How to Build a Fintech App: a Guide to Fintech App Design

According to Statista, 64.6% of US citizens used online banking in 2021. The American bank Chase released the results of its Digital Banking Attitude Studies that have shown:

• 4 in 5 customers prefer to manage their money using a smartphone rather than going to a physical bank;
• 70% of Chase customers feel completely safe and comfortable about using digital banking;
• Only 10% of respondents mentioned that they don’t typically use digital banking because of being not accustomed to technology.

Therefore, even the companies that previously rarely invested in the financial industry faced a new reality: to keep up with competitors, they must start building a Fintech app.  

Types of Fintech Apps

There are different app types in the Fintech industry. Here are the most common:

Mobile Banking Apps

Banking apps have seamlessly integrated into our daily routines, offering a convenient way to handle our bank accounts and conduct diverse transactions with a simple tap. These apps cover essential tasks like checking account balances, transferring money, depositing checks via mobile, and making mobile payments. Many banking apps go the extra mile, providing financial services like account alerts, handy budgeting tools, and even the option to apply for loans or credit cards directly. Ensuring the utmost security, these apps incorporate robust measures such as biometric login and two-factor authentication, safeguarding customers' sensitive data effectively.

Payment Apps

Payment applications are gaining widespread popularity due to their convenience and enhanced security in facilitating transactions. These apps enable seamless money transfers to friends, family, and businesses, eliminating the need for physical cash or cards. Beyond their common function, payment apps come with such features as budgeting tools, rewards programs, and the capability to store payment details for future transactions, making them important tools for modern financial management.

Investment and Trading Apps

Trading and investment apps give users access to live market updates, allow them to place trades, and monitor investments. Additionally, these apps come with a wide variety of functionalities, including portfolio tracking, up-to-date news and analysis, and educational materials.

Robo-Advisory Apps

Modern robo-advisors integrated into fintech applications do more than just monitor expenses and remind users of regular payments. They have the capability to analyze user behavior, offering insightful recommendations based on individual actions. 

According to a NerdWallet survey, 49% of Americans admit to impulsive spending habits. Robo-advisors play a crucial role in assisting users to enhance their financial management skills, break free from detrimental spending patterns, and enjoy improved customer service.

Lending and Crowdfunding Apps

Lending apps have become incredibly popular for users seeking quick and hassle-free loans. With just a smartphone, users can easily apply for loans, often enjoying competitive interest rates and flexible repayment options. They're a fantastic choice for those in urgent need of funds, thanks to their speedy application process compared to loans in traditional banks. What's even better, many of these apps offer bonus features like budgeting tools and financial advice, making them a go-to resource for anyone looking to stay on top of their finances.

Digital Wallet Apps

Digital wallet apps are virtual platforms that allow users to store different forms of payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, and even cryptocurrencies, securely on their smartphones or other devices. Users can make in-store and online payments, transfer money to other users, pay bills, and manage their financial transactions conveniently and efficiently. 

Apps often incorporate advanced security features like encryption, biometric authentication, and tokenization to protect users' sensitive financial information. They may also offer rewards programs, budgeting tools, and integration with loyalty programs, providing users with a seamless and enhanced payment experience while ensuring the safety of their digital transactions.

Insurance Apps

Insurance apps usually include key features such as policy details, digital access to ID cards, streamlined claims submission and tracking, as well as options to view and settle bills conveniently. They also often provide informative resources, including articles and videos explaining various insurance types, alongside interactive tools like quizzes, aiding customers in understanding their coverage choices.

Financial Education Apps

Financial education apps offer a wide range of educational resources, including articles, videos, interactive lessons, quizzes, and calculators, covering topics such as saving, investing, credit management, and retirement planning. 

Regulatory and Compliance Apps

Regulatory and compliance applications facilitate various functions, including monitoring transactions, verifying customer identities, conducting risk assessments, and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations. By automating these processes, such apps help business owners maintain legal and regulatory standards, reducing the risk of fraud and non-compliance while enhancing overall security and trust in financial transactions.

Essential Features of Fintech Apps

To build a robust Fintech application you don’t necessarily need to stuff it with a bunch of newfound ideas. Just look at what your competitors have and present something faster, smarter, cheaper, and user-friendly. Here are some common features to include in your app.

