & Security Readiness
A structured assessment and build-out of the technology and information security program required to satisfy OCC examiners during the bank charter application process. We ensure your technology and security posture meets the standards of a regulated institution before regulators evaluate it, not after they find it lacking.
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment & Remediation
An executive-level assessment of your company’s cybersecurity risk posture, covering application security, infrastructure security, third-party risk, access management, and incident response readiness. Delivered as a board-ready risk report with a prioritized remediation plan tied to your regulatory and contractual obligations.
Incident Response Program & Leadership
Design of your incident response program and executive leadership when an incident occurs. For fintechs operating under bank partnership agreements, incident response obligations are contractual as well as regulatory. Teremark ensures you meet both.
CIO Services
Technology Strategy & Investor Readiness
Development of a technology strategy and roadmap that aligns your engineering investments with your business growth goals – that can also withstand the scrutiny of Series B, Series C, and growth equity investors. We help you tell a coherent, credible technology story that builds investor confidence.
Scalable Architecture & Engineering Governance
Executive oversight of your technology architecture decisions – cloud infrastructure, data architecture, API design, and platform scalability – to ensure your engineering investments are building toward a defensible, scalable foundation rather than accumulating technical debt that will surface in future diligence.
AI Strategy & Deployment
Identification and leadership of production-ready AI initiatives aligned to your product roadmap and operational efficiency goals. We separate AI initiatives that create real business value from those that create cost and distraction, and we help you deploy the former without the months of experimentation that most AI programs require.
Vendor & Technology Partner Management
Objective oversight of your technology vendor relationships, cloud providers, infrastructure vendors, security platforms, and compliance tools. We negotiate on your behalf, manage vendor SLAs, and ensure your vendor ecosystem is built for scale, not just for today’s requirements.
Engagement Options
| Engagement Type | What Teremark Delivers | Best Suited For |
|---|---|---|
|
Security & Compliance Assessment |
A structured review of your current security posture and compliance gaps against the specific standards your bank partners, investors, or regulators require, delivered as a prioritized remediation roadmap. |
Fintechs preparing for a bank partnership, SOC 2 audit, or Series B diligence; companies that have received a bank partner security questionnaire they cannot fully answer. |
|
Fractional CISO |
Part-time executive security leadership – typically 2-8 days per month – covering SOC 2, PCI DSS, bank partner compliance, and board reporting. The most common ongoing engagement for growth-stage fintechs. |
Series A-C fintechs that need CISO-level leadership but cannot justify or afford a full-time executive hire. |
|
Fractional CIO |
Part-time executive technology leadership covering architecture governance, vendor management, engineering strategy, and investor communication. |
Fintechs scaling rapidly where the CTO needs executive support for strategic governance and investor-facing technology narrative. |
|
Interim CISO or CIO |
Full-time executive leadership for a defined period, covering a specific initiative, a compliance deadline, or an executive vacancy. |
Fintechs with a time-sensitive compliance obligation (SOC 2 audit, charter application); companies with a CIO or CISO vacancy. |
|
SOC 2 Program Engagement |
A defined, fixed-scope engagement covering SOC 2 Type II design, implementation, audit preparation, and ongoing program maintenance. |
Fintechs pursuing SOC 2 Type II for the first time or rebuilding an inadequate program before a major partnership or audit. |
|
Advisory Retainer |
Monthly access to a senior Teremark executive for strategic guidance, board preparation, compliance interpretation, and investor communication support. |
Fintechs with existing technical leadership that needs senior advisory support at the board and investor level. |
Your Next Bank Partnership or Funding Round Starts Here
If you have received a security questionnaire you cannot fully answer, a SOC 2 audit deadline you are not ready for, or a bank partnership that requires executive-level compliance attestations, we can help, and we can begin within days.