Banking was related to queues and terminal searches, but the digitalization of this sphere helps make all processes fast and convenient. Furthermore, statistics indicate that mobile banking is actively growing, and by 2026, the market will reach approximately $1,824 million. Considering this, we have created this extensive guide on fintech app development, which reveals all details.
How Businesses Can Benefit from Banking Apps
In addition to customer benefits, such as speed and ease of service, banking apps also have business advantages. These include:
Increased customer base
Banking apps allow businesses to extend their client base and offer a secure, convenient way to complete financial operations.
Understand clients needs
Adhering to Know Your Customer (KYC) policies are fundamental. The capability to accurately and quickly identify customers has become increasingly important. Through analyzing customer behavior, banks can acquire valuable information regarding clients’ inclinations and habits, aiding them in making more informed decisions when providing services such as loans and deposits.
Preparing for the Banking App Development
To launch successfully, you should pass some essential steps that make your software valuable.
Studying target audience
You should know more about your target consumers to offer them a unique value proposition and meet their needs. The mobile banking audience is quite broad and includes younger and older people. However, consumer behavior differs – younger audiences are more likely to transfer small amounts of money, pay educational fees, and make online purchases. Older audiences, on the other hand, are more likely to transfer large sums, pay bills, track income and expenses, etc.
Study your competitors
Research your competitors’ applications, their services, and their users. This will help you understand what features are in demand and what features you should exclude from your app. Also, by analyzing your competitors, you will understand how to differentiate from them to get more users.
What Features Are Necessary for the Banking App
Banking applications have rich and varied functionality, but some features must be included:
Budget management
Every banking app has to provide such functionality:
- Balance review. Users need permanent access to all balance data from any device. Moreover, this information should be updated in real-time.
- Financial management. Provide your clients with a credit card and bank account control feature.
- Payments. Allow users to check the history of their transactions.
- Deposit management. Provide clients with online deposits with diverse interest rates and conditions.
Quick Transactions
Add one-click transactions to improve user experience. You may also add transfers by phone number to make this feature even more convenient.
24/7 support
Users may need help with using the app. That’s why it’s worth providing them with 24/7 support. The most effective way to implement it is to develop a chatbot with artificial intelligence, which will answer customers’ questions and help them solve any problems.
Secure Authentication
Your app needs easy access while maintaining security. Users can enter their profiles using multiple methods. The predominant forms of signing in are:
- Login and password
- Fingerprint or faceID
Notifications
Push notifications provide reliable communication between banks and users. It is necessary to inform customers about new transactions, promotions, offers, etc.
ATMs and subsidiaries map
Despite the convenience of online banking, sometimes users need to use physical branches or ATMs. Provide them with an interactive map that also notes opening hours. You can implement this feature for any OS using Google Maps.
Transactions via QR code
QR codes greatly simplify procedures such as purchasing tickets, money transfers, etc., improving the user experience.
Additional Features for the Banking App
You can add some advanced features to stand out from the competition and satisfy users.
Tracking expenditures
Users typically worry about their spending. Therefore, you can provide a monitoring feature to track users’ expenditures.
Repeated Charges
Facilitate fast payment processing for users. Customers typically need to pay some bills repeatedly. Therefore, it would be helpful to enable automated payments.
Cashback
Cashback allows your bank to differentiate itself from the competition. Offer customers several categories to choose from; each payment will be rewarded as a percentage of spending.
Bill sharing
This feature is relatively simple but will be a big plus for your app. It allows users to split the bill for dinner together.
How to Build a Banking App
Let’s examine the development process step by step.
1. Prototype testing
Prototype development costs significantly lower than producing a fully functional app. It is also capable of accommodating modifications. During the prototype phase, addressing bugs or adjusting features is simpler.
2. Work on security
In the case of banking applications, security is a critical point because the software operates with a lot of personal data. Therefore, to make your application as secure as possible for users, choose only experienced vendors with significant expertise in fintech development.
3. Find an experienced software provider
Mobile banking development requires significant time and effort, so you have to select a professional IT vendor to launch successfully.
Try outsourced development to get better results, access to more talent and technology, and not waste time recruiting. To choose the best one, study their portfolio and client reviews on platforms like Clutch and GoodFirms.
4. Deploy an app and collect reviews
Building and launching a banking app across multiple platforms can be challenging. Both stores have established protocols that you must adhere to. Moreover, the App Store has specific Review Guidelines. If the app fulfills the requirements, it will be allowed once the standards are met.
Once the product is released, pay special attention to user feedback, including bug reports and suggestions for improvement. Using this information, you can develop the application and get more benefits.
Banking App Development Challenges
There may be some difficulties when creating such complex software as a banking application, but an experienced technical partner will help you cope with them easily.
Tech Challenges
Developers must consider various technical aspects.
Auto-entries
Auto-entries in any fields of the user interface should be disabled. This is necessary to protect the application from third-party malware attempting to access stored data.
Blurring
The screen should be blurred when users transit between applications to protect sensitive data.
Type of data storage
Banking applications store data in-memory type without physically holding it. Therefore, the data is inaccessible in case the device is tampered with.
Regulatory compliances
FinTech companies and banking apps must meet the exact regulatory requirements as any other technology solution.
The key regulations for banking apps are as follows:
- GDPR Compliance. This regulation applies to all organizations providing goods/services for EU citizens regarding personal data.
- PCI DSS Compliance applies to businesses that handle, process, store, or transmit credit card information.
- SEPA Compliance. This applies to any organization of the European Union and other states that use the euro as their currency.
- PSD2 Compliance. This payment policy applies to the European Economic Area.
Wrapping Up
The development of banking applications is connected with some difficulties, but this sphere is rapidly developing and is in demand among users. To successfully create your own banking software and beat the competition, contact an experienced software provider who can advise you and make the application to the highest level.
Author’s bio:
Yuliya Melnik is a technical writer at Cleveroad. It is a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. She is passionate about innovative technologies that make the world a better place and loves creating content that evokes vivid emotions.