Building A Development Team For A Fintech Project

If you have an idea for a fintech project, there’s a lot of opportunity, and you’re facing a lot of competition. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that revenue from the fintech sector will reach $1.5 trillion by 2030. That’s up from $245 billion in 2023. In its 2024 fintech report, BCG estimates that fintech’s share of the global financial services market will rise from 2% to 7%. Fintech solutions are here to stay, and understanding how to realize them from idea to deployment is a key to being part of that growth.

Statista emphasized in its 2024 fintech report that the number of fintech companies is growing. The number of companies worldwide grew roughly five times between 2010 and 2024, and now totals over 31,000. Competition for developers with expertise in the field is high. With all this activity, putting together a fintech team on your own can be a difficult undertaking. 

In this post, you’ll read about why you should partner with a fintech development company to build the team you need to bring the project to life, how to work with the company and the team, and common pitfalls along with how to avoid them.

Why Fintech Development Is Different

Fintech engineering is different from other types of software engineering. Software development for finance needs to balance all of these:

• Complexity
• Security
• Legal issues

Before you hire fintech developers, consider these points:

Complexity

Fintech solutions seem to be everywhere, from payment apps for in-store purchases and online retail to financial management including investment portfolios, to cryptocurrency platforms, to corporate payment management systems and neobanks, we interact with fintech in many ways. Financial software developers need to take those other fields into account.

Security

Keeping financial matters secure is a must-have. In the BCG report, the authors assert that 27% of fintech CEOs put managing credit risk or fraud as a top challenge for the industry. The issue goes beyond having client accounts drained to include identity theft with enough information to commit further fraud. In a June 2023 report, Juniper Research projected that online payment fraud alone will total $362 billion over the next five years. 

Legal Issues

Fraud is just one of the legal issues that a fintech expert has to contend with. Depending on the project, Know Your Customer / Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) laws may be an important part of realizing software development for fintech. The focus needed by fintech experts to keep track of changes in the KYC/AML rules is complicated by different parts of the world having different sets of regulation. Taxation can also be a factor that fintech experts need to keep tabs on.

Keeping all these balls in the air requires a commitment. If you have most of the required talent at hand already, though, building the team internally can be advantageous.

When Building A Fintech Team Internally Can Pay Off

Companies with well-developed IT departments can do a good job in realizing fintech projects. It is particularly worthwhile for the following reasons:

• More control over team and solution
• Possibly faster decision-making and implementation
• Better understanding of business goals and culture
• Ability to nurture internal talent

These are powerful reasons for building internally. Consider the following:

More Control 

By keeping your project in-house, you keep all processes and decisions under your own roof. In high-security environments, this may be a requirement. Storage, IP, and maintenance are all under your umbrella. 

Moving Faster, Maybe

With your decision makers and the fintech team all under one roof, the project could move at top speed. Ensuring this in fintech requires expertise and a clear vision that is being acted upon, so if you have these, in-house development can work well.

Goals and Culture

Keeping your company’s DNA in the project can be important. Fintech developers from outside will need to learn it. If your “why” is very specific, then creating the fintech development team might be something to consider. 

Developing People

If the company’s plans involve developing more fintech solutions, then pointing to this growth would be a plus when looking for the fintech specialists you need. This works best when there is already a critical mass of expertise to help integrate them.

Under the circumstances sketched above, in-house development works very well. The most important underlying condition is that there is already enough experience and knowledge to guide the team through the specificities of fintech project development while ensuring that the regulatory and other requirements are fulfilled. 

Why Partnering With An Outsourcing Company Makes Sense

With all the elements fintech engineering has to contend with, it’s no wonder that most companies go the route of partnering with a firm of fintech software developers. Unless the company is large enough or focused to already possess most of the expertise to just hire fintech consultants and develop in-house, the project is too daunting to do it alone.

When searching for an outstaffing company that can provide a team of fintech developers as well as the testers and other fintech experts needed, consider the following points.

#1 Specialization

Fintech is a sprawling industry with connections into most aspects of life, and it’s getting bigger. It’s important to find financial software developers who specialize in your desired direction. A fintech expert in crypto platforms is likely to have more understanding of KYC/AML than a fintech expert in payment systems. Companies outstaffing fintech software developers will often be able to mix-and-match fintech experts to fit the needs for your team. 

You can find out more about KYC/AML in business in this DashDevs blog post.

 #2 Experience

Fintech developers are a seasoned bunch in comparison to those in other IT segments. A fintech engineer often comes to the industry after gaining experience in another branch of IT in order to apply that experience. Even a junior fintech developer, then, has usually been through a number of projects.  A fintech engineering firm will have a stable of financial software developers available with a complete understanding of their experience as well as their specializations in order to put together the team that fits your needs.

