Timelines by engagement type
These timelines reflect what we see consistently across our fintech engagements. They cover the active testing window only, not the scoping, reporting, and retest phases which add additional time on either side.
Web application pentest: 1–2 weeks
A standard web application with user authentication, role-based access, a dashboard, and core business functionality (payments, account management, transaction history) typically requires five to ten business days of active testing. The lower end applies to simpler applications with a handful of user roles and straightforward workflows. The upper end applies to platforms with complex multi-step flows, admin portals, multiple integration points, and payment processing logic.
For a payment gateway with merchant onboarding, transaction processing, settlement flows, and an admin dashboard, expect closer to two weeks. For a consumer-facing wallet app with limited backend complexity, one week is often sufficient for the web application layer.
Mobile application pentest: 2–3 weeks
Mobile testing takes longer because you are testing multiple layers simultaneously: the mobile client (Android and iOS binaries), the backend API, and the interaction between them. Static analysis of the compiled application, dynamic analysis during runtime, certificate pinning validation, local data storage review, and session management testing all add time beyond what a web app requires.
If your fintech has both a web application and mobile apps sharing the same backend API, a combined engagement is more efficient than separate tests. The API testing overlaps, and testers can identify inconsistencies in how the web and mobile clients handle the same endpoints. See our mobile app pentest guide for scope details.
API-only pentest: 1–2 weeks
If you are a B2B fintech providing APIs to other platforms (payment processing, identity verification, credit scoring), your primary attack surface is your API. Testing covers: authentication and authorisation across all endpoints, input validation, rate limiting, webhook security, error handling, and business logic flows. The timeline depends on the number of endpoints and the complexity of multi-step operations. A payment API with 30 endpoints and a complex disbursement flow takes longer than a KYC verification API with 8 endpoints.
Infrastructure pentest: 3–5 days
Infrastructure testing focuses on your cloud environment: network configuration, firewall rules, service exposure, patch levels, secrets management, and container security. For a typical fintech running on AWS or GCP with a handful of services, this takes three to five business days. Larger environments with multiple VPCs, Kubernetes clusters, and extensive service meshes take longer. See our cloud security checklist for what gets covered.
Full-scope engagement: 3–5 weeks
A full-scope engagement combining web application, mobile apps, API, and infrastructure testing typically runs three to five weeks of active testing. This is the most common engagement type for fintechs preparing for their first major regulatory audit or enterprise partnership. It provides a comprehensive security baseline across your entire attack surface.
Add 4–6 weeks on top of testing for the full engagement lifecycle
The testing window is only the middle phase. Add 1–2 weeks for scoping, SOW, and environment setup before testing starts. Add 3–5 days for report writing after testing ends. Add 2–4 weeks for your team's remediation. Add 2–5 days for retest. A "two-week pentest" is actually a six to eight week process from first conversation to final deliverables.
Factors that extend the timeline
Environment readiness
The single biggest cause of delays is a test environment that is not ready on day one. Expired API keys, staging environments that are not deployed, missing test data, or credentials that do not work at the correct permission levels all eat into the testing window. Every day spent troubleshooting environment issues is a day not spent finding vulnerabilities. See our preparation guide for a readiness checklist.
Application complexity
A lending platform with credit scoring, disbursement, repayment, collections, and reporting modules has more attack surface than a single-purpose payment link generator. Complexity is not just about endpoint count. It is about the number of distinct business flows, user roles, state transitions, and integration points that need testing.
Scope changes mid-engagement
Adding endpoints, modules, or environments to the scope after testing has started disrupts the testing plan. If you discover during the engagement that a critical module was left out of scope, it is better to handle it as a scope amendment with adjusted timeline and pricing than to ask testers to "squeeze it in."
Team responsiveness
During grey-box testing, testers will have questions about application behaviour, business rules, and intended functionality. A team that responds to questions within hours keeps the engagement on schedule. A team that takes two days to respond to a Slack message extends the timeline proportionally.
Planning around deadlines
CBN audit preparation
If you have a CBN audit scheduled, work backwards. You need: the final deliverables (updated report, retest certificate, attestation letter) ready at least two weeks before the audit date for internal review. The retest takes one week. Remediation takes two to four weeks. Testing takes one to three weeks. Scoping and setup take one to two weeks. For a two-week web app pentest, start the process ten to twelve weeks before your audit date.
Product launch
Do not schedule a pentest for the week before launch. Schedule it for six to eight weeks before launch so your team has time to remediate findings before go-live. A pentest that delivers results after launch defeats the purpose. For pre-launch planning, see our article on security audits before launch.
Fundraising
Investors conducting technical due diligence will ask for your most recent pentest report. Have one ready before the process starts. An outdated report or one with open critical findings creates friction in due diligence. Complete the full engagement cycle, including remediation and retest, before you enter fundraising. See our guide on security before fundraising.
Need to scope a pentest around a specific deadline?
Plan Your Engagement TimelineHow to accelerate the process
The fastest way to shorten the overall engagement timeline is to invest time in preparation before testing starts. Have your test environment deployed and functional. Prepare API documentation or Postman collections. Create test user accounts across all permission levels. Seed realistic test data. Name an engineering contact who can respond to questions same-day. The engagements that finish on time are the ones where the client was ready on day one.
Related reading
Blog: What to expect from an engagement · How a Simpa Labs pentest works · When to schedule a security audit
Guides: How to book a pentest · Pentest pricing guide · Tools & methodology
Services: Penetration testing · API security · Vulnerability assessment