Control Gap

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of Rise Financial, a financial solutions platform. We offer prepaid business cards for small and medium Canadian businesses so they can manage their expenses better. We also offer money collection services through e-transfer networks so businesses can have their own custom Rise Financial email. That way, the money they collect from their client goes directly to their prepaid cards. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Control Gap?

As a credit card business, we were only allowed by Visa to leverage credit cards if we were PCI compliant. Companies working in the payment card industry must undergo security assessments, a huge part of the PCI compliance network. Given that, we needed a company to help us assess our solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Control Gap used their security knowledge to review our architecture diagrams, solutions, and data flow. By the end of the engagement, they provided us with recommendations on what we should fix in our solution. 

After all the fixes were done, they did a final review of the solution and gave us a certificate saying that we were compliant. They provided these services remotely. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least three people from Control Gap, including their security analyst. We also worked with their lead auditor, implementor, and project control officer.

How did you come to work with Control Gap?

The bank we worked with recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $8,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from July–August 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The engagement ensured our partners that our system was safe and reliable. Their recommendations and reviews improved our solution’s security. 

How did Control Gap perform from a project management standpoint?

Control Gap’s project management style was highly organized. They met deadlines and stayed within our budget. They had their own custom project management dashboard, which we had access to; we communicated via email and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a Canadian company and knew the Canadian market and regulations. They weren’t a huge agency, so we could talk directly to their architect. Moreover, the quality of their work was great. They explained everything they’d be doing for us, and we had a clear picture of the engagement before we started the project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. Everything went smoothly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your homework to understand what you need. That way, you can ask Control Gap the right questions. They’ll explain everything to you if necessary — they’re truly knowledgeable.