The financial industry constantly adapts to technological advances to ensure security, reliability, and customer happiness. Fintech app development gives banks and other similar organizations more freedom facilitates data protection and ease of use for customers and expands banking opportunities to people around the globe. If you're considering setting up a banking or financial application, this guide explains the various types of fintech services, essential criteria in Fintech, and the expenditure of making a financial app. Read on to find out more!
What is a Fintech App?
Fintech is a term for technology that relates to financial services. Firms can use advanced technology and industry-standard safeguards to create user-friendly and secure applications that automate, streamline, and enhance financial services for enterprises and consumers.
The development of financing apps for mobile devices running on iOS, Android, Symbian, or Windows Phone consists of the app's creation. As of now, Apple and Android are the two leading mobile operating systems facilitating these mobile applications.
Advantages of Using Payment Solution Apps
Integrating technology into the finance industry has benefited businesses and users. These advantages include the following:
Variety of payment options
A vast selection of payment possibilities is now available to businesses and consumers because of the growth of Fintech. Adding an extra payment method to an app or website costs less and is more secure due to the use of technology.
More accessible and affordable financing
New businesses often need help to get approved for a loan to expand or launch their operations. Individuals with an extended credit history can also avoid obstacles when getting a bank loan. Fintech app development can disrupt the credit market and allow people alternative ways to acquire funding.
Access to Investing
Traditionally, investing in the market has been a highly selective and challenging endeavor to break into. However, with the help of fintech app development, investing is highly accessible and economical for anyone who wants to do so. Many investment apps can offer advice and direction on how to intelligently invest.
Ivanna
Client Manager
Contact us, and we will share our case studies related to fintech software development
Get a Free ConsultationMain Types of Fintech Apps
To decide how to build a Fintech app, you must carefully choose the correct route for its growth.
Banking Apps / NeoBank Apps
Most banks favor utilizing mobile banking applications to offer improved services to their customers, but only a few effectively satisfy their customers' desires. Banking applications enable people to quickly and easily transfer and manage their finances without going to the bank.
Examples of successful mobile banking applications are Revolt, Starling, Monese, etc.
Loan Apps
Peer-to-peer lending apps allow users to get funding for their business ideas, settle student loans, or even make the initial payment on their homes. Kiva is a platform that allows users to borrow smaller amounts of money and pay it back without interest.
RegTech Apps
RegTech, or regulatory technology, is a sector of the economy that gives businesses Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions and cloud computing to help them meet regulatory compliance requirements. Machine Learning and Big Data in-app technologies reduce the risk of fraud and cyber threats and increase overall compliance.
Personal Finance Apps
These apps allow for budgeting, accounting, and management of financial resources, as well as give users knowledge about various investment strategies, taxes, and types of insurance.
The range of personal finance mobile applications varies from providing learning materials to accounting software and even issuing tailored advice based on user data. An example of one such app is Mint, which includes budgeting, goal setting, expenditure tracking, reporting, and other features.
Cryptocurrency Apps
The demand for such finance-related software is constantly increasing, and it would be wise to take a closer look into the potential of this kind of app. Coinbase, Binance, and FXF (a program our company worked on) are some of the top fintech apps in the crypto market.
Trading / Stock Apps
Investment management solutions like Addepar provide users with valuable data and analytics to optimize their investments. Addepar is tailored explicitly to advisors and investors, and its features can manage all types of assets, regardless of currency.
Insurance Apps
These apps aim to accelerate the management of policies and the implementation of insurance. With the help of an insurance app, people everywhere can quickly obtain coverage. If you are considering apps for Fintech in the insurance industry, pay attention to the BIMA app.
Mortgage Apps
Thanks to these apps, people can quickly get a mortgage with just a few button presses on their cell phones. No longer need to wait in lines and sign many forms. Prominent mortgage apps include Rocket Mortgage, Mortgage by Zillow, and other offerings.
Major Requirements for Fintech App Development
Handling people's money is an activity that requires careful management, as misplacing or mishandling someone's finances can result in serious repercussions, including imprisonment. How can one make a fintech app that meets everyone's expectations? Be sure to consider the points listed below when creating your fintech application.
Simplicity and Usability
Creating a practical fintech mobile application requires it to be easily accessible and intuitive so as not immediately to turn away potential users. To do so, design a simple interface, include straightforward navigation, and be inclusive. It is only appropriate to make a complex fintech app if its purpose is to be used by finance experts.
Client Assistance
No matter the size or complexity of your app, customers may have questions or issues you must address quickly. An essential feature of any fintech software should be a dependable and reactive customer service component.
API Management
Having a complete API management system is essential when building a fintech app. It facilitates the joining of various platforms to each other, thus increasing their capabilities. For example, a connection with an external payment system like PayPal could be responsible for providing extra payment services to the users.
