From day one, a fintech startup needs the basics done properly: secure Microsoft 365, multi-factor authentication on everything, managed and encrypted devices, tested backup, and a route to Cyber Essentials. Getting this right early is what lets you win client trust, pass security questionnaires and scale without having to rebuild later.
Fintech founders are rightly focused on the product, but the firms that buy from you will ask how you protect data. Here’s the foundation to put in place.
1. Secure Microsoft 365 and identity
Set up Microsoft 365 well from the start, with MFA on every account and sensible access controls. Identity is the front door to your business, and getting it right early avoids painful clean-ups later.
2. Managed, encrypted devices
Every laptop should have endpoint protection, disk encryption and prompt patching from the day it is handed over. Managed devices mean a lost laptop is an inconvenience, not a data breach.
3. Backup and recovery
Back up your Microsoft 365 data and anything else that matters, and test that it restores. Early-stage firms can least afford to lose work, and clients will expect you to have this covered.
4. A route to Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is often the first thing a financial client asks for. Building towards it from the start makes those conversations easy and shows you take security seriously, which helps you win business.
A real example: security that earns trust
We supported a technology company serving financial trading firms where strong identity, endpoint protection and email security were core to keeping client data safe and meeting the expectations of the banks they worked with. Putting that foundation in early is what lets a young firm be taken seriously by big clients.
What this should cost
For a fintech startup, managed IT and security usually costs about £45 to £100 per user per month, and starting right is far cheaper than retrofitting security after a customer or investor asks for it. You pay per user, so it scales cleanly as you hire.
What investors and customers will ask for
Build for these from day one:
- Multi-factor authentication on every account and managed, encrypted devices
- Backups you have actually test-restored
- A clear route to Cyber Essentials and, later, SOC 2 or ISO 27001
- Joiner and leaver processes that remove access promptly
- Evidence you can hand to a security questionnaire without a scramble
What a managed service includes
For a fintech startup, a managed service gives you enterprise-grade foundations from day one:
- Helpdesk and support for your team, Microsoft 365 and core business apps
- Device management for laptops and servers: monitoring, patching and updates
- Secure access, including remote and privileged access where it is needed
- Managed cyber security: endpoint protection, allowlisting, email security and MFA
- Backup and tested recovery of your data and Microsoft 365
- Vendor coordination with your software, cloud and connectivity suppliers
- Clear reporting and a forward IT plan, not just reactive fixes
The result is a startup that is fast to work in and ready for the security questions that come with growth.
Getting these foundations right early costs little and saves a great deal later, when a customer security review or a funding round suddenly depends on them being in place.
Why the cheapest quote costs more
It is tempting to pick the lowest number, but for a technology business an outage that blocks a release, a breach of customer data, or a failed security questionnaire during a deal costs far more than the gap between a cheap contract and a good one. The right question is not the lowest price, but what it costs you when something goes wrong, and who stops that happening.
Why day one matters
Retrofitting security into a growing fintech is slow and expensive, and it tends to happen under deadline pressure during a deal or an audit. Getting the foundations right early keeps you fast, fundable and trusted, at a predictable per-user cost.
Why technology and trading firms choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including software and technology companies and firms that serve financial markets. We know the systems these teams depend on: secure VPN and remote access, source control and build pipelines, virtual dev and test environments, Microsoft 365 and Teams, and the security that banks and regulators expect, from multi-factor authentication and endpoint protection to application allowlisting and email security. We work with technology and trading firms in London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we’ve been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Starting up and want the foundations right? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we’ll help you build them.