• User Authentication and Security

Security is the main priority in Fintech apps, as they manage the most sensitive customer’s data. Integrate two-factor authentication with voice, face, and fingerprint recognition for sign-in. Make sure the app displays only the three last digits of a card number and restrict failed login attempts.

• Notifications

Notifications and a pleasant user experience go hand in hand when we’re talking about apps. People like staying informed about special offers, and new features of the app, and they like having a personalized user experience. In turn, notifications bring a lot of advantages for your business: they increase conversion rates, help to retain users, and track actionable metrics.

• QR Code and Scanning

Instead of time-consuming entering the numbers, give the users the ability to scan them. This is a much more convenient and error-free way to handle money operations. In 2015, Wintrust and FIS set up ATMs where their customers can just scan the QR with the help of their app to withdraw money. They estimated that such a withdrawal takes 8 seconds in comparison with 47 seconds of regular withdrawal. 

• AI-Powered Chatbots

Chatbots boost the interaction with your customers. They can take over a significant part of the human load in chats, giving users immediate answers to their questions. That way, users don’t overload the company’s contact centers with calls and emails about minor difficulties they face. They can receive their answer straight away 24/7. 

• API Integration

Establishing a connection with other applications to exchange data can significantly increase revenue and give advanced functionality to your product. With the help of API integration users can access their checking account information, check where the nearest ATM is, or make an online buy with PayPal, for instance.

• Account Management

Efficient account management lies at the heart of every reliable Fintech app. From checking balances to viewing transaction histories and managing multiple accounts, this feature provides users with a comprehensive overview of their finances.

• Payments and Transfers

In 2020, digital payments surpassed cash transactions for the first time, showcasing the growing influence of payment features in Fintech applications. This feature enables instant peer-to-peer payments, simplifies bill splitting, and facilitates international transfers with reduced fees and processing times.

• Budgeting and Expense Tracking

Empowering users to control their finances, budgeting, and expense tracking features offer insights that drive smart financial decisions. As per a survey, 75% of consumers find budgeting apps effective in managing their money, underlining the crucial role these features play in Fintech apps.

• Investment Management

Fintech apps have democratized investment opportunities, allowing users to invest in stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies effortlessly. Robo-advisors, such as Wealthfront and Betterment, create tailored investment portfolios based on user preferences and risk tolerance. Micro-investing platforms like Acorns encourage users to invest spare change, making investing accessible to individuals with limited capital. 

• Lending and Borrowing

Fintech lending platforms simplify the borrowing process, making it easier for individuals and businesses to access credit. Micro-lending apps connect lenders with borrowers on a smaller scale, fostering financial inclusivity. These platforms provide quick, convenient, and often more affordable borrowing options, revolutionizing the lending landscape.

• Financial Education

Educational features within Fintech apps aim to enhance users' financial literacy. They offer articles, tutorials, and tools to help users understand various financial concepts, from credit scores to investment strategies. By promoting financial education, these apps empower users to make informed decisions, leading to better financial outcomes. 

• Customer Support

Fintech apps offer in-app chats, emails, and helplines to address user queries promptly. Accessible and responsive customer support ensures users have a positive experience, promoting trust and long-term engagement. By providing excellent customer service, Fintech apps build lasting relationships with their users, fostering brand loyalty.

• Credit Score Monitoring

Credit score monitoring features enable users to track their credit health over time. These tools offer insights into factors affecting credit scores, helping users make decisions that positively impact their financial standing. By regularly monitoring their credit scores, users can identify areas for improvement, leading to better financial planning and responsible financial behavior.

• Integration with IoT Devices

Fintech apps are integrating with IoT devices, making financial management seamless and convenient. Connected devices, such as contactless cards and smart wearables, enable secure payments with a simple tap. Integration with IoT devices enhances user experience, offering innovative and effortless ways to manage finances.

• Cryptocurrency Integration

Cryptocurrency integration in Fintech apps allows users to engage in the digital economy. These features enable buying, selling, and storing cryptocurrencies directly within the app interface. By offering easy access to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Fintech apps empower users to diversify their investment portfolios and participate in the evolving world of digital assets. Cryptocurrency integration reflects the app's forward-thinking approach and caters to users interested in exploring innovative financial instruments.

Cost of Creating a Fintech App

The cost of building a fintech app can vary widely based on several factors, including the app's complexity, features, design, development hours, choice of platforms (iOS, Android, or both), geographical location of the development team, and additional services like backend infrastructure, security features, and ongoing maintenance.