Security Arrangements
Safety is no doubt the primary worry when creating a fintech application. Implementing things like two-fold authentication, OTP login, fingerprint security, or facial recognition can considerably boost the security of your users' finances.
Legal Requirements
Making sure your product adheres to all relevant legal requirements is critical for effortless fintech app creation. Working with funds means abiding by many protocols, rules, and laws.
For instance, you should comply with the PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) if you manage cardholder information.
Fintech Mobile App Development Team
It would be ideal if you had a team of professionals to achieve an exceptional finished product with the correct attributes, a good look, and top-notch performance. It is improbable that you will succeed by merely hiring independent personnel. It would help if you had a comprehensive fintech mobile app development company for a speedy and excellent result.
Key Features of Fintech Mobile Apps
Developers can determine the effectiveness of fintech applications similarly to other apps. These essential characteristics make fintech apps superior to other digital payment service applications.
Personal Account
A user's account is necessary to store their banking cards, view payment statistics, make payments, and much more. It enables people to view payment records and organize stocks and other activities. Such accounts should be concise and lacking unnecessary information, making it convenient for users to search for what they require.
Payment Gateway
Ensure that your fintech application can make payments, whether a traditional banking app or cryptocurrency. It is imperative to include a payment gateway.
Financial Management
Enable your users to keep track of their funds. This could include budgeting, following a determined plan for finances, budgeting for expenses, creating rules for shopping online, and many other options. By doing this, people can take control of their finances and maximize their app usage.
Ability to Connect Bank Cards
Any fintech application should be able to link payment cards. Without this capability, the application would be practically useless. Alternatively, if you are building a fintech application for a bank, it's possible to include a feature for producing cards.
Transaction History
Incorporate a record of activities and connections into your program so that users can monitor their finances and quickly locate the person they have had a financial exchange recently.
Payment Templates
For convenience and saving time, include interactive templates within your fintech application. Instances of this consist of templates that can be used for utility payments or paying a monthly mortgage.
How to Select the Proper Tech Stack for a Fintech App?
Let's explore which tech stacks would be optimal for creating fintech applications:
Android
We recommend that your group use the following instruments for Android fintech app development: Java and Kotlin for language; Android Jetpack and Android SDK for the Core; Amplitude, Firebase, AppsFlyer, and Facebook for analytics; SQLite, Realm, Shared Preferences, and Room for data.
IOS
This is the advice we have for creating a financial technology application that operates on the iOS operating system:
Programming languages — Swift, Objective-C; Core — iOS SDK, CocoaTouch; analytics services — Amplitude, Firebase, AppsFlyer, Facebook; CoreData, Realm, UserDefaults, KeyChain, and CryptoSwift are ideal for data storage.
Cross-Platform
For cross-platform development, it is best to use Flutter. This software framework is the best suitable technology set for such apps.
How to Develop a Fintech App
Let's examine a straightforward guide to creating a financial technology app for mobile devices.
Step 1: Research Stage
Before starting the application development, fintech software developers must conduct considerable analysis. It would help if you created a blueprint to establish the appearance of the user interface and the services it will furnish. In addition, the scope of the Minimum Viable Product and all of its features should be declared.
Step 2: Build a Team
You must have a team of experts to make a fintech mobile application. You can enlist a third-party vendor or create an in-house group. It's essential to ensure that each employee understands the role and vision of the project and gets acquainted with the tools and operations of the fintech app developer.
Step 3: Define MVP Scope
You should take the following steps to establish the boundaries of your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and the application as a whole:
- Gather data on the market environment about your product.
- Obtain input from your development staff to understand which features are essential to the app.
- Utilize strategies like the Prioritization matrix to assess and record the chosen features
- Validate the core idea and verify whether the required resources to bring it to fruition are accessible.
Step 4: Choose a Tech Stack
The technology stack comprises various languages that can be utilized to design and develop apps. The more basic languages for Android include Java and Kotlin and for iOS, Objective C and Swift. However, if you opt for two separate development processes, it will cost more. That said, there is another solution to this called Progressive Web App (PWA), but this does restrain the use of certain built-in features such as biometry.
There is a third alternative: cross-platform app development. This method allows writing a single codebase for iOS and Android platforms. In addition, it spares you around 60% of your total cost.
Step 5: Build APIs
For your fintech app to offer services like bill tracking and budgeting, you must either use existing business functionalities or develop them from the ground up. Regardless of your choice, it is imperative to form REST APIs for seamless integration with the website. We recommend constructing Representational State Transfer APIs for this purpose.
