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Online banking software is the future of the finance industry. Banking apps provide secure, convenient, and easy access to financial services for customers. Building online banking apps can help banks better meet the needs of their customers by providing a modern, user-friendly mobile banking experience that is secure and convenient.
The best mobile banking apps allow users to make fraudulent transactions from their phones or other mobile devices, giving them more control over their finances. Building online banking apps can also increase brand recognition and loyalty as customers can quickly and easily access the services they need on time.
In this article, you will find an extensive guide helping to build the best banking apps best with all the features to reduce costs associated with manual operations, allowing businesses to maximize profits while still providing excellent customer service.
Mobile banking apps - the future of the fintech industry
Online banking software is a remote service of the common bank. In other words, it’s a website or one app where users can manage their finances and perform different operations.
But… there is always a but. Users of such apps must have an account opened in that bank or financial institution. That usually implies that they need to go to the bank and open it offline, particularly for the more traditional banks. However, one visit will be enough and clients can thereafter further continuously benefit from using the online version.
So, what can you do with online banking?
- Check the current balance on checking, credit, and various retirement, and personal investing accounts.
- Check any linked mortgages, loans, or savings accounts.
- Go paperless and stop dealing with paper bills, statements, general correspondence, or even tax documents.
- Perform various kinds of payments (credit cards, bills, etc.).
- Receive money, whether these are mobile check deposits, Airbnb, Uber, or tenants paying you for long-term rental of your property.
- Transfer money between your business, retirement, and personal savings accounts, and make transfers to your friends, and landlords’ accounts.
Types of mobile banking apps
Speaking about online banking, it is necessary to mention that there are several types. Depending on your business needs and requirements, you can choose a solution that will be a perfect fit for you, and then invest in its custom development.
Mobile banking
This handy solution allows users to manage their bank accounts accessible at users fingertips and available 24/7, regardless of time zone, aside from the occasional “maintenance time off” or something of the sort.
Your domestic bank account offers instant support in chats or chatbots powered by AI. You can benefit from all banking services provided by your regional bank.
Client banking
This is a PC-based service for corporate clients of a bank. The banking software is installed on a PC and it offers access to the bank’s system, and database, and allows clients to make payments seamlessly. This banking solution is less convenient than the mobile one since the clients need to have a PC or laptop handy.
Internet banking products
This kind of solution works directly in a web browser and allows users to access their accounts online. It is perfect for busy people since they can use internet banking anytime and from any device.
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What is mobile-only banking?
Mobile-only banking is a type of digital banking that is accessible exclusively via one’s mobile device. It allows users to manage their finances without having to visit a physical bank, pay bills and make transfers through secure and convenient mobile apps.
With mobile-only banking, customers also benefit from additional features such as biometric and mobile number authentication, early warning services, budgeting tools, automated savings options, and more. It provides enhanced security compared to traditional banking methods due to its built-in fraud protection and encrypted data storage systems.
Such banks typically have lower fees than those associated with national banks, making them an attractive choice for many consumers looking for more affordable financial services.
Monzo allows users to open accounts instantly and manage them with the help of their mobile devices. Through the app, customers have access to real-time spending notifications, budgeting tools, dollar and frequency limits, bill-splitting options, and more. Additionally, they can use the app to make payments using Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Monzo also has an extensive range of fraud protection systems in place including encryption technology, secure login processes, and two-factor authentication. All these features make it easy for customers to safely manage their finances on the go.
Benefits of online-only banking apps
Since this solution will be frequently used by people, it should be very convenient and intuitive and offer a set of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Low cost of the banking services. It becomes possible thanks to lower maintenance and infrastructure costs.
- Grace period. Some mobile banks offer clients a longer grace period to attract new clients.
- Higher deposit rates. This characteristic expands the client base and greatly increases client loyalty.
- Discounts/Cashback. Mobile-only banks can become partners with bars, shops, cinemas, or any other businesses and offer discounts for their clients.
Generally, mobile-only banks can serve only individuals, since entities require complex legal documentation to operate with a bank. Nevertheless, having only those clients who use an app-only bank for their personal needs has its benefits.
For example, digital-only bank customers are usually more financially literate compared to usual bank clients who like to go to physical bank branches to resolve issues. Studies have shown that people who use banking apps at least once a week are, on average, more aware of their finances than those who don’t use such apps.
Functions of the online banking app
Online banking software gained wide popularity and continues getting high rates in mobile stores, because these applications provide a large spectrum of functions, offering the ability to perform a variety of operations.
Bank clients do not even need to leave the comfort of their homes to pay bills, manage their accounts and credit cards, get tips or support from financial consultants, and set up investment, savings, or retirement plans. And all of this and more is only possible thanks to the features incorporated in mobile solutions.
