In the worlds of fintech and regtech, where software must operate within frameworks dictated by financial regulators, compliance is not an afterthought; it’s a foundational principle. Developers and tech creators working in these sectors are tasked with building systems that not only perform complex financial or regulatory tasks but also adhere to evolving standards around privacy, data protection, and digital identity. Failure to meet these expectations can result in severe legal, financial, and reputational consequences.

Secure development practices must be embedded throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC), from planning and coding to deployment and maintenance. These practices are not merely technical requirements; they are strategic imperatives that help ensure your applications can meet the high compliance bar set by regulators and auditors.

Why Security Is Integral to Compliance in Fintech and Regtech

Compliance in fintech and regtech hinges on data integrity, transparency, user privacy, and the traceability of all operations. Unlike general-purpose software, applications in these fields often handle highly sensitive data — banking transactions, identity verification, financial risk modeling, or audit trails. Consequently, any security lapse can be viewed not just as a technical bug, but as a regulatory breach.

To achieve compliance, security needs to be treated as a core requirement. Security-by-design is a prerequisite for deployment, investor confidence, and customer trust.

Core Secure Development Principles for Regulated Applications

1. Shift Left on Security

The earlier security is introduced into the development lifecycle, the better. Waiting until testing or deployment stages to address vulnerabilities leads to costly rework and missed risks. Shifting security left means:

• Performing threat modeling during the design phase
• Identifying sensitive data flows and potential attack vectors upfront
• Defining security requirements alongside functional ones

By involving security experts early and often, teams can reduce vulnerability windows and ensure compliance checkpoints are met continuously.

2. Adopt a Zero Trust Architecture

Zero trust assumes no system or user — internal or external — is automatically trustworthy. This model is ideal for fintech and regtech because of its rigorous access controls and audit-ready structure. Key principles include:

• Strong identity verification: Multifactor authentication (MFA) and role-based access controls (RBAC)
• Least privilege enforcement: Users and services should only have the access they need
• Continuous monitoring: Real-time evaluation of access requests and data interactions

Implementing zero trust enhances your application’s ability to meet stringent compliance requirements around data access, user management, and breach containment.

3. Secure Your APIs

Fintech and regtech platforms often depend heavily on APIs for interoperability, especially with banks, government systems, or third-party vendors. Every exposed API is a potential attack surface. Ensure your APIs are:

• Protected via OAuth 2.0 or similar authorization frameworks
• Designed with rate limiting, input validation, and schema enforcement
• Logged and monitored for unusual activity

Regular API penetration testing and version control can also help ensure these critical interfaces remain secure over time.

Data Handling and Storage Best Practices

Handling sensitive data — financial records, personal identification, and transaction logs — comes with its own security mandates. Here are several must-have practices:

Encrypt Everything

Encryption should be standard for data in transit and at rest. Use up-to-date, industry-approved algorithms (such as AES-256 or TLS 1.3). Avoid developing custom encryption schemes, which often fail under scrutiny.

• Data at rest: Store encrypted data using secure key management systems (KMS)
• Data in transit: Enforce HTTPS/TLS across all communication channels
• Database security: Leverage column-level encryption for personally identifiable information (PII) and financial details

Log Intelligently, Not Excessively

Logging is essential for auditing and breach detection, but over-logging can create compliance risks. Sensitive information should never appear in logs.

• Mask or exclude credentials, tokens, or financial details
• Encrypt log storage and restrict log access
• Implement centralized logging solutions for audit trails

Employ Virtual Data Room Software for Critical Data Exchanges

Virtual data room software is increasingly used in regtech environments where secure document sharing and collaborative auditing are critical. These platforms enable role-based access, activity tracking, and encrypted file storage — ideal for due diligence, regulatory filings, or high-risk internal reviews.

By integrating virtual data room capabilities, developers can offer their applications a secure, auditable layer of document management that meets both security and compliance standards.

Compliance-Aware Deployment and DevOps

Modern DevOps pipelines must align with compliance and security from the ground up. Automating secure configurations and compliance validations within CI/CD workflows reduces manual errors and speeds up release cycles without sacrificing integrity. Key practices include:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Enforce secure configurations for servers, databases, and networks from version-controlled scripts
• Container Security: Use trusted images, perform regular vulnerability scans, and isolate environments using Kubernetes or similar platforms
• Automated Compliance Checks: Integrate tools like OpenSCAP, Chef InSpec, or custom scripts to validate configurations against compliance benchmarks such as PCI-DSS or ISO/IEC 27001

DevSecOps goes further by embedding security testing into every stage of development and deployment, ensuring your product ships with compliance in mind.

Continuous Compliance: Auditing and Monitoring in Production

Achieving compliance is not a one-time milestone; it requires continuous monitoring and adaptability. Regulatory standards change, attack methods evolve, and user behavior shifts. Your production environment must support:

• Real-time alerting for anomalies: Implement behavior analytics and rule-based alerts
• Audit trail generation: Capture user actions, configuration changes, and data access logs
• Regular third-party audits: External validation not only ensures compliance but builds trust with clients and partners

Monitoring tools should also support compliance reporting formats so teams can quickly respond to inquiries or demonstrate adherence during audits.

Empowering Teams Through Secure Culture and Training

The strongest security strategy will fail without an educated and vigilant development team. Empowering developers with secure coding practices and ongoing training helps create a culture where security is second nature. Invest in:

• Secure coding certifications or workshops (e.g., OWASP Top 10)
• Access to vulnerability databases and patch notes
• Code review protocols with a security lens
• Red/blue team exercises for security response readiness

Security training must evolve alongside your application, especially as it scales or incorporates new regulatory territories.

Building Toward Compliance as a Competitive Edge

Fintech and regtech are high-stakes industries. Regulators are watching, and so are your users. Secure development is no longer simply about preventing breaches; it’s about demonstrating a mature, compliance-oriented approach to software creation. By integrating security across the SDLC, leveraging tools like virtual data room software for sensitive operations, and staying ahead of regulatory shifts, developers can build trustworthy applications that meet the moment.

Whether you’re creating tools for digital banking, automated KYC, or real-time compliance monitoring, embedding these practices into your process will ensure not just a secure product, but a resilient and compliant business.

Author bio:  Josh Duncan is Senior Vice President for Product Management at Donnelley Financial Solutions™ (DFIN) , a global financial solutions company headquartered in Chicago. He is responsible for software and technology solutions for Global Capital Markets including ActiveDisclosure, for financial and disclosure reporting, and Venue, the leading Virtual Data Room for mergers and acquisitions. Josh earned his Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Wisconsin and holds an MBA in marketing and finance from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.