Mobile banking apps represent a convenient tool for managing personal finances. Both parties, the owners of financial institutions and their clients, benefit from using mobile banking software. Clients save their time and get a chance to address financial issues in an easier way. Banks get satisfied by retaining the loyal customers, which positively affects its profitability. You should keep this point in mind, especially if you want to craft a digital banking app or build a P2P payment app. Hence, in our article, we’ll answer the question of how to build a mobile banking app by clarifying its types, core elements, development process, and much more to show why they are so attractive.
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Mobile banking simplifies users’ payment activities due to the orientation on the digital in-app functions that are time and cost-preserving.
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Usability and security remain the key challenges of mobile banking apps as they have to ensure seamless user experience and preserve clients’ data.
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It is important to consider mobile banking application’s feature complexity, UX/UI design specificity, and platform selection as these elements will affect its development price.
Mobile Banking App: Market Overview
As the name suggests, mobile banking is done using a smartphone or other device of the same type, which provides the banking-relevant services like money transfer, bill payment, etc.
According to the statistics provided by the ABA Banking Journal, 41% of MarketWatch’s respondents prefer mobile banking applications, while demographically, these apps pertain mainly to Millennials (55%) and Gen Z (47%).
The mobile banking application’s convenience, accessibility, and a vast range of services are the major factors that keep stimulating public intention to use them.
Trends in Mobile Banking App Development
If you’re serious about building a mobile banking app, you must understand in which direction the entire sector is evolving. Therefore, you'll find it useful to know the latest market trends:
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Application of Smartphone Camera. Barcode scanning represents one of the convenient methods in mobile bank payments, as the client only has to point the camera and the operation is done.
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Remote Identification. The post-COVID-19 remote service provision contributes to the modernization of banking services. Now, there is no obligatory need to attend a real bank to verify the identity. Such methods as video identification and electronic digital signatures are acceptable and show time convenience in verification.
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Voice Technologies. This method is a revolutionary mobile banking trend, as it enables you to reduce your time searching for the required service. You can gain access to the required operation or information just by voicing your need.
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Artificial Intelligence. AI-based chatbots and robotic financial advisors are becoming popular due to the personalized assistance and predictive analytics.
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Financial Discipline Control. Also, the latest types of mobile banking apps help in financial monitoring. Company owners can resort to special features to better assess their business processes and prevent possible risky operations.
Types of Mobile Banking Apps
After discussing the trends in mobile banking platforms, their practical usage, and overall market overview, it’s time to dive into the overall types of these mobile services.
#1. SMS Banking
The simplest mobile banking option is SMS banking. The user manages their accounts remotely via SMS. This type of banking has a limited spectrum of abilities, including balance inquiry and checking the location of the nearby ATM.
#2. Mobile Internet Banking
The second option is access to the account through the mobile version of the bank's website. Its key emphasis is that the banking interface and all the relevant operations are presented in the web browser, not the application itself. This type of mobile banking is a bit challenging considering the need to adapt to the small size of the smartphone’s screen, which undermines its functional effectiveness.
#3. Basic Mobile Banking Applications
The basic mobile banking platform represents the application, which contains the core bank-related features, like checking accounts, access to transaction history, peer-to-peer payments, and money transfers via own accounts.
#4. Advanced Mobile Banking Apps
The advanced mobile banking apps broaden the spectrum of services by integrating the latest digital trends like:
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Credit Management and Lending
This feature implies the monitoring of the user’s credit score, analyzing the factors that affect it.
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can help the client develop their budget plan and track the overall progress by enabling them to collect finances by following AI progress indicators.
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Digital Wallet Implementation
This profound feature enables the client to collect all the debit and credit cards, as well as pay per click by using the linked cards to the account.
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Enhanced Security Measures
This feature enables the clients to use fingerprints to access the application. Additionally, AI analyzes the users’ behavioral patterns to detect any suspicious activity.
Now let’s discuss the benefits of mobile banking application development.
