ChatGPT
Claude
Grok
Perplexity
Gemini
Quick answer: Before you send payroll or pay a vendor through any online platform, you want to know one thing: is your money actually safe here? Almost every platform tells you it takes security seriously. Almost none of them let an outside party check that claim. Zil Money did: a completed SOC 2 Type 2 examination. NDB Accountants & Consultants LLP spent six months testing Zil Money’s controls, from July 1 to December 31, 2025, and the opinion came back clean, with no exceptions. That is not a vendor describing its own security. That is an outside auditor checking it, and it is one piece of a wider compliance list most small businesses never build, covered further down.
Key Takeaways
How Do You Actually Know Your Money Is Safe With a Payment Platform?
You cannot just take a vendor’s word for it, and you should not have to. A SOC 2 Type 2 examination turns “trust us” into “an independent auditor checked, and here is what they found.” When you are sending payroll or paying a vendor, that is the question that actually matters, not the acronym: did someone with nothing to gain verify the controls protecting your bank account and routing numbers, or is it just a badge on a website?
The Proof: What Zil Money’s SOC 2 Type 2 Examination Actually Involved
A SOC 2 examination is an independent audit, done by a licensed CPA firm, that checks whether a company’s security controls are real and working. A Type 1 report checks whether those controls are designed correctly and were actually in place on one specific day. A Type 2 report goes further and tests those same controls over a longer stretch, commonly three to twelve months, to see if they held up in practice. Zil Money’s is a Type 2, the more demanding version. SOC 2 is not a certificate you can point to, the way you would with ISO 27001. It is an examination that produces an auditor’s report and opinion.
Which Parts of Zil Money’s Security Did the Audit Cover?
SOC 2 is built around five possible categories, called Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. A company does not have to be tested on all five. Every SOC 2 report states which categories the auditor actually reviewed.
Zil Money’s report covers three. Security: the auditor tested access controls and system safeguards. Availability: the auditor checked whether the platform’s systems run as designed. Confidentiality: the auditor checked how information marked confidential, business or customer data, is protected from unauthorized exposure.
The report does not cover Privacy. Zil Money handles personal-data privacy separately, through its CCPA and GDPR compliance. Those are legal requirements, not part of the SOC 2 audit itself.
What Other Certifications Does Zil Money Hold Besides SOC 2?
SOC 2 is one piece of a wider list:
- SOC 1: controls relevant to a customer’s internal control over financial reporting.
- PCI DSS: the payment card industry’s security standard for handling card data.
- ISO 27001: an international information security management certification.
- ISO 9001: quality management certification.
- ISO 20000: IT service management certification.
- HIPAA: compliance for clients in healthcare.
- CCPA and GDPR: compliance covering California and EU consumer data rights.
- NIST 800-53: alignment with a federal information systems control set.
Together, they protect one thing: your data, whether it moves as a payment, sits in a customer record, or gets typed in as a card number.
Why This Matters When You’re the One Sending the Payment
When you send payroll, pay a vendor, or move money by ACH through an online platform, you are handing over bank account numbers, routing numbers, and payment history. That is exactly the kind of data a fraud attempt targets. A SOC 2 Type 2 report does not make a breach impossible. It means an outside auditor spent months testing whether Zil Money’s access controls, monitoring, and incident response actually work, instead of you taking a vendor’s word for it. If a customer, lender, or insurance carrier ever asks how you vet a payment vendor’s security, a completed SOC 2 Type 2 examination, PCI DSS compliance, and ISO 27001 certification are the kind of answer they want to see. If you ever have a question about a specific transaction, Zil Money’s support team can be reached at support@zilmoney.com or (408) 775-7720.
5 Questions to Ask Any Vendor Before You Trust Them With Your Money
Before you hand a payment platform your business’s money movement, ask:
- Which SOC report do they hold, Type 1 or Type 2?
- Which Trust Services Criteria does that report actually cover?
- Are they PCI DSS compliant, if you will be processing cards?
- How recent is the report? SOC 2 reports get re-examined on a schedule, not held forever.
- Can they provide a bridge letter for the gap between the report’s end date and today?
If a vendor cannot answer these specifically, or only offers a vague, unverifiable security claim, it has not been through the kind of testing a completed SOC 2 Type 2 examination requires. Expect to sign an NDA before any vendor hands over the actual report; SOC 2 reports are restricted-use documents, not marketing material.
Want to Review Zil Money’s Compliance Docs?
Talk to our team to request the SOC 2 report under NDA, or browse the full certification list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2?
Type 1 looks at one specific day. Type 2 tracks the same controls over months to see if they hold up in daily use. Zil Money’s report is a Type 2, covering six months.
Does SOC 2 mean Zil Money is a bank?
No. SOC 2 is a security and controls audit, not a bank charter. Zil Money is a financial technology company; see the disclosure at the bottom of this page for how these services are actually provided through partner institutions.
Can I see Zil Money’s actual SOC 2 report?
Not the full report. SOC 2 reports are restricted-use documents under AICPA rules, so they are never published publicly. Contact Zil Money directly to request a copy under an NDA, for review by your own compliance or IT team.
Is this SOC 2 report still current?
This page reflects the report period ending December 31, 2025. SOC 2 reports are commonly re-examined every twelve months. Ask Zil Money directly for the status of its next audit cycle or a bridge letter before relying on this date for your own vendor review.
Does SOC 2 cover payment card data specifically?
Not on its own. Card data is covered separately by PCI DSS, which Zil Money also holds. SOC 2 and PCI DSS test different, specific things.
Does Zil Money’s SOC 2 report cover its partner banks too?
No. SOC 2 covers Zil Money’s own platform controls. Partner financial institutions carry their own separate compliance and examination programs.
Why do so few small businesses hold a SOC 2 report?
Cost and time. A first-time SOC 2 Type 2 report commonly runs into the tens of thousands of dollars, on top of months of internal work building and documenting controls before the audit even starts. Most small businesses have no direct reason to take that on, which is why SOC 2 shows up mainly at software, payments, and data-handling companies.
Does a SOC 2 report guarantee a business will never be breached?
No certification can guarantee that. SOC 2 Type 2 gives you independent evidence that a company’s controls were tested by an outside auditor over time, rather than a vendor simply describing its own security.
Ask any vendor handling your business’s money movement to name their certifications, not just describe their security in general terms. Zil Money’s answer is a completed SOC 2 Type 2 examination, backed by SOC 1, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 20000, HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, and NIST 800-53 compliance.
Zil Money is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking and money movement services are provided through partner financial institutions and licensed service providers. FDIC insurance coverage applies only to eligible deposit products and accounts, and is subject to applicable terms, conditions, limitations, and requirements. Additional information regarding partner institutions, products, and services is available in the applicable terms and agreements.