Financial Regulation

for Modern Companies

Compliance isn’t red tape—it’s how you win enterprise deals, keep banking partners, and scale across borders. Aetos acts as your Fractional Chief Compliance Officer to design controls that move with your product.

Who needs this (banks & beyond)

  • Banks: the obvious answer.

  • Fintech-adjacent SaaS & marketplaces: payouts, stored value, financing, “balance” screens.

  • Payments/lending/wealth apps: even with a sponsor bank or processor, you still need a program.

  • Traditional businesses with finance features: gift cards, loyalty, BNPL, referrals, warranties.

  • Marketing teams: claims about rates, fees, safety, or deposit insurance trigger rules.

If you sell to enterprises or regulated partners, clean compliance shortens procurement and reduces “legal review” churn

  • What good looks like: 8 building blocks

    1. Activity & licensing map
    What you do, where you do it, who the customer is. Decide: license, registration, or partner.

    2. Risk appetite & control design
    Set clear guardrails. Right-size controls to your stage (no bloat, no gaps).

    3. AML/KYC & sanctions
    CDD/EDD, ongoing monitoring, investigations, SAR/escalation pathways, sanctions screening.

    4. Consumer protection & complaints
    Fair, clear, not misleading; fee/rate clarity; quick complaint intake and takedowns.

    5. Data, privacy & security
    Data inventory, purpose limits, retention, access control; align with security program.

    6. Safeguarding / funds handling
    Separation of customer funds, reconciliation, reporting; partner oversight where applicable.

    7. Outsourcing & vendor oversight
    Due diligence pack, SLAs, right-to-audit, exit plans, continuous monitoring.

    8. Records, reporting & testing
    If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen. Monitoring, QA, thematic reviews, board reporting.

  • Regional snapshots (US - UK - EU)

    United States:

    Federal + state mosaic (e.g., money transmission, lending/credit advertising, UDAAP).

    Marketing rules (e.g., Reg Z, Reg DD) may apply via partners.

    Strong expectations around AML, sanctions, complaints, and vendor oversight.

    United Kingdom

    FCA authorization/permissions by activity.

    Consumer Duty: fair value, clear understanding, and good support.

    Financial promotions must be fair, clear, and not misleading; approvals where required.

    European Union

    Payments/e-money framework with local supervision.

    AML, sanctions, and GDPR-first privacy expectations.

    Outsourcing rules emphasize risk, oversight, and resilience.

    We build one operating model, then localize where rules differ.

Marketing & growth guardrails (revenue-first)

Your fastest path to revenue is clean claims and repeatable approvals. We use our Marketing Compliance Toolkit to keep campaigns fast and defensible.

15 common “jobs” Aetos covers:

  1. Social posts

  2. Bulk email (CAN-SPAM)

  3. Text/calls (TCPA/FTSA)

  4. Landing pages

  5. Deposit rate ads (Reg DD)

  6. Credit ads (Reg Z/RESPA/EHL)

  7. Paid social targeting/fairness

  8. Testimonials/endorsements

  9. Contest/sweepstakes

  10. Co-marketing/affiliates

  11. NDIP disclaimers

  12. FDIC/EHL marks

  13. Complaints & takedowns

  14. Vendor oversight (ESP/SMS/influencers)

  15. Employee advocacy

FAQs

Do we need our own license if we have a partner?
Maybe. It depends on the activity, who “makes the promise,” and your markets. We’ll map options.

How do we keep marketing fast without risk?
Standard language blocks, Go/No-Go gates, and a short approvals path. Less rework, faster launches.

What does a Fractional CCO engagement look like?
Hands-on design, implementation, and reporting—without hiring a full department.

How soon can we look credible to enterprises?
With clear artifacts and training, many teams reach a strong posture in 60–90 days.