Igor TomychCEO at DashDevs, Fintech Garden

Igor Tomych, fintech expert with 15+ years of experience. He launched 20+ fintech products in the UK, US and MENA region. Igor led the development of 2 white label banking platforms, worked with 10+ financial institutions over the world and integrated more than 50 fintech vendors. He successfully re-engineered the business process for established products, which allowed those products to grow the user base and revenue up to 5 times.

Fintech Banking Software Development

OCTOBER 31, 2022

9 min read

How much is the cost to build a fintech app? It’s a profound inquiry, but one for which there is no cookie-cutter response.

Time and developers’ wages are the two most important variables. The time involved is proportional to the platform, the features’ complexity, and the server architecture needs. Budget for the development heavily depends on the previous experience and how much your developers know the target market for the financial product.

This piece will elaborate on how much it costs to create a popular kind of fintech app, including those for banking, lending, investing, insurance, and personal finance.

What Includes the Cost of a Fintech App

It goes without saying that the functionality offered by fintech software will greatly affect the final price tag for a firm. However, there are varying requirements depending on the nature of the application; the functionality of an insurance app will vary from that of a personal financial app.

However, there are a few components that are included in the cost to develop a fintech app

Onboarding and authentication. Every fintech app, at its core, requires users to register and log in. Users also need their own profiles to get the most out of the ability to store and manage data.

Profile management. Every user needs the ability to edit their own profile. They need the option to link bank accounts, change their username and profile picture, and add and sync wallets. Information concerning their financial situation in its entirety must be available to them.

Customization options. Each user needs their own customized homepage to set preferences. Additionally, it will provide personalized advice and recommendations.

Notifications and updates. Every customer wants to be notified when new discounts and specials become available: new deals, expiring subscriptions, renewal deadlines, and more.

Virtual help desk. A built-in chatbot or virtual assistant is now a must-have for every piece of software. By addressing frequently asked issues, it expedites the process of resolving queries. When a chatbot can’t answer a customer’s question, it will send them to the right person who can help.

To be considered a fintech product, it must contain at least these five attributes. Fintech app development cost can also include other features, like data analytics, security, and others. Let’s take a look at how to estimate the cost of building a fintech app.

Cost to Develop a Fintech App by Type

It’s vital to know what kind of fintech app you’re going to make. The price tag for a simple user interface and functional personal finance software will be about $30k to $50k. Contrarily, the price of a digital banking app might be more than $100,000. They’re larger in scope and complexity. That’s why it’s crucial to know the app kind.

Type of app	Example	Development time
Banking app	Dozens	4000
Investment app	Downing	2000
Consumer finance	Mint	2000
Insurance app	Root	2500
Lending app	Myconstant	2500

Banking App

The aforementioned cost of fintech application associated with creating a mobile banking app, including the backend management console and the user-facing interface.

Users may access their account balances, see recent transactions, and initiate transfers from the client side. They may also arrange payments in advance, transfer money to other users, and look for local ATMs.

You may find a detailed story about how we had built the Dozens app within 9 month.

Landing App

Apps that provide peer-to-peer lending have prices similar to those shown in the table above. Without a central lending institution, the app makes it easier for financially stable people to lend money to each other.

Investment App

The mentioned fintech application development cost states for an investing app that provides access to a wide variety of investment options.

Users are also given analytical data from the app to help them make better choices. Wealth management platforms are a more prevalent term for investment apps.

Insurance App

There is a distinct market for insurtech solutions. This field, however, is inextricably linked to the world of money. Accordingly, it is accurate to include insurtech within the umbrella of financial technology.

With the assistance of apps, customers may get answers to their fundamental queries regarding insurance providers. Depending on the type of specialist insurance policy you want, you should expect to pay more or less.

Consumer Finance

This financial app’s main feature is its ability to help its customers better organize their spending. As a result, they are able to manage their finances, keep track of their credit cards, process their electronic payments, and analyze their purchasing habits.

In addition, it’s important to note that fintech enables you to launch a business at the crossroads of e-commerce app creation and fiscal habits. Creating a pricing comparison website that makes use of the Buy Now, Pay Later model is one such example.

But not only does the kind of application matter, but so does the team and the location. You may also think about these alternatives.

Cost to Develop a Fintech App by Product Stage

Developmental milestones include proofs of concept, prototypes, and minimum viable products. In the proof-of-concept (PoC) and prototype phases of the product development life cycle, only a small amount of time and money is spent.

Building a minimum viable product (MVP) allows you to test the waters with your product’s essential features and functions and see how the market reacts to your concept. Making a proof of concept or prototype costs less money and takes less time than making an MVP.

We made a table that shows the differences between the proof-of-concept, prototype, and minimum-viable-product strategies.

Stage of product	Cost of development (aprox.)
Prototype	$10,000 – $40,000
Proof of concept	$20,000 – $80,000
Minimum viable product	$80,000 – $150,000
Fully fledged product	$200,000 – $800,000

Prototype

With the help of a prototype, it is much simpler to fill in any blanks in your idea, comprehension, and discovery of all demands and specifications. It’s a cheap and easy way to get input from potential customers and adjust your product’s direction accordingly. A prototype may take several forms, depending on the project’s intended outcome.

