How to Create a Mobile Banking App: Short Guide

Earlier on, you had to regularly visit your bank branch between office hours, even for the most basic banking transactions. Now, it only takes a single touch to your screen to handle all transactions. For users, the deciding factor of a traditional banking application is its functionality. Well, it’s rightfully so. 

Are you wondering how to create a mobile banking app on your own? For that, you need to have a good insight into what makes the application great, its development process, and its cost.

So, how to create a mobile banking app, and where do you start? Let’s see.

If you’re thinking about how to create a mobile banking app, take a look at the factors that contribute to the success of the best mobile banking applications available?

The more a company learns about its customers and wants, the more effective and precise the feature and design set gets.

The balance between ease of accessibility and impeccable security

Providing safety necessitates more processes. When users have to take more steps, they start feeling irritated. An ideal application may provide smooth yet exact authentication in numerous stages to ensure the lowest friction and maximum security.

Bank of America has an App Store rating of 4.8 and is the perfect example of a bank that has gotten its security right, with numerous layers of protection. It has unauthorized access safeguards, next-day cash reimbursement, card blocking, two-factor authentication, and single-used card numbers. 

User-centric, slick interface design

The majority of bank applications are infamous for being clumsy. Due to the difficulty of moving the enormous back-end complexity onto a new interface and ensuring a user experience free of bugs, mobile financial services, and banking as a whole adapt to changes more slowly.

Revolut, a UK-based online and bank application (4.7 App Store rating), pushes the user experience to another level, putting it near the pinnacle of what Revolut is as a company. The app’s navigation is simple, and you can easily remember where each feature is located. It also visually looks nice.

The availability of bank services and products

An ideal banking application can provide everything your bank branch is likely to, as long as you don’t mind an extra security step for your own benefit.

Ally is an American bank with an App Store rating of 4.7 that aims to provide as much of its service suite through its app as feasible while keeping the percentages as low as possible. Certificates of deposit, credit cards, savings, overdrafts, debit cards, stock market access, and more are examples of business tools.

What should you do to get ready for the development of a mobile banking application?

While we strongly advise hiring a business analyst to assist you in joining the dots among existing business processes and the application development scope, you can do part of the work yourself.

What characteristics should you strive for?

According to Statista’s current mobile banking application trends research (2021), banking apps’ most common application functions include paying bills, checking deposits, transferring funds between accounts, and checking account balances.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the characteristics listed above:

Check deposits

Enables the customer to deposit checks directly into their accounts without needing to visit a branch. Simple.

Account transaction and balance tracking/history

That is a must-have. It can be enhanced with expenditure filters, expense planners, bill-splitters, pie charts, and month-by-month statistics. Allow people to see how much and on what they spend their money.

Mobile payments

You name it: mortgages, bills, loans, and deposits to a friend’s account. The main benefit is that it allows for easy access – for example, storing a service’s account number, a cell phone number to locate the correct bank account, and more. Don’t forget to add exchange rates, Apple Pay, QR code scanning, and Google Pay payment options.

Card management

A modern banking app solution must have the ability to update, close, or issue PINs set restrictions, participate in specific cashback programmes, and more.

Notifications

It is possible to communicate by messenger, push, text, and even email. The ideal choice is highly flexible and convenient notifications, allowing users to pick when and how they want to receive notifications.

Cardless NFC payments and ATM access

In comparison to other banks or financial services, the possibility to eliminate plastic might be a significant aspect of your unique value proposition.

Customizable dashboards

Consider creating your own main page dashboard, complete with widgets that display just what you need at a glance. Even though it is not part of the fundamental system functionality, this feature will offer much value to your application.

Multi-layered transaction protection and access

You want your users to quickly log in using their biometric data, such as PIN codes, fingerprints, or FaceID. In an ideal world, a user should mix and match these security techniques at a whim, with one of the selected stages inactive while the other is in use.

Automated support chatbot

A chatbot may collect data, respond to user requests, serve as both a support and sales representative, and so much more. The development of a chatbot is a separate procedure that necessitates additional planning. However, it’s always worth it – there are numerous successful examples where a basic chatbot can significantly reduce the work of Support teams.

Onboarding

Using guides and highlights, show the user the essential features of your programme and where they can be found. A mobile or internet banking application is typically complicated, and it takes time to become used to it. However, keep the steps to a bare minimum. Keeping the initial registration fields to a bare minimum is also a brilliant idea.

What kind of development should a mobile banking system have?

There are various ways to create an application, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at each one individually.

Native

Native development is focused on a specific operating system, such as iOS or Android. A native application can only run on the platform for which it was created, and it is sent to the smartphone’s memory in a system-specific package.

Native programming necessitates a thorough understanding of the platform’s framework and code. Suppose you want to make an application that works on both Android and iOS. In that case, you’ll have to make two separate applications, one with a similar design and functionality but an entirely different back-end. Android applications, for example, are frequently written in Kotlin or Java, but iOS applications are typically written in Swift or Objective-C. The native technique is commonly employed in developing highly complicated programmes that rely on the product’s high quality, performance, and security.

Native development has several advantages, including improved interaction with the platform’s functionality, optimization, security, and sophisticated features critical for a banking application.

Costs are the downsides. You’ll have to order two apps, each with its own development pipeline, support, and more unless you’re ready to alienate a significant section of your market.

Surf specializes in native programming for both Android and iOS platforms. If you’re convinced that your application needs to be built natively, please let us know, and we’ll assist you.

Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)

PWAs are mobile-friendly versions of website functionality supplied through a mobile browser. These apps run on any operating system or mobile device that has an internet connection. A web application may be designed exclusively for mobile displays of different sizes or include tablet and desktop versions. Web languages such as HTML5 and others were used to create the application.

