The World Economic Forum has established an international consortium to strengthen cyber security for fintech companies and data aggregators.

Founding members include Zurich, fintech lender Kabbage, information technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise and financial infrastructure provider The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.

“Cyber breaches recorded by businesses have almost doubled since 2013 and the estimated cost of cyber crime is $US8 trillion ($10.24 trillion) over the next five years,” Zurich CEO Mario Greco said. “We expect the consortium to help adopt best cyber-security practices and reduce the complexity of diverging cyber regulation around the world.”

The consortium was formed after the World Economic Forum flagged the growing threat of cyber attacks as a key concern for the global financial system.

Its aim is to create a framework for the assessment of cyber security in financial technology.

“Fintechs can only deliver on their customer experience promises if the financial system is able to manage the risks adequately,” Matthew Blake, Head of Financial and Monetary System Initiative at the World Economic Forum, said.

“This consortium will offer technology companies a clear goalpost and thus enable them to implement sound cyber-security measures at the product design stage.”