7 Benefits of Mobile Banking App Development
Prior to elaborating the application, the business owner should consider the key goals and needs of the projects, and determine how it can benefit the final result. Mobile banking software development process offers the range of advantages:
1. Improvement of the Quality of Customer Service
Modern mobile banking apps offer users a whole range of services, from conducting various transactions to searching for ATMs. This is the so-called Daily Banking concept.
2. Increase in Customer Loyalty
The first two advantages of mobile banking are intertwined: by serving your customers better, you increase their loyalty. Additionally, continuous updates, regard of the clients’ reviews, and the launch of reward systems, like cashback, can contribute to clients’ retention.
3. Mobility
Applications provide an opportunity to use banking services anywhere in the world. You don't even need to leave your home and wait in line at the bank to complete a particular banking transaction.
4. 24/7 Access
Financial services are available not only during the bank's working hours; the advantage of the mobile banking application is access to them around the clock.
5. Enhancement in the Audience Scope
Mobile banking keeps covering the young generation. The users from ‘the young’ category, like Gen Z, prefer innovative technologies to traditional banking due to their speed and convenience.
6. Creation of Complex Ecosystems
Top banking apps aren't limited to financial services today, they offer real ecosystems to their users. Among other things, customers get access to the goods and services of the bank's partners, whether it is buying train tickets, booking a seat in a cinema, paying for parking, and so on.
7. Paperwork Reduction
The digitization of the banking services reduces the overall workload regarding the paperwork, as the client can upload pictures of the required documents to verify their identity.
Key Features of Mobile Banking Apps
Banking apps development consists of the features that determine their functionality. Let’s find out the overall characteristics of the mobile banking software.
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Account Creation. Creating a user’s account is a must-have feature of the identified app. Secure authorization is of a key importance here to preserve client’s data.
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User's Personal Account. This feature provides the client with access to their personal info on transactions, billings, payments, etc.
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Conducting Transactions. The main reason for building a mobile banking app is to allow the user to make all kinds of transactions remotely.
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Currency Operations. This option enables the user to purchase and sell foreign currency.
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Payment for Various Services. The feature deals with such as utility bills, Internet, and more. It all depends on which companies the bank cooperates with.
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Payment Templates. If the payments are regular, the ability to create a template simplifies the entire process of further transactions. The user can select the saved template and either recur payment to the specific user or alter the info about the finance they would like to send.
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24/7 Customer Support. The top mobile banking features must include a chatbot option, a feedback form, etc., in order to handle the client’s request at any time.
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Bank Branch Locations. Adding a map indicating the location of the bank branches, and nearby ATMs will improve customer loyalty due to time convenience.
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Push Notifications. This feature is designed to increase customer loyalty. Notifications inform the user about the flow of his funds, as well as warn him about suspicious account movements.
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Loyalty Program. The cashback system is a program for accumulating interest and bonuses to stimulate the users’ intention to use the offered mobile banking software.
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History. The last but not least essential feature is the history, which enables the user to track the record of their financial operations, like payments for utilities, money transfers, etc.
Features of Premium Banking App
Now let's talk about additional features that will take the mobile banking application to a whole new level. Their implementation costs more, but they are better at attracting users:
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Personalized Content. This feature tracks user behavior, analyzes the received data, and adjusts the content strategy, making it personalized per user’s needs.
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Video Communication. This feature will grant better interaction between customers and bank representatives.
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Improved Mobile Wallet. The client will have an extended set of account management options, like debit/credit cards integration, etc.
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Payment via QR Codes. This feature will simplify the process of payment by taking less time and requiring only access to the user's smartphone camera.
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Virtual Cards. These type of cards have become one of the mobile banking app development trends in recent years. Thanks to virtual cards, users don't need to have their plastic analogs with them all the time.
How to Create Mobile Banking App: A Step-by-Step
Okay, let's start discussing the most interesting part of our article. We won't go into all the details, just outline the very substance of the matter.
Discovery Phase (Market Analysis)
Firstly, you need to assess the overall situation. Research the market, analyze competitors and consumers. The resulting data will form the basis of your strategy and ensure effective mobile banking app development.
