In the past few years, fintech has become one of the fastest-growing services. According to EY Global research, 96% of global consumers can name at least one fintech service, and 64% have used one. The reason fintech started gaining such mass adoption is due to its beneficial rates and low fees.
Fintech, or financial technology, refers to any new technology that is used to automate and improve traditional banking services. Any company that offers financial service through software or other technology can be described as fintech. To succeed in a highly competitive fintech world, you have to map out each of your steps and a financial app development company can help you with this. Here are some basic steps you need to undertake to develop a powerful fintech app.
To start developing a fintech app, you must decide upon its primary purposes and its niche. Your app won't get on top by being Jack-of-all-trades. If you want to create an app for selling and buying cryptocurrency, you build a trading app; if you strive to help people manage their savings, your app's niche would be wealthtech. There are different types of financial technology applications:
Since fintech involves dealing with people's funds, you must pay close attention and comply with international and national regulations like ePrivacy, European GDPR, PCI DSS security, AML, and KYC policies. Conforming to the legal requirements is a vital factor on your road to success.
Do Marketing Research and Define Main Feature App Set
The research stage involves doing target market research, gathering relevant data, developing buyer persona, and analyzing competitor offers. You also have to assemble a team that incorporates a product manager, designers, business analysts, QA engineers, backend and frontend developers, etc.
Define the project's primary goal, user problems (their pains) that the app solves, and the app's chief functions. To do everything right, you should enlist professional support beforehand. A professional app development company can swiftly assemble a team of specialists and build an ideal fintech app for you.
One of the reasons why fintech apps have been so popular is the widespread use of mobile devices. Over 1.5 billion smartphones have already been sold in 2021. The more people have access to technology and the internet, the more prospects the financial technology industry will have. Fintech apps must incorporate a specific set of features to attract a wider audience.
In addition to those features is the ultimate evaluation of the usefulness of your fintech app.
Users are always at the core of any app's user experience (UX). UX design is the functional backbone of the app. Creating a clean user interface and UX with lots of micro-interactions will increase the user-friendliness of your app several-fold and convert regular visitors into customers.
To improve your UI/UX, you can use guides for iOS and Android apps. Don’t forget to consider the global context (localization, text placement for various languages, etc.) when completing this step.
Having received an idea of the design and the list of required functions, the developers begin creating UX. The technology stack they choose for the frontend and backend depends on the platform, solution architecture, integrations required, security tools, and other factors.
In collaboration with a seasoned Project Manager, development, and QA experts, you must identify the constraints and tech stack. Here are several approaches that can help you in this process:
The cost of building an app depends on various factors like its features, design, etc. App development with simple UI and principal features for a single platform will cost about $20,000-$40,000. The cost of building the best-in-class fintech app with advanced features will start from $40,000 and go up to $70,000. Creating a feature-rich fintech app on both Android and iOS platforms with a complex UI will cost from $70,000 to $125,000.
From UI/UX Design to post-launch support, the app development process may take six months or longer.
MVP is a solution for product management that works exceptionally well at the early stage of product development. MVP provides just enough features to test if there is a need for the product. An MVP helps you get early data about customers without risking a fortune. Here are the main reasons why launching an MVP is a good idea:
Life doesn't stop, and new things appear on the market constantly. Digital platforms have eliminated the need to queue up at the banks and shortened telephone service wait times. To gain a competitive edge on similar projects, you have to stay on the verge of the latest trends. After launching your app, it's time to keep upgrading and improving it as you start getting feedback from users. Subsequent support is also vital to the app's success. Speed and quality of resolving users' inquiries matter when it comes to an overall app evaluation.
Sources:
Decide Your Niche and Care About Legal Compliance
To start developing a fintech app, you must decide upon its primary purposes and its niche. Your app won't get on top by being Jack-of-all-trades. If you want to create an app for selling and buying cryptocurrency, you build a trading app; if you strive to help people manage their savings, your app's niche would be wealthtech. There are different types of financial technology applications:
- trading apps;
- wealthtech;
- mobile banking;
- loan lending;
- payment apps;
- insurtech.
Since fintech involves dealing with people's funds, you must pay close attention and comply with international and national regulations like ePrivacy, European GDPR, PCI DSS security, AML, and KYC policies. Conforming to the legal requirements is a vital factor on your road to success.