#3 Connections

No two fintech engineering projects are alike, but most have some commonalities. For the rest, there will be a need to hire fintech consultants who have rare competencies or bring in an unusually large number of developers with some specific profile. A company specializing in software development for finance is more likely to already have these people onboard or be able to hire fintech developers readily through its own networks. 

Establishing a fintech project development team requires substantial experience and expertise with fintech software development. Should you need such a service, don’t hesitate to reach out to a trusted fintech development firm. 

The Process Of Setting Up A Team For A Fintech Project

Setting up a team for a fintech project involves several people in important roles before the team of fintech developers is assembled. The good news is that a fintech engineering firm with the specialization, experience, and connections to handle software development for finance will also be able to guide you through the process, especially if it’s your first fintech development project. Once you have settled on a project partner, the process looks something like the following.

#1 Your First Contacts - What To Expect

When it comes to designing your fintech project, the most important thing is to define what the team is building in the first place. You don’t have to come with a Request For Proposal, a set of spreadsheets, and a functional specification to get things going. It could literally be notes jotted down on a napkin - you wouldn’t be the first.  To prepare, though, make sure you can:

• Describe your idea as a product or service in a few sentences.
• Talk about what this would improve or automate.
• Sketch the current state of the problem your product or service would solve.
• Describe the end users of the product.

The better prepared you are, though, the faster, smoother, and cheaper the process will be. Business analysts will be involved in order to discuss the viability and opportunities of running the project.

You can read this DashDevs blog post to learn more about the features of a good Request for Proposal.

#2 Tech Analyses And Design

Once the business functionality is shaped, the software architect will begin to draft precisely how the platform and its various functionalities will work and what needs to be done to realise the project. While your business analyst will definitely be asking about your priorities, the rubber meets the road when the solution architect begins to lay out the functionality. At this point, hard decisions will need to be made. 

The software architect will also determine the team’s composition in terms of:

• The competencies needed according to the software architect
• Your budget
• Timelines

#3 Framing Work With Your PM And Team

Once the software architect has fleshed out the system design of the project to be realized, it’s time to put the team together. There are several decisions that need to be made, and the Project Manager will play a vital role in navigating the project to its launch. Issues that need to be addressed include:

• Realized project scope
• Time frames for deliveries
• Human resources committed to the project
• Communication frequency and granularity

A PM does not merely receive a remit. While reviewing the engineering specification, the PM might uncover discrepancies that need resolving or even worthwhile shortcuts that can be taken. The PM will coordinate with HR to hire fintech developers who fill specific needs. If there are budget constraints, the project scope or delivery framework might need adjusting. It can take time to hire fintech consultants with unusual specialities, and the PM needs to balance that against client expectations, too. 

Communication between the client and the team can take several forms. Determining the frequency and depth of reporting, the degree to which client team members are interacting with the fintech engineering team, and the forms of communication should all be set before the project kick-off meeting.

You can read this DashDevs blog post to learn more about communicating with a fintech development team.

Common Mistakes When Building a Team of Fintech Developers

Most mistakes that happen when developing a fintech solution can be boiled down to three basic problems. Knowing that these exist can help you both avoid them and optimize the development of your project.

Not Sharpening The Picture

You can walk in with an idea on the back of a napkin or a rough sketch in your head. However, it’s not advised to give the PM an engineering specification on the napkin. Prepare for the details to emerge as you progress from the initial conversations with the fintech engineering company. When you hire fintech consultants, they should proactively guide you toward clearer definitions of your goals and how they fit best practice. Value this.

Solution: List your priorities and most-wanted functionalities, and communicate them clearly to your potential fintech engineering partners. Strong contenders are those who ask questions that help you drill down further, and which bring their experience to bear on your solution.

Consultations with a Business Analyst should occur well before the development team is assembled. Their insight can save a lot of effort otherwise spent on guessing what to prioritize. If conditions change significantly, consider bringing a BA in to help refocus.   

Unrealistic Expectations

Wanting too much functionality has several roots. Sometimes, it’s a matter of funding. At others, ‘must haves’ and ‘nice to haves’ need to be untangled. It can even be a stage in the process of sharpening the picture with the help of the fintech experts. 

Even after the business analyst and software architect have had their say, the PM will play a role in shaping expectations regarding functionality, as it is the PM and the team of fintech developers who actually put it together. Their expert insight could easily whittle down the functionality set but result in a more viable solution.  

