Mobile Banking App Development Guide—Process, Features, Cost

With 169.3 million mobile banking users, 64.9% of the US population is using mobile banking, suggests Plaid.

Mobile apps are making banking simpler, more accessible, and transparent.

Such apps emerge as a significantly useful tool for customers as well as banking and finance institutions.

White-label app developers and distributors are creating such apps and earning revenues.

There might be several challenges that you may face while developing a user-centric, compatible, and risk-free banking application. You need a smart and streamlined mobile app development process to achieve your project goals effectively.

Let us explore the complete know-how.

Table of Contents

• Why Should Businesses Develop a Banking App in 2022?
• What Are the Challenges of Banking App Development?
• Must-Have Features to Consider For Mobile Banking App Development?
• How to Create a Mobile Banking App in 2022?
• Top Mobile Banking App Examples to Consider For Development
• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile Banking App?
• How Can We Help?

Why Should Businesses Develop a Banking App in 2022?

Customers’ convenience is not the only reason why you build a product. A passionate business leader considers the business aspects of the app developed.

• High ROI

It takes in-depth market research, time, money, and resources to turn a mobile banking app idea into reality. Every business expects good returns on their investments in the development of a mobile banking app.

A mobile banking app owner can expect results in various ways. It can either be in terms of more user engagement, expanded customer base, increased revenues, or augmented market credibility.

There are several case studies of leading banking institutions that have achieved positive results by developing and onboarding mobile banking apps in their processes.

• Rich Customer Experience

As per the data collected by ThinkWithGoogle, 6 out of 10 respondents accepted using a FinTech app to manage their financial transactions.

People are shifting more digitized banking resources as they are more accessible and save their time and efforts.

Banks have the opportunity to help their customers accomplish different financial activities fast and simply.

• Augmented Marketing Channels

Mobile banking apps have provided an opportunity to reach out to customers with deals and offers of their interest more interactively. It is easier to launch such campaigns and get an adequate response from the customers.

• Precise and Paperless

The adaptation of mobile banking apps in modern-age financial infrastructure has simplified the process by reducing paperwork. With digitized processes, coded law, and better customer engagement, businesses have better clarity of their business goals.

• Accessibility & Availability

Mobile banking has eliminated gaps between banks and their customers by providing a centralized and technology-backed space where they can avail themselves of the services interactively.

What Are the Challenges of Banking App Development?

From creating a solution-oriented product to successfully showcasing it to the right stakeholders, you want your mobile banking app to meet all possible project requirements.

Mobile app developers may encounter several challenges while turning a mobile banking app idea into reality.

However, you can ensure meeting all the abovementioned project needs by hiring a credible mobile banking app development company.

Here are two primary challenges faced by business owners while creating a mobile banking application.

• Security

Since your mobile banking app may need to use user data to fulfill certain functionalities, it might be necessary to feature adequately strong security walls.

To counter security vulnerabilities and make your mobile banking app secure, developers need to utilize the latest security tools. Such packages allow your app to sustain diverse and complex security standards.

• Compliance

Standard-compliant applications may showcase promising results in terms of overall app performance and security. When your application serves a versatile audience from diverse geographical locations, it becomes essential to conform to the compliance and protocols defined by authorized regulators.

Here are some of the popular compliance for FinTech companies that you may consider before developing your mobile banking app:

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regulations

Your mobile banking app needs to comply with regulations included in the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

This compliance can restrain the following in a FinTech app:

• Fraudulent activities
• Money laundering
• Suspicious activities

A mobile banking app development company can utilize and implement DevSecOps approach for developing the application. It is considered an effective development approach to leverage agility and responsiveness to create robust mobile banking apps.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

This compliance focuses particularly on regulating or controlling the collection or disclosure of private information of the customers. The service provider must also disclose all information-sharing policies and practices of the product.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

This FinTech compliance focuses on protecting customer privacy and information accuracy. Consumer reports created by service providers may include sensitive information that demonstrates character and assets. The compliance restricts the disclosure of sensitive information that may lead to unauthenticated use in employment, housing, or credits.