Development Phase (Mobile App Development)
The development phase represents the practical process of the application crafting and includes the following processes and elements
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Application Design
Of course, you need to hire a team of experienced UI/UX experts able to create cool app designs. Additionally, the developers have to generate the app’s layout and tailor the seamless operational logic to ensure a smooth and coherent interaction within the app’s functions to prevent lagging.
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App’s Development Based on Selected Tech Stack
Next, you should pay attention to the technical features of creating a mobile banking application or, in other words, the required technological stack.
As you'll see, it very much depends on the approach you choose to the development process.
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Native App Development
The ideal option is to create a native app for the platform of your choice (iOS, Android, or both). Such an application will fully comply with the requirements of Google and Apple.
Let's take a look at an indicative mobile app development technology stack that your hired team is likely to use in the case of a native approach.
Native development is applied to the development of a separate application by integrating unique coding. The development process is time-consuming, energy-intensive, and, as a result, expensive. And if your budget is tight, choose a different way to develop an application for a banking organization.
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Cross-Platform App Development
The cross-platform approach simplifies the development process several times. Once created, the application will support both iOS and Android devices. It may not be as perfect as the native program, but you’ll save a lot.
And there are also a few more technologies for Mobile Banking Apps. You might find them useful too.
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MVP
Now you know the technology to build mobile banking applications (or rather, technologies). Start small and create a simple model of your future full-fledged application (the so-called MVP model).
Such a model will have only main mobile banking features, like authorization, account checking, money transfers, etc. With MVP, you'll be able to save money and test the initial version of the application on end-users
Deployment Stage
Deployment stage implies practical presentation of the product to the public and ensuring its ongoing tech support.
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Launching the App
When the application is ready, the development company launches and publishes it in the App Store and Google Play.
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Mobile Banking Software Updates
Now your task is to collect user feedback, analyze it and adjust your strategy. It's never too late to become better.
Challenges of Banking Apps Development
When asking how to make a mobile banking app technically effective, the readers don’t have to forget about the 2 challenges, the knowledge of which can prevent their occurrence.
1. Security
When you start building a mobile banking app, protection of the clients’ data security is a must. Fraudulent activities, money laundering, and hacking attacks represent three of the major security risks of mobile banking software development.
The protection of the clients’ data is a must to comply with security standards.
You should keep in mind that the protection of clients’ security is a must as mobile bank applications have to comply with the PSD2 regulations on anti-fraud.
So, here are top-5 solutions of ensuring decent data protection:
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Multi-stage user authentication system.
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Encryption of all information, including data stored on the device.
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Using one-time passwords to confirm transactions.
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Applying passwords to access the application itself.
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Automatic app blocking in case of loss or damage to the device.
2. Usability
Of course, security comes first, but you should not forget about the application’s usability. Mobile banking services should be easy to use, intuitive, and user-friendly. Otherwise, if the app lacks profound UI/UX design, like in the form of layout lagging, the client might decide to use the competitor’s mobile banking app.
Here are the following strategies for how to improve the mobile banking app’s usability:
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Generating a consistent layout in order to make icons and interface stable in operating.
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Applying high contrast colors to underline the essential information.
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Balancing the number of choices. The app might comprise multiple financial operations, the saturation of which might discourage the client from using the app. Categorization of choices and operations can arrange the versatility of offered opportunities.
Cost of Developing a Mobile Banking App
How to build a mobile banking app and how much does it cost? Well the overall development expenditures will range from $30,000 to $250,000, depending on the overall goal and needs of the business project. Additionally, it is essential to discuss the factors that affect the overall mobile banking software developmental prices:
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Feature Complexity.
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Choice of Platform.
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UX/UI Design Elements.
Feature Complexity
The identified aspect takes into account basic and advanced elements the application will contain, which will differentiate the overall development costs. The basic application will be cheaper in crafting as the app’s primary purpose will include the traditional mobile banking functions. By contrast, advanced apps will demand more financial input due to the degree of personalization it will provide the client with.
Basic Features:
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User Authentication.
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Balance & Transaction History Checks.
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Money Transfers.
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Bill Payments.
Advanced Features:
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Biometric Authentication.
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AI-Driven Analytics.
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Saving Goals & Budgeting Tools.
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Robo-Advisory Assistance.