So we would like to highlight the main and trending features that should be included in every online bank application:
Peer-to-Peer payment systems
This feature gives you the ability to send money from your account to others` bank accounts or personal cards. There is no need to go to the bank department or look for a terminal to do this operation. Users can independently manage their funds online.
Voice recognition
Bank clients can perform various banking operations with the help of voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant. Voice recognition technology is highly trending right now since it lets you do so many things hands-free.
Budget and savings tracker
Many online banking apps come with budgeting tools such as account balance reminders, account summaries, and money management calculators that help users to stay on top of their finances.
Real-time spending notifications
Most online banking apps provide customers with real-time notifications when they make payments, allowing them to keep track of their spending and be aware of any suspicious activity.
This technology allows customers to easily log into their accounts using facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or other biometric authentication methods. This added layer of security provides users with peace of mind knowing that no one else can access their accounts without the appropriate verification.
AI-powered chatbot
Bank clients value financial consultations and they would prefer to get one whenever an urgent need arises. With chatbots, this becomes possible and easy. They can answer questions, provide information about banking operations, help clients navigate to necessary sections of the manual on a website, or else.
Geolocation
Banking apps with the geolocation option are made to simplify the search for the nearest ATM or bank office and show directions to it. Also, the apps can include current info about cash availability, hours of operation, currency exchange rates, etc.
Apart from all these great options, we have collected so-called honorable mentions that would be nice to incorporate into your banking solution:
- QR/barcode scanner
- Cash back service
- Built-in currency converter
- The version of the app for wearables
- Bill pay feature
- Deposit checks
- Budgeting tool
- Mobile deposits
- Redeem credit card rewards
- Account activity reports
- Off-line mode
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The sudden popularity of neo-banking in a business world
Today, neo-banking is used by an estimated 75 million customers around the world. Many traditional financial institutions have adapted their services to include online banking options to keep up with this growing trend.
Neo-banking is particularly popular among Millennials due to its ease of use and personalized features such as budgeting tools, card spending notifications, bill splitting options, and fraud protection.
It is a banking service provider that offers a range of its services only remotely. There are three main types of this fintech solution:
Independent neo-banks
Such banks are formed from scratch, do not have an initial client base, and are aimed to form it by offering many beneficial fintech services. Among the well-known examples of such neo-banks, one can see Monzo and Chime.
Big tech neo-banks
It is easier to explain the concept of big tech neo-banks using some examples. They are created by big corporations like Apple, Google, or Amazon. They have high-tech features powered by AI and blockchain and can handle large volumes of data to provide instant services to their clients.
Neo-banks founded by existing banks
Many common banks consider creating neo-bank solutions for their clients to provide a better client experience, reduce paperwork, open accounts faster, provide more service options, etc. This kind of neo-bank is the most popular and lots of companies invest in the development of such solutions this year.
After exploring some real numbers and analyzing the trends we can conclude that:
- Most of the new banks are focused on the local market and incorporate features able to satisfy their local clients.
- Neo-banks become even more convenient letting their clients manage finance operations via messengers without even installing the app on the device.
- These solutions are highly competitive and attract more and more clients each month.
- Traditional banks (almost 30% worldwide) already have their neo-banks.
So what do these conclusions imply? Simply that now is the time to think about neo-banks as a great new business model. If you have a traditional bank or intend to develop and release the most user-friendly banking app – then neo bank should be your choice. It’s even easier to build a banking app if you have all the necessary APIs and certificates at your disposal.
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Business benefits offered by mobile banking apps
Incorporating a mobile banking solution can contribute greatly to your bank’s productivity and customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, these advantages are the end implications, the derivative improvements are:
- Increased customer loyalty and engagement: By providing customers with a secure, convenient way to manage their finances from anywhere at any time, businesses can improve customer retention and satisfaction.
- Optimized customer service and support: Mobile banking apps and banking web application development allow customers to quickly contact support staff for help or seek answers to their questions in the app’s FAQs.
- Personalized experiences for customers: Companies can provide personalized services, such as tailored spending notifications or budgeting tools, using information collected from the app.
- More accurate financial tracking: Having all of a customer’s data easily accessible helps to conduct fraudulent mobile banking transactions.
- More accurate financial tracking: Having all of a customer’s data easily accessible helps to conduct fraudulent mobile banking transactions.
- Improved security features: Mobile banking apps have built-in security measures that protect users’ sensitive information and use bank-grade encryption standards.
Great examples of banking apps
If you are still looking for inspiration and comparing the most popular solutions to make yours even better, then keep reading this paragraph. We have explored an online banking market and discovered the most popular and frequently used solutions. And we’d like to share some info about them with you.
This information may help you with the selection of the feature set and app type. Also, the solutions we’ve selected are very user-friendly which is so crucial when your main focus is client service. So, without further ado, let’s see what apps we’ve found.