Money Transmitter License (MTL)

Any enterprises or institutions engaging in monetary transmission would need to comply with the protocols included in this compliance. Your mobile banking app will act as a financial instrument used to sell and purchase financial assets.

Money Service Business (MSB)

As per protocols included in this compliance, mobile banking app publishers must register the product through the BSA e-filing system. By following this compliance, you can eliminate AML risks and indulge in conformity to BSA reporting standards.

BitLicense 

If you are planning to include cryptocurrency exchange features in your mobile banking app, you would need to comply with the protocols in BitLicense.

A mobile banking application company including other virtual currencies in their product should also meet the protocols within BitLicense.

Must-Have Features to Consider For Mobile Banking App Development?

From creating new customers to retaining the existing ones, features play a key role in defining any mobile app’s success.

It can be critical to identify the features your mobile banking app would include.

But, what if we knew for which tasks our customers are going to use our application.

As per the data available in a ThinkWithGoogle report, here are some primary tasks for which a set % of users install and use finance apps.

User volume (%)	Activity
55	To engage in easy banking operations
27	Accomplish purchases
27	Referrals
21	Already using such an app and wants to switch
19	View and avail new deals
16	Limited features on the website

This data can help you personalize your app as per your potential audience’s needs.

We are listing here some of the most popular mobile banking app features which you can consider for your project.

• Account Creation and Management

From creating bank accounts to viewing balances and generating custom statements, customers are preferably using mobile banking apps to simplify complex financial operations.

By keeping a user-friendly interface, you can allow your customers to easily create and manage accounts.

• Transaction History

Keeping a track of recent transactions is a common and critical feature that every mobile banking app should include. You can allow customers to track transactions between custom data as well as on a periodic basis.

• Cross-Channel Payments

By having a mobile banking app installed on their smartphones, customers get a compatible additional payment option.

• Fund Transfer

Mobile payments may grow at a staggering CAGR of 29% between 2020 and 2027. Incorporating an interactive fund transfer facility in your mobile app can benefit your business ambitions significantly.

• Customer Support

By countering their problems timely and effectively, you can become your customers’ favorite. To accomplish this, you would need to create an interactive support infrastructure in your mobile banking app.

• Push Notifications

Mobile banking apps can use push notifications to send direct updates on individual banking accounts, the latest deals and offers, and app updates.

• ATM & Branch Locator

By accessing geolocation data, your mobile banking app can track the branch and ATM nearby to your customer’s location.

• QR Scanner

You can simplify identifying individual user accounts to send and receive payments and enable faster user authentication.

• Security & Authentication

Technological enhancements are accessible to everyone, regardless of their intentions. Cyberattackers are exploiting these upgrades to create potential threats to the customers.

Mobile banking app development companies can create a strong IT infrastructure to encounter any vulnerabilities in the security system. They can utilize tools like multifactor authentication, end-to-end encryption, integrated customer privacy, and transaction monitoring resources to safeguard customer data and other infrastructural resources in your mobile banking app.

How to Create a Mobile Banking App in 2022?

The process of creating a mobile banking app can be lengthy, complex, costly, time-consuming, and unproductive if you do not plan your project smartly.

So, how do you get started with a streamlined mobile banking app development process?

It starts with validating your plans with the help of experts.

So, what exactly do these experts do?

This section will provide a comprehensive understanding of where and how to get started in the mobile banking app development process.

• Discovery

The discovery phase in the mobile app development process focuses on everything that creates a strong foundation of project management and product development goals.

We can categorize the entire discovery phase into different process parts as the followings:

• Market Research 

From understanding your audience and identifying your project goals to considering the validity of your mobile app ideas, market research allows you to create a constructive plan of implementation. It further helps you understand if you have realistic ROI goals and create a value proposition.

• Competitor Analysis 

The more you analyze your competitor, the better you understand the Dos and Don’ts of your business. It can help you define your ROI goals, USPs, etc.