Choice of Platform
Choice of platform will influence the development cost of a mobile banking software based on the overall project’s goal.
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Native Platform
If you underline tech effectiveness, smooth interactions, better app’s work under different loads, then, the native platform will be the optimal, yet expensive variant.
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Cross-Platform Development
If you prioritize cost preservation as your key goal, then, cross-platform development might be a beneficial option to create the mobile banking app applicable to both iOS and Android platforms The benefit of this choice is that the developes can share a code across both platforms, which substantially reduces costs.
UX/UI Design Elements
UX/UI design elements can increase the development cost of the mobile banking application, considering the emphasis on intuitive and personalized user experience optimization. The advanced UX/UI design features are as follows:
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Micro-interactions (purposeful animations).
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Integration of Voice Commands.
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Elements of Augmented Reality (3D models).
Best Mobile Banking Apps
We've covered the most important topics, now it's time to identify a few of your competitors. To begin with, we suggest paying attention to the most popular banking apps... at least, three of them.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
By providing its financial tools, Marcus, a mobile banking software, prioritizes assisting clients with savings, borrowings, and investment. The application contains tools like the high-yield CD calculator and no-penalty CD calculator that assist the users in finance-relevant decision-making beneficial for their financial arrangements. The key advantage of the analyzed Goldman Sachs’s mobile bank is that it secures the users’ deposit accounts as it is FDIC-insured.
Capital One
Capital One is another well-known American banking company which alleviates the users’ financial operations with the help of its mobile banking application. The application integrates Eno, a virtual assistant that keeps users’ accounts safe through the proactive alerts. Additionally, the application integrates an easy process of locking/unlocking the card to ensure the cardholders’ data and finances are secure and undermine any chance of money theft. Finally, the presented mobile bank application offers a reward system for clients who use credit cards.
JP Morgan Mobile
J.P. Morgan Mobile integrates the overall functionality of J.P. Morgan Online℠, as well as integrates app-only features to ensure the clients with a personalized user experience in investment and financial operations to its full extent. The identified mobile banking application implements the digital wallet feature, enabling the users to attach their debit/credit card to the smartphone or smartwatch. Additionally, the app provides clients with a payment through QR codes for Zelle money operations. The only action needed is scanning the recipient's QR code to proceed.
Choose Agilie as a Reliable Partner
Mobile banking, indeed, revolutionizes the way people manage their financing worldwide, representing a unique niche to start your own platform. However, when generating the idea about the potential project and identifying the core needs, the key moment to keep in your mind is choosing the right development company who will implement your dream project in life.
Selecting the right development partner requires paying attention to the company’s years of experience, industries it works in, and versatility of services it provides.
Agilie is a European IT outsourcing company that for 14 years keep crafting its custom-tailored and result-driven solutions for the versatile needs of the multiple industries like fintech, real estate, logistics, health care, etc.
Trusted by 10+ companies, Agilie has proven its name as a reliable fintech service provider due to our expertise in blockchain, payment solutions, fintech, and mobile banking.
Our mobile banking development services include:
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Seamless Onboarding
Recognizing app security as our top priority, our developers have multiple solutions for ensuring the highest level of the application protection within the registration process, comprising the latest tech trends like face ID, touch ID, voice recognition, focusing on the specific project needs.
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Financial Planning
Our personal financial management (PFM) feature can ensure a seamless and effortless budget management and scheduled bill payment enabling the users’ automation of their financial planning.
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Notification Center
Our notification center provides you with a possibility to personalize your account alerts to get convenient reminders on bill payment time, security notifications, and fraud detections. Additionally, you may receive updates via email and push notifications.
Conclusion
In our article, we discussed the overall essence of mobile banking applications, their types, features, and developmental process. Money transfers, personalized assistance, and bill payments represent a few beneficial features of the broad spectrum applied to the analyzed software. Hence, if business owners consider developing their own mobile banking app, they should determine their core project needs and hire a reliable development partner to bring their idea to life.
If these market leaders have appreciated the benefits of mobile banking application development, you need to pay attention to digital too. And we offer our help!
Stop chatting, let's talk about your project! It's time to get down to business.