Ally Bank
Ally Bank is a mobile-only banking app that provides better conditions such as lower commissions and fees. Today, this online bank is considered to be the best one on the market as it has 43,000 ATMs and offers to check investing accounts, which are conveniently linked.
Ally Bank provides the function of savings and other common features like paying bills, available transaction history, deposits, and ATM locations just like any other bank. Moreover, the app shares with its users the latest stock market news. This solution is available for both Android users and in the Apple app store.
Bank of America
Bank of America is a large national bank that provides its clients with 16000 ATMs all over the country. As it is national, it has a high level of trust among the clients. It provides common banking operations as well as great modern savings tools.
What we like about this app is that it is secure and detects suspicious activity on savings accounts and sends an instant notification about it to block or freeze it. Also, Bank of America provides the possibility of cashback for some activities. This app has paid maintenance and the rate is $14 every month.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is another financial giant that has a wide network of 13,000 ATMs. It offers low fees on checking accounts that are easily waived if you have a $1,500 minimum daily balance, and direct deposits of $500 or more per month.
With the Wells Fargo app, you can easily pay any type of bill and set your Touch-ID, or Face ID to simplify the logging-in process. Also, the app provides quick commands to check account balances, review transaction history, look at credit card rewards, etc.
Wells Fargo offers numerous financial planning options starting with rational crediting, planning retirement income, and ending with investing basics. This app simplifies the life of its users and helps them to become more competent in financial matters.
Robinhood
Robinhood is the financial app that everyone has been talking about for the last few years. It was revolutionizing and democratizing investing with its zero-commission trading, which the rest of the industry had to match.
Although lately it’s been getting more negative media attention with their latest game stop trading halt scandal and questionable payment for order flow practices that were in the middle of the Robinhood scandal that was all over the news.
Nevertheless, despite a lot of ambivalent feedback, Robinhood orders near free trading have a sleek app interface design and help a lot of young people develop an interest and learn about investing.
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Tips on how to develop an online banking application
Software development of banking apps requires a skilled team of experts in the fintech field. It is better to outsource the development of your solution since this will help you to save a lot of time and costs. When looking for a team to build your own banking app, make sure that it will include the following specialists:
- Business Analysts;
- Web developers and mobile developers;
- Designers;
- Software Architect;
- QA engineers;
- Scrum Master.
As a business owner, you need to understand the logic behind banking software development and be aware of the processes.
For that reason we prepared a shortlist of aspects that you should pay special attention to while building online or mobile banking apps.
Choose reliable banking APIs
Whether you are going to develop an app for an existing bank or you want to launch a banking app for your mobile-only financial institution, you need to use the APIs of the banks. In the first case, they are required to make an app work and make it possible to manage their bank own accounts. Regardless, you should be familiar with banking technologies, especially if you aim to build a secure and functional mobile-only banking app.
Ensure a high level of security
This is the main and most crucial feature of banking apps since users entrust banks with their money and personal information. The banking app must correspond to local government regulations and have all the needed licenses and KYC compliance.
When it comes to the technological aspect of the app’s security, consider adding encryption systems, electronic signatures support, and tokenization of the data. Don’t allow users to create weak passwords, and don’t forget to implement multi-factor authentication.
But, that does not mean that the user has to type out the lengthy password. Mostly you can use Touch-ID or Face-ID instead of putting the password every time you log in. It brings simplicity and a higher level of security. The voice recognition option can help users perform even simpler logging in. It offers a great security level, but it is harder to implement within the application.
Make intuitive and clear UI/UX
Though the typical users of online banking are young people who are familiar with modern technologies, your app design should be understandable to anybody. Everything should be visible, readable, and easy to find.
The color scheme should not be aggressive or overly bright. The buttons, sections logic, all loaders – these elements are crucial and should be taken care of.
Add customization options
Customization implies changing the color scheme, setting personal notifications like a mobile carrier message, or providing clients with personalized money management advice. Modern customers like feeling special, so allow them to get what they want. By offering a personalized approach you will gain clients’ loyalty and appreciation.
Ensure high-performance rate
You may build the most beautiful and feature-rich solution, but if its performance is low and provokes long load times on users’ devices, they will rather abandon such an app. So during mobile banking development perform various kinds of quality checks and only release solutions that are free of bugs and errors.
Create an app for wearables
Smartwatches are used by so many people and yet app owners often forget to build a version of their solutions for these devices. Developing a mobile banking application for wearables can be a game changer! The pioneer in introducing banking apps for wearables was the Australian bank (Bank of Melbourne).
Its clients were able to pay using smartwatches, they received push notifications, checked balances, and could navigate to the nearest ATM.
How to build a banking app with Altamira
Chances are that you already have a mobile banking app. So you may be wondering whether you need to do anything about it and whether you should extend your digital presence somehow. And we would recommend you do this.
