Industries We Serve
AWS Consulting for Fintech and Financial Services
PCI DSS, SOC 2, and zero-trust AWS architecture for payments, lending, insurtech, and financial platforms, built to pass audits, survive incidents, and scale.
What we do
PCI DSS and SOC 2 AWS architecture for financial services.
Fintech companies on AWS face the most demanding compliance environment of any industry: PCI DSS for payment processing, SOC 2 Type II for enterprise sales, ISO 27001 for financial institution partnerships, and zero-trust security as the baseline. Forged Concepts designs AWS environments for fintech with compliance requirements mapped to specific services: AWS WAF and Shield for application protection, GuardDuty for continuous threat detection, KMS for cardholder data encryption, Secrets Manager for credential management, Config for configuration compliance tracking, Security Hub for centralized security posture management, and CloudTrail for immutable audit logs.
PCI DSS scope reduction, which means isolating the cardholder data environment (CDE) to minimize the systems that fall under audit, is often the highest-value work in a fintech AWS engagement. DevSecOps pipelines integrate security scanning (Checkov, OPA) into every infrastructure change before it reaches production. Forged Concepts delivers all controls in Terraform or CDK, version-controlled and documented for auditors.
PCI DSS v4.0
Current compliance standard for cardholder data
SOC 2 Type II
Required by enterprise and institutional buyers
Zero-trust
No implicit trust. IAM roles for every service.
IaC delivery
Terraform or CDK auditable, version-controlled
AWS services
Compliance frameworks mapped to AWS services.
| AWS Service | Compliance Role | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| AWS WAF | PCI DSS | Application-layer protection, OWASP rule sets for payment endpoints |
| AWS Shield (Standard + Advanced) | PCI DSS | DDoS protection for payment infrastructure |
| Amazon GuardDuty | SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Continuous behavioral threat detection across accounts |
| AWS KMS | PCI DSS / SOC 2 | Encryption key management for cardholder data and sensitive records |
| AWS Secrets Manager | SOC 2 | Secrets rotation, no hardcoded credentials |
| AWS Security Hub | SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Centralized security posture management and compliance scoring |
| AWS Config | SOC 2 | Configuration compliance tracking and audit evidence over time |
| AWS CloudTrail | PCI DSS / SOC 2 | Immutable audit log of all API calls across all regions |
| VPC with private subnets | PCI DSS | Cardholder data environment (CDE) isolation |
| AWS IAM (least privilege) | All frameworks | Access control, authentication, and authorization |
PCI DSS on AWS
Shared responsibility and where your responsibility begins.
What AWS covers
AWS holds PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider certification (the highest level), which covers the underlying infrastructure: data centers, physical hardware, and the managed services AWS operates. AWS's PCI certification covers the infrastructure layer only.
What you cover
Your application, configuration, and cardholder data environment (CDE) are your responsibility. This includes: CDE isolation in a dedicated VPC, WAF with OWASP rule sets on payment endpoints, KMS encryption for all cardholder data at rest, CloudTrail logging across all regions, and GuardDuty for continuous behavioral threat detection. Forged Concepts designs and implements each customer-side control in infrastructure as code.
PCI DSS v4.0 (effective March 2025) introduced stricter requirements for web-facing payment pages and stronger authentication requirements. If your environment was built against v3.2.1, it needs a v4.0 gap review.
PCI scope reduction
Reducing PCI scope (minimizing the systems that fall under audit) is often the highest-value work in a fintech engagement. By isolating the CDE into a dedicated VPC, routing card data through a PCI-certified tokenization service (Stripe, Braintree), and encrypting at rest with KMS, the number of systems under audit drops substantially.
A well-scoped PCI environment may consist of: an isolated VPC, an ALB with WAF, a single encrypted RDS instance, and a Lambda token validator, while the rest of the application sits entirely outside PCI scope. Smaller scope means fewer controls, a shorter audit, and lower remediation costs.
Zero-trust & DevSecOps
Security built into the architecture, not bolted on after.
IAM least privilege
Every service role, user, and CI/CD pipeline role has only the permissions it needs. Wildcard actions and * resources are avoided by default and only used in the rare cases where AWS genuinely requires them, each one justified in code review. Service-to-service calls use IAM roles, not shared secrets or network-level trust.
VPC segmentation
Private subnets for every data-tier service. No public internet access for anything that does not require it. Strict security group rules with explicit allow-only configurations.
WAF on all public endpoints
OWASP rule sets active on every ALB and CloudFront distribution. Rate limiting, geo-restrictions, and managed rule groups for payment endpoint protection.
DevSecOps pipeline
Checkov and OPA scan Terraform plans before apply. SAST scans on every pull request. Secrets Manager integration so credentials never appear in environment variables or pipeline logs. Separate AWS accounts for dev, staging, and production.
GuardDuty behavioral detection
Anomalous access patterns, credential misuse, and unusual API calls flagged automatically. GuardDuty findings routed to the same on-call workflow as application alerts.
Security Hub posture management
Centralized findings from GuardDuty, Inspector, Macie, and Config. Continuous compliance scoring against PCI DSS, CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, and NIST CSF. Audit evidence generated continuously, not just at audit time.
