Mobile Banking
It was May 18, 1995, when American bank Wells Fargo offered internet banking to customers. That was the first attempt of a physical bank to shift online. 25 years passed, and 1.9 billion people worldwide actively use online banking services, and the number is going to reach 2.5 billion by 2024.
Seems like mobile banking development is something of a great need in the fintech industry. This demand, for sure, creates vast business opportunities. But how to create a mobile banking app? Where to start? And how to make it competitive?
In this article, I'll cover all these questions, and explain how to build a mobile banking app that keeps up with the highly competitive market.
What is Mobile Banking?
As Wikipedia puts it, "mobile banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet." In other words, mobile banking is an application you can use for almost all the activities you'd do in a physical bank, but now you have it in your pocket.
As we figured out "what" mobile banking is, let's move to the "why."
Mobile Banking Benefits
Working at banking mobile app development I always balance the advantages the product brings to users and business.
What do I mean here?
With a mobile banking app, users will satisfy their need for 24/7 bank access. From the business point of view, developing a mobile banking application gives a competitive advantage. Since top US banks provide online banking, you need to have one to reach those standards and not to become an outsider. So the advantages differ, let’s take a closer look at them.
Benefits for Users
I have mentioned 24/7 bank access as the benefit for users, but there are many more others, check them out:
24/7 bank account access;
Fast money transfer;
Fast and secure access to the account (Face ID, Touch ID);
Notifications set up;
Broader functionality;
Cashback;
User-friendly UI design;
Spending tracker.
Benefits for Business
If you're reading this article, chances are you know what benefits mobile banking app development brings to your business. But, in case you missed something, here are some more:
Reach more users;
Faster and easier development;
Easier A/B testing;
More ways to reach out to users (notifications);
A better understanding of user behavior;
Higher customers attraction;
More careful customer analysis and opportunity to make the mobile banking software better.
How To Develop An Online Banking Application?
Developing a mobile banking application is more or less the same as developing any other product, except for the security stage that you need to focus on more. Below I described 7 steps of how to develop an online banking application. Check them out.
Step 1 – Research
At Uptech, we start digital banking app development with a market analysis, study the competitors and the market conditions we enter.
In mobile banking development, I advise paying serious attention to the cultural aspect, mentality, and user habits. For instance, when we built a banking application for the US market, we found that 70% of Americans have at least one credit card. So the question of whether we should include a credit option didn't even arise. Instead, it was a must-to-have feature. So, mind the cultural aspect of the market you're jumping into.
As the result of the research step, we get:
User Persona profile;
Market analysis;
Market share;
Market habits;
Value proposition.
Step 2 – Prepare the Security Base
This step is the one that differentiates mobile banking application development among others. When working on mobile banking software, you should understand that it's all about working with sensitive user data.
That's why here's the security base you should mind before developing a mobile banking application :
Secure password: all passwords must be hashed and only then stored in a database.
Auto logout: if users aren't active in the app for more than 15 minutes, they should be automatically logged out from the system, both on the front-end and back-end.
Data privacy: people who create a banking app should have limited access to users' tokens, passwords, and other sensitive information. All data must be stored in secure platforms like 1Password, Okta, etc.
Security certificates: in the case of a web app, ensure you have an SSL Certificate, and if it's mobile – SSL Pinning. These docs ensure that all data passed between the Web server and browser remains private and secure.
Secure authentication: Set up and use fingerprint security for Android devices and Apple KeyChain for iOS.
Secure card info: implement VGS (Very Good Security) to display customers' card info.
Step 3 – Develop & Test a Prototype
Over my experience in banking application development I learned one thing: the product's success lies in the number of interactions. Building a prototype is one of them.
Think of the prototype as a simplified version of the final product. It should include:
App logic;
App structure;
App design.
However, the prototype is still a far cry from the final product in terms of functionality, stability, and aesthetics. It allows you to test your idea. You simply give it to real users, gather the feedback, understand what works and what's not, and implement changes accordingly.
If you'd ask me, what the best way to validate the usability, design, and functionality of your mobile banking app is. I'd say, without a shadow of a doubt: "build a prototype."
If you haven't been testing your ideas with a proof of concept or prototype, you could be charting your product for failure. We knew from first-hand experience that validating your ideas is the only essential way to ensure product-market fit.
Therefore, you ought to know how to leverage PoC, prototype, and even MVP during development. More importantly, you'll need to learn the differences and which should be deployed at various stages.
In general, you'll want to follow the PoC → Prototype → MVP order. In some cases, you can skip PoC if there isn't a need to run a feasibility test.
Let's dig deeper into each of the methods.