The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is one of the most significant regulations to impact the European financial and fintech sector in recent years. As financial services continue shifting to the digital space, dependency on cloud providers, APIs, and external IT infrastructures creates new...
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is one of the most significant regulations to impact the European financial and fintech sector in recent years. As financial services continue shifting to the digital space, dependency on cloud providers, APIs, and external IT infrastructures creates new risks. Cybersecurity incidents, ICT failures, or third-party outages can directly affect millions of customers and the financial system’s stability. To address these challenges, the European Union has introduced DORA, together with the DORA Register of Information, as a harmonized framework for operational resilience.
This article explores the importance of DORA, its impact on the fintech sector, and why the Register of Information is a critical compliance requirement.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act, commonly known as DORA, was adopted in January 2023 as part of the EU’s Digital Finance Package. It has been enforceable since January 2025, giving financial institutions and fintech companies a unified set of rules across the EU for how they must prepare for and manage ICT risks.
DORA focuses on five key areas:
This broad scope ensures that banks, insurance firms, crypto exchanges, trading venues, and fintech startups are aligned under one EU-wide operational resilience standard.
The fintech industry has rapidly transformed the way consumers interact with money, from digital wallets and mobile banking to peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurrency services. However, this digital-first approach also makes fintechs highly reliant on external ICT providers, such as cloud services, cybersecurity vendors, and data processors.
For fintechs, DORA introduces both challenges and opportunities:
Ultimately, DORA compels fintechs to embed cyber resilience into their core operations, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Among DORA’s most practical obligations is the Register of Information on ICT third-party arrangements. This register is not optional—it is a mandatory compliance tool designed to bring transparency to how financial and fintech firms use ICT providers.
The Register of Information should contain detailed records of:
The Register of Information helps regulators identify systemic risks. For example, if several banks and fintechs depend on a single cloud provider, any outage could disrupt the entire sector. By maintaining this register, fintechs also gain better control of their own vendor risks, ensuring they have alternatives if a provider fails.
Failure to maintain an up-to-date register could lead to fines, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties. On the other hand, well-prepared companies will demonstrate operational resilience and regulatory alignment.
With DORA now in force, fintechs should ensure they have:
If you want to manage these tasks in one place, CyberUpgrade can help centralize DORA compliance activities—from vendor oversight and the Register of Information to incident workflows—without adding heavy operational overhead.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) represents a major shift in how financial services approach ICT risk management. For the fintech sector, it is both a compliance obligation and an opportunity to strengthen trust and long-term stability. The introduction of the DORA Register of Information ensures transparency in third-party ICT arrangements and provides regulators with the tools to monitor systemic risks.
As fintech continues to expand, operational resilience will become a competitive edge, not just a legal requirement. Companies that maintain strong controls and documentation will be better equipped to thrive in a digital financial ecosystem where security and reliability are essential.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a regulation adopted by the EU to ensure that financial institutions can withstand and recover from ICT-related disruptions.
ICT Risk Management involves the governance and processes that organizations implement to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with information and communication technologies.
Incident Reporting in DORA refers to the standardized requirements for financial institutions to report significant ICT incidents to regulators promptly.
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