• Cost Analysis 

Mobile banking app development services providers can help you plan your project budget smartly and engage in a cost-efficient development.

• Technology Stack

Once you finalize which platforms you want your app to run on, you can then identify the development technologies.

If you are choosing to create native applications that run on dedicated platforms, i.e., iOS and Android, independently, you will need to include Swift and Kotlin in the tech stack for iOS and Android apps, respectively.

If you are willing to create a cross-platform app using a single codebase, you can use frameworks like React Native, Flutter, etc.

• Prototyping

By prototyping your mobile banking app, you can visualize the final product more effectively. The mobile banking app development companies can use their expertise to create interactive prototypes that showcase both primary and advanced features.

• Development

Now that we have a technology stack, a prototype, and a team, we can start by creating an interactive UI.

Furthermore, we can code the required features and functionalities to create a fully-fledged mobile banking app that brings results in terms of user engagement and customer experience.

• Testing

From usability to functionality, you would want your mobile banking app to enrich the customer experience. You can achieve the performance goals with the help of an independent testing team.

• Launch and Deployment

Once your mobile banking app has been tested, you can deliver, deploy, and launch.

Once developed and delivered, smooth deployment should be a priority for mobile app developers.

• Maintenance

To sustain effectively, you need to maintain your mobile app consistently. High-quality real-time app performance can augment your product’s credibility in the market.

Also Read | Complete Guide on FinTech App Development

Top Mobile Banking App Examples to Consider For Development

Among some leading banks in the world that have utilized mobile banking to stay closer to their customers and sustain the technological competitiveness in the market.

Taking inspiration from an existing app can help significantly to create the roadmap for developing your mobile banking app.

• Citibank

Citibank is a consumer-based financial services company. The company is headquartered in New York, United States. The company has designed its mobile banking app to focus on the needs of individual customer accounts with extensive virtual access.

• Bank of America

It is a Charlotte-headquartered investment bank, affecting about 11% of complete bank deposits in the United States.

The bank has its mobile banking app available on both Play Store and App Store.

• JPMorgan Chase

Among the largest banks in the world, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a global predominance in the global banking space.

Over 62 million households are connected with JPMorgan Chase. The bank has one of the largest banking customer bases in the world.

• HSBC Bank

It is a well-known banking, investment, and financial services company based in London, United Kingdom. The company offers commercial, investment, and personal banking services to its clients including enterprises and individuals.

The HSBC mobile banking app allows its customers to manage accounts securely using their mobile devices.  The application is available for personal internet banking purposes. The bank also provides an HSBC business banking app for business-oriented banking.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile Banking App?

The cost of developing a mobile banking application may depend upon several factors. Starting from the personalization of features to customization, including diverse features in your mobile app can affect the financial estimation significantly.

• Feature-wise

Feature	Cost
Account creation portal	$5,000-$10,000
Account management portal	$10,000-$15,000
Payment integration	$7,000-$20,000
Report generation	$10,000-$20,000
Automated email generator	$8,000-$12,000
Push notifications	~$5,000
Chatbot	$2,000-$8,000

• Stage-wise

Process	Cost
Discovery	~$5,000
App Design	$5,000 to $10,000
Development	$35,000 to $100,000
Testing	$10,000 to $30,000
Deployment	$10,000 to $50,000
Support & Maintenance	$5,000 to $10,000

Also Read | How Much Does It Cost to Create an App?

How Can We Help?

We, at SparxIT, have been working on mobile app design and development projects for more than 15 years. We have handled projects from diverse industry domains and complexity levels.

If you have an app idea and are looking to validate it before you get into the development process.

Conclusion

Mobile banking sector has grown dramatically in recent years. It is projected to be worth $1359.5 million by the end of 2028, says GlobeNewsWire.

If you are planning to create a mobile banking app, the best time to build one is today.

We hope that this blog post has helped you gain a comprehensive understanding of what it means to create a mobile banking app, the development process, cost, and what it takes to create an app of such a kind.

Share your thoughts in the comment box.