The benefits of a progressive web application are obvious: it’s a hybrid of an app and a website, created in the same language, and it seeks to get the best of both worlds without sacrificing user experience or performance. The user does not need to install the app to utilize it, but they can if they want to — these types of apps can even use basic phone features like push notifications and the camera. Users of banking apps will benefit from fewer steps in the installation process, a smaller software package size, and strong HTTPS/TLS encryption for data security.

The drawbacks are numerous: if the programme is not available for download from the Google Play or App Store, it can only be saved as a bookmark on a mobile browser (unless explicitly added to the home screen using the “Add to home” button). It will not be visible in app stores, and as a result, app store SEO will not aid in discovering new consumers. Notifications are likely to be ineffective as well. These problems may be less critical to a banking app because its users are already bank customers, but they may deter prospective users from joining and subscribing to the bank’s services.

Cross-platform

Hybrid development is frequently confused with cross-platform development. The ability to exchange code benefits both techniques, but that’s where the similarities end. Hybrid apps use web technologies (JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5), whereas cross-platform apps use a single codebase to function correctly on both platforms (iOS and Android). Because cross-platform apps employ the platform’s native rendering engine, they often achieve near-native levels of user experience.

Flutter and React Native are two prominent cross-platform programming frameworks. These frameworks (based on the Dart language) are offered by Google and Facebook, respectively.

One notable example in our scenario is Rosbank, a bank app built with Flutter.

Despite significant time restrictions, we could design high-quality software with all of the necessary functionality. Flutter enables the construction of even the most complicated apps efficiently, rapidly, and in a high-quality manner.

Cost-effectiveness (you effectively design one programme for both platforms), consistent code that doesn’t go in the way to introduce new features (as opposed to native development), and near-native UI performance are all advantages of cross-platform development. 

Cost-effectiveness, consistent code that doesn’t introduce new features, and near-native UI performance are all advantages of cross-platform development.

The downsides are primarily related to the amount of knowledge necessary to create genuinely unique apps. React Native and Flutter both have their own set of constraints that might stymie the creation of complex apps. The development team should be well-versed in creating apps on any of these frameworks to achieve good outcomes. Furthermore, because of the differences in platforms, some code elements will have to be designed individually.

What is the best way to make a mobile banking app?

Getting one done on demand won’t be a pleasant experience unless the development process is tackled in a structured manner. The usual procedures for creating a banking app are listed below. The steps will, of course, vary depending on the job. Read our article on our general development framework

1. Conceptualize

That is the most crucial stage. Costs should be estimated ahead of time, and clear deliverables should be established for the development team to follow. The more specific and tangible the delivery approach, the less likely you will be disappointed or duped into paying for an indefinite project.

2. Build an MVP

The development of a minimum viable product (MVP) version of your app is a critical stage. In essence, an MVP has just enough features and design to entice customers, allowing you to test the product-market fit and overall app concept. It’s critical to seek out all possible sources of customer feedback at this point.

The more you learn from your MVP, the more confident you will be that your finished software will succeed.

3. Get security in order

This step necessitates additional inspections from both you and the development team. Ensure the security elements stated above are included in your app and that they function correctly – you can’t afford to skimp on app security. Your reputation will be ruined forever if there is a significant data breach or money stolen from your users.

That involves combining server-side and physical security for the developer, including highly secure security processes in the onboarding process, encrypting communications, obfuscating code, and adding features like biometric ID, transaction verification, PIN change reminders, and much more.

4. Get your app built!

Keep an eye on the milestones and deliverables, and keep an eye on the app development process. This process will take a long time to finish. The new software will require extensive testing and input, and some elements will almost certainly alter along the road.

5. App design

After the app has been constructed, it’s time to give it a fresh coat of paint. At this point, the app will have at least half of its interface completed, but you’ll still need a UI designer to make it look great.

6. Release, good-to-haves, integrations

The app is ready to be released, and any more work done on it will have little impact on its progress. Plan API (Application Software Interface) integrations with other programmes that you think your users will benefit from, such as accounting software, third-party expense trackers, document signing software, and more. 

7. Maintenance

Now you simply need to pay attention to client input, repair any pesky bugs that appear, and provide the most excellent possible user experience. In an ideal world, you’d have complete documentation on app features available and accessible to your target audience. Help articles, chatbot advice, you name it — having it in advance will help cut Support expenditures.

How much do banking apps cost to make?

Before you think about how to create mobile banking app, it’s important to consider its cost. Of course, banking software with extra security and exclusive features is worth a small fortune. At Surf, we even have a whole article evaluating the cost of developing a mobile banking app.

Simply put, four factors determine the project cost:

  • The complexity of the app
  • It was created using a technology stack.
  • Location of the development team
  • Cooperation style

A typical banking app with a conventional set of features (account data, in-app chat help, notifications, security, transaction history, and analytics) might take roughly 2300 hours, or $300,000. Of course, no two projects are alike.

What is the average time it takes to develop a mobile banking app?

Again, it depends on the scope, but the base app functionality (fit for market release) should be ready in about 6 to 8 months.

Conclusion

Wondering how to create a mobile banking app? Smart app design, availability of bank products and services, and advanced security are all essential factors in a sound banking app.

At Surf, we pride ourselves on developing iOS and Android apps that result in happy clients and happy business outcomes. It’s a demanding job, but we enjoy it nonetheless. Get in touch with us— let’s talk about your project, no matter how complicated or straightforward it is. We can show you how to make your ideal app a reality.

Preview of the article: 

Are you wondering how to create a mobile banking app? Don’t worry because we’ll cover all the factors you need to consider while developing an app in this article. We’ve listed examples of the leading mobile banking apps so that you can learn from the best and see what makes an app successful. This article is a step-by-step guide on how to create a mobile banking app. Learn about the cost of mobile banking app development and the time it takes.

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