crafting a Fintech app: a straightforward guide in 6 easy steps
With fintech, build your financial empire without any physical currency.
Fintech, the magical blend of finance and technology, makes money vanish into the digital realm yet keeps it portable. With digital money, you can pay bills, shop, or invest без problems from the comfort of your home.
This digital money ecosystem has boosted the global fintech market, causing it to skyrocket to a whopping $245 billion in 2023.
If you've got the know-how and the right partners, develop your own fintech app to cash in on this lucrative market and establish a business that will thrive around it.
This guide will reveal fresh insights that you can use to create a successful fintech app for mobile devices:
- The current landscape of the fintech industry
- Major types of fintech apps
- The fastest, simplest, and most effective strategy to develop a mobile fintech app
- Legal implications related to fintech app development
- Spectacularly inventive fintech apps that can inspire you
Let's dive in!
A glimpse at the fintech industry's current situation
Before winning battles in a fiercely competitive industry, it's essential to know what you are getting yourself into.
Statistics show that the Americas alone are home to 13,100 fintech companies, while other regions boast thousands more.
However, these figures should not discourage you. There will always be room for innovation in even the most competitive markets.
Sam Walton's story is a great example. Before becoming a retail tycoon, he took baby steps, carefully studying his competitors and finding his niche. This is the approach you should take to make your mark in the fintech app world. We'll discuss this strategy in detail later in the article, but for now, let's explore the major categories of fintech apps.
Major categories of fintech apps
Payment processing apps
Payment processing apps facilitate transactions for businesses and entrepreneurs by acting as intermediaries between payment service providers and customer data. By integrating seamlessly with e-commerce platforms, payment processing apps increase customer convenience drastically.
Insurance technology (InsurTech) apps
Although InsurTech is a relatively new domain, its market size is estimated to be around $5.45 billion in 2022. InsurTech apps streamline the application and claim management processes for quicker and more efficient access to insurance coverage for users.
These apps cater to a range of insurance needs, including property, automotive, pet, and life insurance. InsurTech apps significantly improve the efficiency of the claim management process for clients while helping insurance agents conduct on-site risk evaluations and negotiate better options.
Digital banking apps
Digital banking and lending applications enable users to manage their banking activities without visiting physical branches. These apps offer various services similar to traditional banks, such as account opening, balance monitoring, fund transfers, mobile payments, loan acquisition, and more.
Investment apps
Investment apps are revolutionizing the investment landscape by offering easy access to financial markets for people of varying income levels. These apps reduce fees, eliminate intermediaries, and simplify the trading process, allowing more users to trade and invest effortlessly.
Robo-advisors, a subset of investment apps, leverage extensive automation to provide efficient investment and financial planning advice. They analyze users' financial profiles and risk tolerance and make informed investment decisions based on these factors.
Personal finance apps
Personal finance apps empower users to take control of their finances by enabling them to set financial goals, create budgets, track expenses, and link their bank cards or accounts.
One innovative personal finance app is Praisal, which helps users negotiate home prices before properties even hit the market.
Tax management apps
These apps make managing taxes a breeze by streamlining the preparation, submission, and monitoring of tax-related documents. Advanced automation eliminates the need for accountants or prior experience when navigating tax regulations.
Exchanges and exchange services
These platforms facilitate currency exchange over the internet. Many banks and financial institutions deal with digital currencies, so they need platforms where customers can transfer money or buy the currencies they want.
With the advent of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency exchanges have become possible. Users can buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies through these platforms, transforming physical cash into digital money. Some exchanges even let users earn interest on the cryptocurrencies they hold in their accounts. By incorporating cryptocurrency options trading, these platforms offer even more ways for users to benefit from their crypto holdings.
To help users make informed decisions about their crypto investments, many exchanges integrate crypto calculators.
A step-by-step guide to creating a successful fintech app
Research your market and competitors
Study your target market thoroughly and identify competitors to find your niche. Research the preferences, needs, and pain points of your potential users.
For a thorough understanding of your target market, approach segments that are geographically close to you. Some questions you can ask include:
- What inconveniences do people face when managing their finances digitally?
- What challenges do small businesses face in receiving payments from customers or wiring funds to partners?
- How can a fintech app help non-profit organizations raise funds more efficiently?
Design your MVP fintech app
Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) should include only essential features. Focus on building a fintech app that caters to the needs of your defined target market.
Taking baby steps is crucial for understanding your target market. Initially, tackle the local market and gather data to develop your app idea.
Develop and launch your fintech app
Use a prototype to outline the design and visual presentation of your fintech app before diving into coding. This step is crucial, as it offers a better chance of success while keeping expenses manageable.
Choose Kotlin and Swift for Android and iOS app development, respectively, to ensure your app performs optimally and remains easily updatable. Implement an Agile methodology such as Kanban to streamline the development process and work efficiently.
Market your app before and after launch using SEO best practices, social media promotion, app store optimization, and a dedicated landing page or website to generate excitement and increase downloads.
Continuously improve your fintech app
Monitor app metrics, such as active users and average session duration, to identify areas needing improvement. Engage in customer service, provide timely updates, and employ customer experience automation to ensure user satisfaction and retention.
Keep up with industry trends and innovations, and don't shy away from taking risks to stay ahead of the competition and continue growing your fintech app.
- The fintech industry's competitive landscape isn't a deterrent for innovation, as demonstrated by Sam Walton's journey to becoming a retail tycoon. Emulating this approach can help one make a mark in the fintech app world.
- Major categories of fintech apps include payment processing apps that act as intermediaries between payment service providers and customer data, InsurTech apps that simplify the application and claim management processes for quicker insurance coverage, digital banking apps offering services similar to traditional banks, investment apps revolutionizing trading processes, personal finance apps that enable users to manage finances, tax management apps that streamline tax document management, and exchanges and exchange services facilitating currency exchange over the internet.
- To create a successful fintech app, research your market and competitors thoroughly to find your niche, design a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) catering to your target market's needs, develop and launch the MVP using Kotlin for Android app development and Swift for iOS, continuously improve the app based on user feedback and industry trends, and market the app using best practices such as SEO, social media promotion, app store optimization, and a dedicated landing page or website.
- Local residents, businesses, sports leagues, non-profit organizations, and even local churches and charities may face inconveniences in managing finances or raising funds, and a fintech app could address these issues by offering essential services and catering to their needs through innovative features.