Solution: You could begin with a core project and roll out further functionality over time. This would also help ensure a robust product upon release. Alternatively, you could prepare to bring a fuller project to market, but at greater cost in relation to both time and money. Regardless, if your fintech engineering partner points to problems due to the range of functions being delivered, listen carefully to whatever advice they offer.

Time, Cost, Performance - Choose Two

Fintech projects are all constrained to some degree by financial budgets, time allotments, and the solution’s performance envelope. Emphasizing one of those parameters will almost certainly affect the other two. 

For example, because there are legal requirements regarding ownership of the source code for many aspects of fintech projects, fintech projects tend to be bespoke in nature, which drives up the costs. Keeping costs under control will probably affect either the time or the performance envelope by cutting back on the breadth of functionality or the testing of less critical modules to provide more value for the given budget. 

Solution: Know ahead of time what your priorities are and be prepared to act upon this knowledge. Still, project conditions can change suddenly, and keeping your priorities in mind will help in decision making when that happens. Your best insurance is to partner with a company that has the experience in this type of project to advise you on optimizing cost, time, and performance.

Communication Errors

Communication errors can be the easiest to combat, but are also very common. Cultural differences and time lags are only two factors contributing to this common problem. A PM will usually act as an intermediary to smooth communication between the team of fintech developers and both the client and internal stakeholders, but awareness of possible communication breakdowns is everyone’s responsibility. 

Solution: Clearly define communication parameters before the kick-off, and make sure to maintain them. You can connect with the team at the kick-off meeting, and it is encouraged to do so. Choose a fintech partner whose time and cultural fit work for you.

Lifehacks To Optimize The Creation Of Your Team

These recommendations, from a seasoned PM, should save you time, money, and headaches. Good news: pick three!

More Prepared = Less Cost

The more prepared you are, at each stage of the process, the cheaper it will be to hire fintech consultants and fintech developers. Coming through the door for the first time armed with a full set of data to back up your idea and a rough engineering specification will pay off. The business analyst and software architect will both be able to dig in more quickly and in greater detail if the basic ideas are already understood. Further along, being prepared to integrate the team of fintech experts into your organization or set up communications, depending on how the team is set up. 

Be Flexible Regarding Time, MVP, And Rollout

Declare any inflexible points before project implementation, and get an agreement on these points. This will save a lot of anguish later if something goes wrong. If all concerned understand what absolutely must be released and when, errors can be avoided. Furthermore, both sides will understand what can be changed without jeopardizing the project as a whole.

Don’t Be A ‘Helicopter Client’ Hovering Over The Team 

PMs can spend about two hours per week in direct contact with their clients, though eight hours per day is possible - it all depends on how much you are willing to pay for the pleasure. In general, though, let the team work and report at a level that covers your process clarity requirements.

Our Case Studies On Team Setup

At DashDevs, we have delivered over 500 business solutions in our time. Here are some fintech industry case studies that help underscore our commitment to providing the best fintech engineering solutions available to the market.

Tarabut: MENA’s First Regulated Open Banking Platform

We developed the first regulated open banking platform in the GCC region. In this case, we added to the development team experts who were in tight communication with the regulator to ensure that there would be no questions regarding legality for the end users running Tarabut. And we managed to do it all on a $500,000 budget.

Downing Investment: Sustainable Investing Platform

Sustainable investing specialists Downing Investment needed a total reboot of their online P2P investment platform. The company simply lacked the internal expertise to bring the existing platform forward. We assembled a team that sharpened their vision, provided technical expertise, and emphasized ease-of-use. The result doubled the platform’s annual revenue, raised £13m in new funds and helped attract another 25,000 users to the Downing Investment platform.

MuchBetter: Payment App and E-wallet

MuchBetter came to us with a great idea, but it was essentially a back-of-the-envelope sketch. We worked with the company to create the project documentation and we built a team for them. Despite a tight budget and no in-depth documentation at first, the resulting payment app and e-wallet has become a favorite of gaming communities in over 180 countries. That’s not just great, that’s MuchBetter.

Final Take

With tomorrow’s fintech industry projected to tower over the already huge market, there is plenty of room for innovative solutions. Getting the initial idea to market and making it successful is best accomplished by means of partnering with pro-active, seasoned fintech experts managed by a PM who can interface among all parties involved.

DashDevs has over 13 years of experience on the market and has delivered 500+ solutions to businesses. Our specialization and experience enable us to develop end-to-end fintech apps of any complexity to companies from a variety of industries. Don’t hesitate to request our assistance should you need a trusted provider.

Contact us