Do Marketing Research and Define Main Feature App Set
The research stage involves doing target market research, gathering relevant data, developing buyer persona, and analyzing competitor offers. You also have to assemble a team that incorporates a product manager, designers, business analysts, QA engineers, backend and frontend developers, etc.
Define the project's primary goal, user problems (their pains) that the app solves, and the app's chief functions. To do everything right, you should enlist professional support beforehand. A professional app development company can swiftly assemble a team of specialists and build an ideal fintech app for you.
One of the reasons why fintech apps have been so popular is the widespread use of mobile devices. Over 1.5 billion smartphones have already been sold in 2021. The more people have access to technology and the internet, the more prospects the financial technology industry will have. Fintech apps must incorporate a specific set of features to attract a wider audience.
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Custom notifications | Engagement |
| Two-factor authentication, biometrics | Security |
| AI-powered chatbots | Assistance |
| API integration | Data synchronization |
| Cashback | Loyalty rewards |
Care About User-Friendly App
Users are always at the core of any app's user experience (UX). UX design is the functional backbone of the app. Creating a clean user interface and UX with lots of micro-interactions will increase the user-friendliness of your app several-fold and convert regular visitors into customers.
To improve your UI/UX, you can use guides for iOS and Android apps. Don’t forget to consider the global context (localization, text placement for various languages, etc.) when completing this step.
Having received an idea of the design and the list of required functions, the developers begin creating UX. The technology stack they choose for the frontend and backend depends on the platform, solution architecture, integrations required, security tools, and other factors.
Define Development Approach, Time, and Costs
In collaboration with a seasoned Project Manager, development, and QA experts, you must identify the constraints and tech stack. Here are several approaches that can help you in this process:
- High-quality real-time customer analytics (tracks user behavior, analyzes colossal data amounts, and creates a portrait of clients for better UX and personalization);
- Optimizing cash flow management (reduces the costs associated with data loss, errors, and time wasted on cash flow control);
- Reducing associated costs (for instance, AI-powered chatbots can reduce call center staff, and direct money transfer apps help avoid bank fees);
- High return on investment (only experienced software companies who develop user-friendly and helpful products with optimal cost-effectiveness will guarantee you high investment returns).
The cost of building an app depends on various factors like its features, design, etc. App development with simple UI and principal features for a single platform will cost about $20,000-$40,000. The cost of building the best-in-class fintech app with advanced features will start from $40,000 and go up to $70,000. Creating a feature-rich fintech app on both Android and iOS platforms with a complex UI will cost from $70,000 to $125,000.
From UI/UX Design to post-launch support, the app development process may take six months or longer.
MVP Development
MVP is a solution for product management that works exceptionally well at the early stage of product development. MVP provides just enough features to test if there is a need for the product. An MVP helps you get early data about customers without risking a fortune. Here are the main reasons why launching an MVP is a good idea:
- saving your budget (with MVP, you can develop a value bringing product in three months with no more than a $40,000 budget); collect users' feedback (your MVP users will tell you about the features they enjoyed and the features you need to change in the next update);
- It's crucial to try out your innovative idea without spending too much time and funds. MVP gives you the foundation of the product necessary to understand customers' wants and analyze whether they are ready to pay for what you are bringing to the table.
Keep on Developing and Improving
Life doesn't stop, and new things appear on the market constantly. Digital platforms have eliminated the need to queue up at the banks and shortened telephone service wait times. To gain a competitive edge on similar projects, you have to stay on the verge of the latest trends. After launching your app, it's time to keep upgrading and improving it as you start getting feedback from users. Subsequent support is also vital to the app's success. Speed and quality of resolving users' inquiries matter when it comes to an overall app evaluation.
Sources:
- https://chisw.com/how-to-create-a-fintech-app/
- https://tipalti.com/fintech-stats-for-2021/
- https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-02-03-gartner-says-worldwide-smartphone-sales-to-grow-11-percent-in-2021
- https://www.intellectsoft.net/blog/fintech-trends-in-mobile-app-development/
- https://www.mindk.com/blog/cost-to-develop-a-fintech-app/
- https://huskyjam.com/blog/how-to-make-a-fintech-app/
- https://usmsystems.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-a-fintech-app/