- Record your API using Swagger
- For testing and app building, apply Postman or similar tools
- Use secure databases like MongoDB and PostgreSQL to maintain your API correctly.
- Ensure that API requests and responses adhere to the regulations.
- Ensure authentication and data encryption to protect your API.
Step 6: Fintech App Design
Pick vibrant colors for your app now; this is where your inner artist needs to come out. Add user-friendly functions. Avoid filling your interface with unnecessary features. But remember that every component required should be accessible from the dashboard, saving the user from conducting a time-consuming search.
Step 7: Launch a Beta Version
It will be good if you first launch a Beta version before releasing the fintech application. Your Beta can be exclusive to your local customers or individuals in your workplace. Gaining feedback is beneficial as it can help you eradicate any unexpected problems. Once the app is free from any glitches, it is ready to go and officially launched.
Step 8: Update Your App
In this digital age, the IT realm is forever changing. To consistently meet ever-increasing user expectations, you must upgrade your app whenever needed.
What Does It Cost to Build a Fintech App?
To create a successful fintech app without financial difficulties, let's look at the development costs depending on the project's size.
Small tasks can cost between $30,000−$50,000 and contain basic, user-friendly designs and capabilities. Whereas, for a more complex system with additional features and technology, the expense will be between $50,000−$85,000.
An enterprise-level fintech application of a more complex size will generally cost about $80,000+. Bear in mind that the ultimate price of producing the Fintech application can be affected by a range of considerations, such as the geographical area of the development staff, the number of your demands, the functional complexity, and any additional scaling.
How Can Stfalcon Help You?
The Stfalcon team has in-depth knowledge of developing fintech applications and has previously provided outstanding mobile development services to industry collaborators in the Fintech realm.
What services do we offer?
- All-in-one development (back-end, front-end; UX/UI design)
- Management of back-office operations
- Guaranteed security and compliance
- Data gathering and handling
Our Experience
Credit Agricole
One of our partners is Credit Agricole, the most prominent French bank and one of the biggest French companies. We created a user interface for Cash Agricole payment kiosks to free up bank offices from long lines and lighten the employees' workload.
Read the full case study
SDK for a cryptocurrency wallet
Stfalcon.com was tasked with developing an SDK for a cryptocurrency wallet that would work seamlessly across Android and IOS. Our team's main objective was to merge the business logic and utilize the same codebase on multiple platforms. We accomplished this by leveraging Kotlin Multiplatform technology.
Read the full case study
FAQs About Fintech App
What are the most important technological considerations when developing a Fintech mobile app?
When thinking about how to create a fintech app, you should essentially consider fraud detection mechanisms and the leading-edge security practices to integrate. They should include Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Prevention, secure database management, and third-party integrations. This is of utmost importance when dealing with sensitive financial data and transactions. When you build a fintech app, you should also make your architecture scalable. It will help your app accommodate a growing user base and consequently the increasing volumes of transactions later on. Continuous updates are also crucial to consider before you launch a fintech app. Your solution should always stay up-to-date to win the competition.
What are the common monetization strategies for fintech apps?
One question is how to create a fintech startup, and the other is how to monetize it. You should keep monetization strategies for your application in mind from the very beginning of the development. It will help implement the right features for the purpose. The most popular monetization models for fintech applications are subscription-based services of different levels and transaction fees. In-app advertising can also be implemented. However, it should not be excessive or irrelevant. You can also consider partnership and cross-selling with other financial institutions. Having a budget app, consider partnering with investment platforms, for instance. Data monetization can also become a supplementary source of revenue. Keep in mind, that you should anonymize the aggregated data before selling trends and insights to third parties.
How does the user experience design differ for fintech apps compared to other types of mobile applications?
The best fintech applications meet the exact needs of their users. There are some tips to make them user-friendly, intuitive, and visually appealing. So, to answer how to build a fintech app and make it easy to use, we should first ask you to avoid overwhelming users with too much information. When you make a fintech app, ensure a quick and smooth login, make navigation clear and intuitive, and use typography to prioritize content. Allow users to check their balance and process transactions effortlessly. Accessible support is vital. If the users have questions, they should get answers easily and promptly. Make it easy to view and copy credit card details, allow fast and simple card blocking, yet don’t overload the dashboard. At every step avoid displaying distracting information that would confuse or disorient your users. Employ progressive disclosure, and do it on request. Don’t make the user experience exhausting. It will keep your audience loyal.
Summary
In conclusion, building a fintech mobile app can be challenging; however, having the proper skills and assembling the right team will assist you in bringing your project to life.
Remember to analyze data thoroughly, find developers familiar with the fintech sector, structure the product as an MVP, take into account user comments, and use advanced test methods during creation. If you are interested in creating a top-notch fintech app just contact us, a free consultation is available.