Prototypes are made so that firms may get early input from actual users and stakeholders before beginning extensive development. Other common applications of prototyping include:

Closing any holes discovered in the production process.
Understanding what exactly it is that the client needs.
In order to secure finance, you may exhibit a prototype of your product to potential buyers and collect their input before you start developing the whole product.

Proof of Concept

Creating a proof of concept (PoC) allows you to test your idea with little resources and time commitment (from a few days to a couple of weeks). In order to “bulletproof” your product vision and discover the technical vision for bringing it to life, a proof-of-concept is a good place to start.

You may also benefit from a proof of concept when you:

See whether the chosen method of development is correct.
Inspect the viability of a technological solution to a difficult problem.
Set boundaries for your proposed solution.
Determine your needs in terms of available tools.
Failed attempts in later phases of development may be avoided.

Minimum Viable Product

The goal of developing an MVP is to have a release-ready version of your product with just the right set of features to interest early adopters. When early adopters use a minimum viable product (MVP), you may learn more about your target audience’s reaction to the product, their expectations, and their likes and dislikes. Using this method, you can construct your product in small chunks, listen to user input as you go, and verify or refute your initial hypotheses.

There are also good arguments for creating a minimum viable product, such as:

A low-budget company launch
Obtaining funding through crowdfunding or venture capital
In order to prevent large product rejections,
Forming bonds with clients
Developing superior end results

Fully fledged product

The concept of a completed product is the most nebulous of the topics covered here. Since there is always an opportunity for improvement, no product can be considered complete.

After launching your minimum viable product (MVP), minimum viable product (MLP), or complete product, you’ll have a better idea of how to address your consumers’ concerns and add new features. So, you shouldn’t assume that the version of your product that you just put out is the final one.

Cost to Develop a Fintech App by Team

The team is another important and nuanced factor in the overall cost of fintech software.

If you’re running a startup, you may choose from a large variety of different groups. In addition, if you look closer, you’ll find that each of these choices comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, making the whole thing rather perplexing.

Let’s compare things using the example of a 1,000-hour development cycle for a financial technology app.

However, while developing a financial technology app, it’s important to prioritize capacity above cost. It’s as simple as saying, “I want to employ the best!”

In-House Team

The procedure is simple: you advertise for a full-stack developer or the positions you need to fill, you test their algorithmic expertise, and you choose the best candidate. Here, you’ll have frequent contact with your developer and will have free reign over their work. Activating them is simple and only necessary in an urgent situation.

Pros	Cons
Having developers already acquainted with your ecosystem might help speed up development.	This choice may be tiring.
As the actions of outside parties are curtailed, crisis management becomes more effective. Internal developers often have stricter Internet security standards than external teams.	You’ll have to provide them with a living wage, pay their taxes, set up an office, pay for their medical licenses, and more.
Moreover, your company has all of the rights to use and modify the original code. You now have complete control of the project.	It takes a lot of effort and money to find new employees.

Even if you have the financial resources to acquire a stellar group of employees, success is by no means certain.

Oursource Team

When deciding between hiring freelancers, building your own in-house team, or working with a local agency, an outsourcing development firm might be a perfect compromise. It refers to a group of people recruited from afar to work together remotely. The crew is managed and hired by someone else, and you’ll give them the tools they need.

If your concept is large or complex, a software development firm can help you realize its full potential.

Fintech businesses that want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies like blockchain and machine intelligence into their mobile apps might consider this route. Learn more about fintech outsource app development.

Pros	Cons
They have low operating costs.	The time zone difference and the requirement for continual progress monitoring during demonstrations and conversations with the project manager are two drawbacks.
They provide an additional advantage in that they may connect you with highly qualified experts like lead app developers, business analysts, project managers, etc.	This is a minor drawback, however, since it makes sense to have you on board as a founding member.
These experts are essential for developing a cutting-edge FinTech solution. an example being the creation of an online stock trading platform.

Freelance Team

You may locate independent contractors specializing in developing fintech apps with little effort by searching social media or freelancing websites. They are excellent for quick, ad hoc, and unpredictable endeavors.

Pros	Cons
Freelance developers are a great resource for gaining in-depth knowledge in the creation of your fintech mobile app.	Freelancers may abandon ship in the midst of a project if they get a better offer.
Their reliability is low, and they often serve many customers at once. They are also unable to provide you with a long-term commitment to your project.	Since they will be writing and testing their own code, you will have little to no say in how well the project turns out. If you don’t have the manpower to keep tabs on freelancers, you should go elsewhere.

Always get a freelancer to sign a nondisclosure agreement since they may sell your confidential information to a rival for a low fee.

DashDevs Team Is Here For You

DashDevs is an outsourcing company that has expanded to serve clients all around the globe. We’ve been making cross-platform web, mobile, and desktop apps for the financial industry for a long time.

If you contact us, we will create, test, and launch a minimum viable product (MVP) for your fintech firm. We have around two hundred experts with an average of eleven years of expertise each in the field of making user-friendly programs.