If you still offer online banking only (web version of banking solution), then it is high time to invest in advanced mobile app development. Firstly, mobile apps are more secure than web apps. And secondly, they are more convenient for your bank client since they always have a mobile device on hand. It’s all about client service, 24/7 availability, and personalization, so don’t miss a chance to improve them and satisfy your clients’ needs.
Altamira team can help you improve your current online banking solution and build a mobile solution to complement it. We will update your design, and make its UX more intuitive and user-friendly. And we will also help you to select the optimal feature set for your banking app and choose the right tech stack to implement all of the options.
If you already have both web and mobile apps but think that they are not modern and functional enough, then we can help you with the update of the solution. Our software engineers will do a code review, and our designers will review the look and user experience that your apps offer.
Based on the results of those reviews, we will suggest the best feature set, security method, tech stack, and some extra options that can make you stand out among competitors.
Our Business Analysts will also explore the current market to find out what solutions are extremely popular, what best practices can be applied to your banking app, and what improvements your web and mobile services can make use of.
Altamira advocates a holistic approach to digital transformation, so whatever solution your bank may need- we are ready to consult you and take action. Thanks to our extensive experience, we can build the best mobile banking apps faster and better. And, we can also help you with entering the market if your goal is to create a mobile-only bank and gain a client base.
It includes several important steps that cannot be missed. Among them will be:
- Discovery phase – when you with the help of Business Analysts will shape your idea, explore the competitors’ solutions, and identify the functional requirements along with the desired feature set.
- Specifications phase – when all your requirements will be structured, well formulated, and written in the document for further usage.
- Design – This is when your app will get its unique look. The designers will take care not only of the UI but also of the UX of your solution so that every user can enjoy your banking experience.
- Development – on this stage the tech takes will perform coding, integration of various services and APIs, and addition of all features of your app.
- Testing – QA engineers will thoroughly check every little detail starting with the app functionality and performance and ending with its components and integrations connectivity. Manual and automated testing will be used.
- Release – The specialists will prepare the solution to be submitted by the mobile stores. They will gather all info, and screenshots and double-check if everything is okay with the app performance.
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The cost of developing a banking app
As you’ve probably understood from the paragraph above, developing a mobile banking app is a lot of work. Therefore it cannot be cheap. You can expect that a mid-sized outsourcing company will charge you for a solution of this kind made from scratch for $30,000 and $60,000, which can help you gain maximum benefits for a very reasonable price
Of course, a redesign and update of an already existing online and mobile banking app will cost you way less.
The price seems enormous, however, if it exceeds your budget you should not put your banking app idea aside. After all, it is a great option to build an MVP and test the market. You can add the most important features to your app and see whether the customers like it.
Also, the clients can give you feedback regarding the features they would prefer to have. So you will have a chance to take their suggestions into account and keep adding top functionality further. It is a great option at an affordable price-quality ratio.
Also, the clients can give you feedback regarding the features they would prefer to have. So you will have a chance to take their suggestions into account and keep adding top functionality further. It is a great option at an affordable price-quality ratio.
FAQ
Creating a banking app from scratch is a complex and scrupulous process that demands deep expertise in this industry. There are several main steps you need to do initially:
1. Research the market
2. Define your target audience
3. Choose the type of app
4. Define the type of monetization
5. Build the business and marketing strategy
Our Business Analyst can help you with solving all these questions and requirements, so feel free to contact us as soon as possible.
It is hard to name the exact price since it depends on the app’s complexity and feature set. It can be $30,000 or it can be $65,000. The development of a banking app requires the work of a team of specialists and each of them will be responsible for a particular part of building the solution. To make accurate estimations of your projects with their peculiarities, please contact us.
As the financial industry is complex and has a lot of law details and peculiarities, developing the banking app is a long-lasting and complicated process that can take several months. It all depends on the range of functions and features your solution will include.
To wrap it up
The digitalization of businesses is an inevitable process and the banking sector is no exception. While you may already benefit from using technologies and having a banking app, the question that you should still ask yourself is: “do I benefit to the fullest or is there something that I can improve?” The competition is tough and to win your clients’ loyalty you need to offer the best possible services.
These days people are not ready to spend much time figuring out how the banking app works. They want to open it, find necessary options intuitively, and complete necessary operations easily. And that is exactly what your banking app should offer.
If you don’t want to end up in the shadow of your competitors, it’s time to develop the best mobile banking apps or improve the existing ones. And don’t forget about your website. Spice up all your solutions with a beautiful design, and useful options, go that extra mile for the customer and see your business prosper.
Thanks to modern technologies the possibilities are endless. You can even make a breakthrough in the mobile-only banking sector and launch your digital bank without boring offices and tons of paper!