Fintech sub-types
Architecture priorities by fintech vertical.
| Sub-Type | Primary Concern | Key AWS Services |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | PCI DSS, uptime, low latency | WAF, Shield, KMS, VPC CDE isolation, CloudTrail, ALB |
| Lending | SOC 2, data security, credit data handling | RDS encrypted with KMS, GuardDuty, IAM, CloudTrail |
| Insurtech | SOC 2, long-term data retention, audit trails | S3 Glacier, Config, CloudTrail, KMS |
| Trading | Low latency, uptime, order integrity | Enhanced networking, Placement Groups, Multi-AZ RDS, SQS FIFO |
| Neobanking | All of the above | Full compliance stack + DevSecOps + multi-account AWS Organizations |
How we engage
Three ways fintech teams bring us in.
PCI DSS buildout for payments and fintech startups
AWS environments architected for compliance without slowing product velocity: CDE isolation, WAF on payment endpoints, KMS encryption for cardholder data, CloudTrail evidence collection, and DevSecOps pipelines from day one. Common when a first PCI audit is approaching, a card network is requesting evidence of compliance, or a banking partner is running a security review.
Cloud migration and remediation for financial institutions
Architecture aligned to slower procurement cycles, 200+ item security questionnaires, and regulatory scrutiny. Common for on-premise to AWS migrations, new digital products requiring AWS, or architecture remediation following a regulatory finding.
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 readiness for lending and insurtech
Compliance-led AWS architecture aligned to enterprise procurement and investor diligence. Common when an enterprise customer requires SOC 2 before signing, during a Series B security diligence process, or before a new product line touches regulated data for the first time.
Common trigger events across all fintech: PCI audit in 90 days, SOC 2 required for the next enterprise contract, AWS bill growing faster than revenue, a production incident that exposed an architectural weakness, or a new product feature that pulls regulated data into the architecture.
FAQ
Common questions about fintech AWS compliance.
What is PCI DSS compliance on AWS?
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) requires organizations that process, store, or transmit cardholder data to implement security controls covering encryption, access controls, network segmentation, logging, and vulnerability management. On AWS, PCI DSS compliance requires: isolating the cardholder data environment (CDE) in a private VPC, encrypting card data with KMS, protecting applications with WAF, logging all API activity with CloudTrail, and running continuous threat detection with GuardDuty. AWS holds PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider certification for its infrastructure but that does not extend to what you build on top of it.
How does AWS help reduce PCI DSS scope?
PCI scope includes every system that touches, processes, or could affect cardholder data. By isolating the cardholder data environment (CDE) in a dedicated VPC with strict ingress/egress rules, using KMS for encryption at rest, and routing card data through a PCI-certified tokenization service before it reaches your infrastructure, you can minimize the scope of systems under PCI audit. Smaller scope means fewer controls to implement and a less expensive audit.
Is AWS PCI compliant? Do I still need to worry?
AWS holds PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider certification for its infrastructure. However, the shared responsibility model means your application, data handling, access controls, and configuration are your responsibility. AWS PCI certification does not extend to what you build on AWS. Forged Concepts handles the architecture decisions (VPC isolation, IAM policies, encryption configuration, WAF rules) that determine whether your application meets customer-side PCI requirements.
What is zero-trust security on AWS?
Zero-trust is a security model where no user, service, or network is trusted by default. Every access request is authenticated and authorized regardless of where it originates. On AWS, zero-trust means: IAM least privilege (no wildcard permissions), VPC security groups with explicit allow rules only, no implicit trust between services in the same VPC, and service-to-service authentication using IAM roles rather than hardcoded credentials. Forged Concepts implements zero-trust principles as the baseline for all fintech AWS environments.
What is DevSecOps on AWS?
DevSecOps integrates security into the CI/CD pipeline rather than treating it as a gate after development. For AWS infrastructure, this means: Terraform plans scanned with Checkov or OPA for security policy violations before apply, IAM policies reviewed in pull requests, container images scanned for vulnerabilities before deployment, and GuardDuty findings routed to the same on-call workflow as application alerts. Forged Concepts builds DevSecOps pipelines where security misconfigurations are caught before they reach production.
What is SOC 2 compliance for fintech?
SOC 2 evaluates whether your security controls (access controls, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy) are designed correctly (Type I) and operated effectively over time (Type II). For fintech, SOC 2 Type II is typically required by enterprise customers and financial institution partners. The AWS infrastructure foundations for SOC 2 include CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty, Secrets Manager, and documented access control policies. Forged Concepts builds these foundations and helps document the controls auditors examine.
What is AWS Security Hub?
AWS Security Hub aggregates security findings from GuardDuty, Inspector, Macie, Config, and third-party tools into a single dashboard with a compliance score against standards including CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, PCI DSS, and NIST CSF. It gives fintech teams a continuous view of their security posture without manually checking each service. Forged Concepts configures Security Hub as the central security management layer for fintech AWS environments.
Do you implement high availability and disaster recovery for fintech?
Yes. Fintech platforms require high availability (99.9%+ uptime) and defined RTO/RPO targets. Forged Concepts implements: Multi-AZ RDS for database availability, Route 53 health checks with automatic failover, cross-region replication for near-zero RPO, and Application Load Balancer health checks for automatic traffic failover. RTO and RPO targets are defined before architecture decisions are made.
Ready when you are
Need senior AWS expertise without building a full internal team?
Forged Concepts helps growing companies improve AWS performance, control cloud costs, modernize infrastructure, and build with confidence. If your team needs stronger cloud architecture, better operations, or a clearer path forward on AWS, let's talk.