For a basic fintech app with essential features, the cost might start from $50,000 to $100,000.

However, you can significantly optimize the cost of Fintech development by outsourcing to developers in cost-effective regions, for example, Eastern Europe.

How Can You Make Money with a Fintech App

What are the monetization strategies, you can implement into your app?

1. In-App Advertising. You can implement this strategy right after the app launch. However, this can be damaging to the user experience, especially in Fintech mobile app development. However, it can also generate good revenue if your app has many users.
2. Subscriptions. Users can enjoy the full app’s potential by paying for the subscriptions monthly or annually.
3. In-app Purchases. You can make only basic features free and sell some advanced tools inside the application.
4. Transaction Fees. Fintech apps often offer currency conversion or the option to trade in shares or other markets. An application gets revenue every time the user makes a transaction.
5. Paid Apps. You can also sell your app from the very beginning, which means that customers will be able to use all features after they purchase an app.

How to Develop a Fintech App: A Few Steps to Successful Fintech App Development

How to make a Fintech app that will have the edge over competitors and meet the needs of the most demanding clients? It might be challenging to gather your thoughts and build a step-by-step plan. Therefore, we prepared the main actions one should take to create a Fintech app that is worth its weight in gold. 

# Choose a Niche

Before beginning the Fintech application development process you have to choose a niche: whether it’s an application for personal finance, insurance, trading, etc. So, here you are to decide: what is your target audience and what are their needs? Try to focus on more complex solutions, generate some new ideas, or come up with some improvements to the existing technologies. There are plenty of countries that lack good Fintech solutions so you are more than likely to receive some investment.

# Ensure Legal Requirements

Every country has unique legal requirements, and sometimes even states and regions within one country may differ in legal policies. Fintech apps must comply with many privacy laws such as GDPR, the ePrivacy regulation, CCPA, and others determined by the countries your app is designed for. The times when Fintech had no regulations and was an easy target for fraud passed long ago. Nowadays there are multiple Fintech compliance practices such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), AML compliance (anti-money laundering), KYC compliance (know your customer), digital signature certificate, and more differing from country to country.

# Define a Project Vision

What is that app for? What problems does it solve for users? And what features should it include? You need to have a clear vision of how to create a Fintech app, well-warranted by the business analyst and product manager. Only after solid Fintech market research, your team will come up with a final idea of a business case that will be competitive and user-oriented.  

# Choose Technology Stack

There are many languages for Fintech apps development. And the language choice frequently dictates the cost and time needed for development. You can choose between native app development (building separate apps for Android and IOS), cross-platform development (writing a single codebase for both), and the development of PWA (native feeling without native features). Here is a brief overview of each.

1. Native Apps have the smoothest performance and the greatest user experience. The app is developed following all technical and UX guidelines of a particular OS. They are secure and easily utilize built-in devices such as GPS, camera, and so on. Building native apps is quite expensive and time-consuming.
2. Cross-platform Apps are built on one codebase that can be run on any OS. To develop a cross-platform app one can hire a small team of developers that can build it within a relatively short period of time.
3. Progressive Web Applications are also built on the basis of a single code base. Once the app is ready it’s uploaded to the server with no need to buy a license for the app store. They have entirely native experience and are light and fast to download. The biggest disadvantage is that PWAs can’t access several features from a user's device such as Bluetooth, NFC, etc.                    

# Try on the Customer's Shoes

Fintech applications are meant to be user-friendly. Actually, that’s the reason they are designed for. Customers know nothing about the coding, what they praise is simplicity, transparency, and a nice picture. Good UI/UX is the second most important thing talking about Fintech applications after security. Make sure everything your user might need is available on the dashboard without tons of unnecessary features.

# Develop MVP

A minimum viable product aims at testing the application before launching it. It’s a basic version of the app that includes its fundamental components and features. That’s enough for the users to try it, and also a chance to attract new investors. Getting feedback from real users will show you if there are any weaknesses and also you’ll easily find out what features should be added next.

A Final Note

Undoubtedly, it’s a great opportunity to build a functional Fintech app. Some markets still lack robust Fintech solutions, and investors are likely to invest in financial assets. Though there are many challenges in the sphere and in the development process, they can be easily overcome with a professional team at your side.At inVerita, we have great specialists in business analysis, product management, app development and testing, and design, of course. We can help you to develop Fintech app that will be fully aligned with users’ needs and won’t cost abnormal sums of money.