If your fintech needs Cyber Essentials and a senior technology voice to advise the business, a fractional CTO gives you both at once. They get you certified without it swallowing a quarter, and they treat the certificate as one output of running security and technology well rather than a box ticked before a deadline.
This is how that works for a UK fintech, and where we fit.
Why a fintech needs Cyber Essentials
Procurement. Banking partners, enterprise customers and public sector buyers increasingly make Cyber Essentials a condition of doing business. Without it you do not get to the table.
Credibility with money and data. For a fintech handling payments and personal financial data, the certificate is shorthand for “these people take security seriously”, and it shortens a lot of trust conversations.
Regulatory posture. It does not replace your FCA obligations or UK GDPR duties, but it demonstrates the basic security hygiene that regulators, insurers and partners expect to see.
Insurance. Cyber insurance eligibility and premiums increasingly hinge on demonstrable controls, and certification is a straightforward way to show them.
What the certification covers
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme, run under the National Cyber Security Centre, against five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection, and security update management. Cyber Essentials Plus is the same five controls verified by a hands-on technical audit rather than self-declared, and larger customers and some contracts ask for it specifically.
None of it is exotic. It is the discipline of doing the basics consistently, which is exactly what most breaches rely on businesses failing to do.
Why a fractional CTO, not just a certifier
A certification body checks whether you pass. It does not fix the gaps, run your technology, or tell you what else needs attention. A fractional CTO does all three.
They scope the certification sensibly, close the real gaps rather than papering over them, and build the routines, patching, access reviews and pre-launch checks, that keep you certified year after year without a scramble. And because the same controls underpin wider security and data protection, the work pays off well beyond the certificate.
Crucially for a fintech, they also advise on everything the certificate does not cover: how you handle personal financial data, how your architecture holds up as you grow, how you answer the assurance questionnaire a banking partner sends, and how the technology story stands up when investors look under the bonnet.
How the engagement usually runs
It starts with an honest look at the five controls against reality rather than the questionnaire. Are updates applied on a schedule, or when someone remembers? Is admin access genuinely limited? Where the honest answer is uncomfortable, that is the work list. Close those gaps, then certify, and the assessment is a formality rather than a scramble.
From there the fractional CTO stays on for as much or as little as you need, keeping the controls current and advising on the wider technology and security picture. If you are heading for Cyber Essentials Plus, the hands-on audit is far less stressful when someone senior has already checked the controls hold up under scrutiny.
How to choose the right one
Insist on a named senior who has worked inside regulated financial services, so the compliance instinct is there. Check they are independent, with no security tools to resell that might colour the advice. Ask how they keep you certified after year one, because staying certified is where businesses slip. And ask how they leave your team stronger, so the routines outlast the engagement.
Where ScaleAround fits
We are a Cardiff-based technology consultancy and a member of FinTech Wales, and we hold Cyber Essentials ourselves. Getting the controls right sits naturally within the technology and security work we do, so certification comes as part of running technology well rather than as a separate project.
Our founder, Oliver Smith, ran the AI and machine learning function at a UK consumer lender and led technology and quality in regulated financial services before founding ScaleAround. He has more than 20 years leading technology, is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and one of the earliest certified Scrum Masters in the world.
A word on how we work. Oliver leads the company and stays hands-on, and our engagements are led by senior practitioners with at least 15 years of relevant experience, drawn from a vetted network. No junior analysts, no rotating associates. You get someone who has carried security and technology accountability in regulated financial services before.
Frequently asked questions
Can a fractional CTO get us Cyber Essentials certified? Yes. They scope it, close the real gaps, and take you through certification, then keep the controls current so renewal is straightforward rather than a scramble.
Do we need Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus? Start with Cyber Essentials. Move to Plus when a customer, banking partner or contract requires the audited version, or when you want the extra assurance.
Does certification cover our FCA and GDPR obligations? No. It demonstrates basic security hygiene. Your FCA duties and UK GDPR obligations sit alongside it, which is why having a fractional CTO who understands both is useful.
How long does it take? If your controls are largely in place, quickly. If there are gaps, allow a few weeks to close them properly before you certify.
Can the same person advise us beyond the certificate? Yes, and that is the point. A fractional CTO handles certification as part of the wider job of running your fintech’s technology and security well.
If your fintech needs Cyber Essentials and a senior technology voice to advise the business, our fractional CTO and CIO service and technology review get the controls right and keep them there. Book a 30-minute scoping call for an honest read on where you stand.