5x CTO in Regulated & High-Scale Environments

Fractional CTO for FinTech

Regulators asking hard questions about your technology governance? Payment infrastructure creaking under growth? Security questionnaires stalling enterprise deals? Get a senior CTO who has been through FCA scrutiny, PCI DSS audits, and payments architecture at scale — without the full-time cost.

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FCA-regulated delivery experience

PCI DSS & SOC 2 readiness

Payments architecture at scale

Romain Eude

Fractional CTO

5x CTO, 25+ Years, Exit Founder

Five CTO roles across fintech, media and SaaS — including co-founding Utelly, acquired by Synamedia.

• Payments & transaction architecture

• Security & compliance roadmaps

• Fraud & risk system design

• Regulated engineering governance

CTO Roles

25+

Years in Tech

Successful Exit

100M+

Users Served

Fractional CTO services for fintech

941 Consulting provides fractional CTO services for fintech and payments companies in the UK and Europe, led by Romain Eude — a 5x CTO with 25+ years in technology and a successful exit (Utelly, acquired by Synamedia). In fintech, technology leadership is not optional: the FCA expects accountable governance, enterprise buyers expect SOC 2 and PCI DSS answers, and your payments stack has to survive both growth and audit. Experienced fintech CTO contractors in the UK charge £1,000–£1,800 per day; fractional engagements here start from £699/month, with a free 30-minute strategy call to begin.

Why FinTech Founders Bring Me In

I have held five CTO roles over 25+ years, building and running technology organisations where uptime, data integrity and auditability were contractual obligations, not aspirations. I co-founded Utelly and led it through to acquisition by Synamedia — so I have sat on your side of the table through technical due diligence, not just advised on it.

In the fintech sector, I have worked on payments infrastructure, transaction processing, and the security and compliance posture that regulated businesses live or die by. I know what an FCA-supervised tech function needs to evidence, what a PCI DSS assessor will ask, and what an enterprise bank's vendor security review actually scores.

Most importantly, I translate between compliance requirements and engineering reality. Your team keeps shipping product while governance, resilience and audit evidence get built into the way you work — not bolted on before a deadline.

What You Get From Day One

Regulatory-Grade Governance

Technology governance, risk registers and audit trails the FCA expects

Compliance Roadmap

Pragmatic path to PCI DSS scope reduction and SOC 2 readiness

Payments Architecture Review

Resilience, reconciliation and scale in your transaction stack

Enterprise Sales Support

Security questionnaires and vendor reviews answered with authority

Exit-Tested Leadership

A CTO who has been through acquisition due diligence himself

FinTech Challenges I Solve

FCA Authorisation & Supervision

Technology governance, operational resilience and evidence the FCA expects from an authorised firm - built into how your team works.

PCI DSS & SOC 2

Scope reduction, control design and audit readiness that satisfy assessors without freezing product delivery.

Payments Architecture

Transaction processing, reconciliation, idempotency and failover - infrastructure that stays correct under load.

Fraud & Risk Systems

Real-time fraud detection, transaction monitoring and risk scoring that balance loss rates against false declines.

Legacy Core Banking Integrations

Connecting modern product stacks to core banking platforms, BaaS providers and legacy rails without destabilising either side.

Security Posture for Enterprise Deals

Vendor security reviews, penetration test remediation and questionnaire responses that stop stalling your sales pipeline.

FinTech CTO Services

Technology & Compliance Audit

Independent review of architecture, security controls and regulatory readiness, with a prioritised action plan.

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Payments & Platform Architecture

Design and scale transaction processing, reconciliation and integrations with banks, BaaS and payment schemes.

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Security & Compliance Roadmap

PCI DSS scoping, SOC 2 readiness and security programmes that turn compliance into a sales asset.

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Fraud & Risk Engineering

Transaction monitoring, fraud detection and risk scoring systems tuned for your loss appetite.

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Engineering Team Leadership

Hire, structure and lead engineering teams that ship in a regulated environment without slowing down.

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Due Diligence Support

Technical due diligence for fundraising or acquisition - from a founder who has been through an exit.

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FinTech CTO FAQ

How much does a fractional CTO cost for a fintech company?

Engagements start from £699/month for async advisory, with hands-on fractional plans at £2,499, £4,799 and £9,599 per month depending on time commitment. Compare that with the UK fintech contractor market, where experienced CTOs typically charge £1,000–£1,800 per day. A fractional model gives you the same seniority for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

Do you have FCA and regulatory compliance experience?

Yes. I have led technology in regulated financial environments and know what FCA authorisation and supervision demand from a tech function: documented governance, operational resilience, audit trails, incident management and vendor oversight. I also guide teams through PCI DSS scoping and SOC 2 readiness, so security and compliance become sales assets rather than deal blockers.

How quickly can you start?

Typically within one to two weeks. The first step is a free 30-minute consultation to understand your situation. From there I can begin with a focused technology and compliance review, or step directly into a fractional CTO role - no six-month executive search, no lengthy procurement cycle.

Is a part-time CTO enough for a regulated fintech?

For most fintechs before Series B, yes. Regulators and enterprise customers care that someone senior owns technology governance, security and resilience - not that the person is full-time. A fractional CTO gives you accountable leadership for board meetings, audits, due diligence and architecture decisions, while your engineering team handles day-to-day delivery. When you eventually need a full-time CTO, I help you hire one and hand over cleanly.

Do you cover both the UK and the EU?

Yes. I work with fintechs across the UK and Europe, remote-first with on-site visits where needed. I am based in the Netherlands - a short trip from London, Amsterdam and Paris - and I have run distributed teams across UK and EU time zones for over a decade, including businesses navigating both FCA and EU regulatory regimes.