Banking as a Service (BaaS) has emerged as a key enabler of innovation in the financial sector. By allowing companies to offer financial services through APIs and white-label platforms, BaaS is breaking down barriers and speeding up the launch of digital banks, fintechs, and embedded finance solutions. But behind this agility, security becomes a critical factor. After all, when you’re handling sensitive data and managing financial transactions, any vulnerability can have serious consequences — both regulatory and reputational. So, how can you ensure security in your BaaS project from day one? 1. Choose a Partner That Understands the Regulatory Landscape The Brazilian Central Bank has specific rules for institutions that operate in the financial ecosystem. Whether you’re building a digital account, payment gateway, credit infrastructure, or embedded finance solution, your project must comply with regulations such as: Resolution 80 (formerly 4,282): addresses data protection and technology risk Resolution 96: defines cybersecurity requirements for supervised institutions Circular 3,681 and Circular 3,682: regulate payment institutions Open Finance protocols and interoperability standards A qualified technology partner will not only help you build your product — they will guide you through the required security architecture and documentation to ensure compliance from the start. 2. Implement Governance, Access Control, and Audit Trails It’s not enough to simply build a functioning app or platform. Security governance must be embedded into the software’s foundations, including: Access control: who can view or modify data? Are there roles and permissions? Audit logs: is every action logged and traceable? Can you track who accessed what, when, and from where? Separation of environments: is your production environment isolated from testing/staging? Code versioning: do you have visibility into each code change and release? At Alphacode, we treat these points as non-negotiable. They are part of the delivery standard for every BaaS project — from the first MVP to full-scale rollout. 3. Encrypt Data at Rest and in Transit It may sound obvious, but encryption is still neglected in many platforms. Your architecture should guarantee: HTTPS for all API communication Encryption of sensitive data at rest (databases, storage) Secure management of keys and tokens Periodic penetration testing and vulnerability assessments In addition, all integrations — such as with credit bureaus, banking partners, and KYC providers — must be secure and fully documented. 4. Monitor Logs, Traffic, and Anomalies Real security is continuous. That’s why proactive monitoring is essential. Are your logs centralized and accessible for quick diagnosis? Is there an alert system for abnormal behavior, such as login attempts or fraudulent activity? Are you using WAFs, firewalls, and rate limiting for your public APIs? Good practices like these can prevent damage and ensure faster response if something does go wrong. 5. Educate Your Team and Your Users Security is a cultural value. It doesn’t live only in code, but in people’s behavior. Train your internal teams on: Secure development practices Responsible data handling Recognizing phishing attempts and social engineering Also invest in educating your users, especially in onboarding and support, to prevent unnecessary