A collaborative fintech platform, B-Hive, is launching a cyber-security program, Trusted Fintech, to help start-ups and scale-ups embed cyber awareness into their core values. By providing a thorough, five-module program, B-Hive aims to increase the cyber-security resilience and compliance of fintech start-ups and scale-ups. Trusted Fintech was announced at Digital Finance Europe ’18 in Brussels.

The program aims to increase the trust within the general public in the fintech market space by improving the companies’ skills and processes and offering them practical insights and innovative technologies, delivered by cybersecurity members of the B-Hive community.

Overall, the program includes five core modules that focus on three different dimensions – people, process and technology.

The main goals of the Trusted Fintech Program are to encourage start-ups to look at security from day one, embed it in their start-up DNA and create a collective responsibility in their rapidly-growing organizations. Upon successful completion of the program, they will receive the “Trusted Fintech” label, showing to their partners and customers that they take cybersecurity seriously.

“I am very excited about this program as it reflects what B-Hive is all about: connecting the dots in Finance. The program leverages know-how and technical capabilities of one part of our ecosystem to benefit the other part for the greater good of increased levels of trust in Financial Services, bottom line making it easier for our community to do business.”, says Patrick Coomans, CyberHive and TrustedFintech Program Manager. “I also want to thank our cyber-security members for their contributions: Bitsensor, Cranium, Digitribe, ICT Control, iGuards, Intigriti, NVISO, Onegini, Secure Code Warrior and Sweepatic.”

“There is a strong demand from our start-up and scale-up community for specific services that shorten the sales cycle with financial service clients. The TrustedFintech initiative will contribute greatly to accelerate the due diligence and procurement process. This will benefit financial services institutions and fintechs alike.”, says Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Chairman of B-Hive.

“It is a misconception that fintechs and banks are opponents. Banks need fintechs for their digitisation projects and fintechs need to leverage the expertise of banks to deliver on their selling proposition. However, lack of visibility about cyber risk management capacity and strict rules, including in the area of outsourcing, are often a stumbling block to smooth cooperation between fintechs and banks. With this label, we offer a solution to this problem. A quality label will help fintechs and banks to work together more quickly. This is a unique initiative in Europe that has Febelfin’s full support.”, says Karel Van Eetvelt, CEO of Febelfin.

“The result of Digital transformation and Open Banking is that our risk landscape is more and more including external solutions that we don’t operate and protect ourselves. We see that with smaller start-ups and scale-ups there is often a gap between their notion of cyber-security and the level of protection we require them to have. That is why we are so supportive of the B-Hive Trusted Fintech program, as it really aims to immerse the staff of those companies, from the developers to the founders, in the world of Information Protection. Organizations joining this program give us an important signal of how much they value the safeguarding of information, ultimately protecting brand and reputation.” says Jan Nys, General Manager Information Risk and Infrastructure Architecture of KBC Group.

“Our customers expect banking solutions that are easy and safe to use. We do this by applying high standards in the areas of quality, reliability, security, and the protection of data and privacy – both for internally developed solutions, as well as for those that are built with partners. For that reason, we welcome B-Hive’s TrustedFintech Program. It will raise awareness among FinTechs and enable them to design solutions that integrate security and privacy requirements from the start.”, says Jan De Blauwe, Head of Global Security at BNP Paribas Fortis.