If you’re in the dynamic FinTech space with your business or innovation, you’ve probably asked yourself: “How much does it cost to build a banking app?”. It is difficult to determine the scope of a banking app, because the payment product development is a complex process. 

However, with the SDK.finance’s 15+ years of expertise in FinTech software development, you can estimate the budget for banking product launch. In this article, we dive deep into the various facets of banking application development and the functions that come together to define the cost of developing a banking app.

Banking app development market overview 

According to Statista, the use of neobanks has grown rapidly in recent years and represents a significant shift in the traditional banking landscape. This upward trend underscores consumers’ growing preference for digital, innovative banking solutions over traditional, brick-and-mortar institutions.

The main trend in FinTech development is the shift from traditional desktop banking and in-person branch visits to mobile banking. For banks, providing digital services is often more cost-effective than maintaining a network of physical branches. It also offers a wide range of features, such as mobile check deposits, bill payments, money transfers, investment tracking, and budgeting tools.

Banking app growth data

The main statistics of mobile banking market

• The global mobile banking market is estimated to reach $1.36 billion by 2028.
• 57% of millennials and 64% of Gen Z have a financial account with a nontraditional institution, according to a PwC survey. 
• According to Juniper Research, the total value of mobile money transactions in emerging markets will reach $2 trillion by 2027.
• Digital banking app downloads in 2022 surged 54%, exceeding 26 million.

Number of European mobile-only bank app downloads in 2022

Source: Finbold

According to data acquired by Finbold, downloads for selected six European mobile-only bank apps peaked at 26.3 million in 2022. 

Why is it important to understand the cost of developing a banking app?

While the benefits of banking apps are obvious, there is a cost associated with their development. These costs can vary significantly depending on a variety of factors, including the complexity of the app, the platform it is targeting, security considerations, and the features offered. 

Without a clear understanding of these cost factors, financial institutions and entrepreneurs risk embarking on an expensive and unpredictable app development journey.

Understanding the cost of banking app development is not just about budgeting. 

It’s about making informed decisions, setting realistic expectations, and maximizing return on investment. Whether you are a financial institution looking to improve your digital presence or an entrepreneur looking to build the next breakthrough fintech app, understanding the financial aspects of the development process is critical to success.

Key factors affecting the cost of developing a banking app

Developing a banking app involves several key factors that contribute to the overall cost. When financial companies understand these factors, they can plan and budget effectively, minimizing financial risks. Let’s take a look at some of the key factors that can affect the cost of developing a banking app.

App complexity

The complexity of your banking app plays an important role in determining development costs. Basic features such as user registration, account balance verification, transaction history, and money transfers are essential and included in most banking apps. However, additional features such as biometric authentication, push notifications, spending analytics, bill payments, and customer support chats can increase complexity and cost.

We have considered the estimated time required to develop certain functions. 

Time to create a banking  app (development only)

Feature	Development time
Authorization	80 hours
KYC	85 hours
User profile	80 hours
Account activity	152 hours
Transfers	72 hours
Bill payments	44 hours
Cards management	58 hours
Security	38 hours
ATM&bank locator	60 hours
Setting	30 hours
Support	170 hours
Admin pannel	310 hours

It’s important to note that more complex functions require more time, resulting in higher costs.

Team and expertise

Hiring a skilled and experienced development team is essential for a successful banking app. The cost of a development team varies depending on factors such as location, experience level, and project complexity. It is important to strike a balance between cost and expertise to ensure a high-quality and cost-effective development process.

Costs can also vary depending on whether you choose to hire an in-house team or outsource development. 

SDK.finance, for example, offers FinTech software development services that can significantly speed up the launch of a banking app. With 15 years of experience in payment product development, our team uses a pre-developed back-end Platform to save your time and resources.

Design and user experience

A well-designed and intuitive user interface increases user engagement and satisfaction, leading to higher adoption and usage. 

However, designing a user-friendly and visually appealing banking app requires skilled designers and additional development time, which can impact overall costs.

Key components for designing a mobile banking app

Source: Appinventiv

When considering the cost of UX and design, factors such as user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing should be considered.

Investing in UX and design can set your banking app apart from the competition and contribute to its overall success. To develop an app that meets user expectations while staying within budget, it’s important to weigh the cost of design against the potential benefits.

Security and compliance

Security and compliance are top priorities when developing a banking app. Financial institutions must adhere to strict regulations and industry standards to protect user data and ensure secure transactions. Implementing robust security measures and compliance requirements adds complexity to the development process and increases overall costs.

To ensure the security of user data, banking apps typically include features such as secure logins, encryption, two-factor authentication, and transaction verification. In addition, compliance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires continuous monitoring and regular updates, which contributes to the app’s maintenance costs.

Technology stack

The technology stack you choose for your banking app can affect development costs. Different programming languages, frameworks, and tools have different costs and development times. Some technologies and frameworks allow for fast development, while others require more time and effort. Faster development can reduce labor costs.

Integration with third-party services

Most banking apps require integration with external systems such as payment gateways, credit bureaus, identity verification services, and other financial institutions. These integrations facilitate seamless transactions, improve security and compliance, and provide users with a comprehensive banking experience.

However, integrating third-party services can complicate the development process and increase overall costs. The cost of integration depends on factors such as the number of integrations, the complexity of APIs, and the need for customization.

Maintenance and updates

Developing a banking app is not a one-time expense. Ongoing maintenance and updates are necessary to keep the app secure, functional, and up to date with technology and user expectations. Maintenance costs typically include activities such as troubleshooting, performance tuning, server maintenance, and compatibility updates.

Regular updates are also important to introduce new features, improve usability, and address security vulnerabilities. The cost of maintenance and updates depends on factors such as the complexity of the application, the frequency of updates, and the need for ongoing support.

And now let’s try to estimate a rough cost of banking app development.

Estimated banking app development cost

How much does it cost to develop a banking app?

To put it simply -“there’s no one-size-fits-all answer”. Just as different buildings require unique architectural approaches depending on their intended use and complexity, the same is true for app development. The diversity of requirements and the complexity of the apps lead to different costs.

While it’s challenging to provide an exact cost without knowing the specific requirements of your banking app, we can provide a rough estimate based on industry standards. 

Primary features of a banking app

Banking app development involves integrating several key features that provide value, convenience, and security to users. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features and discuss the average time and cost of developing a banking app for each feature.

Feature	Description	Time	Cost
Authorization	Requires the integration of various security measures such as password protection, fingerprint recognition, or facial recognition ID.	200 hours	$5000-$7500
Notifications	Reminders to raise awareness of fraudulent activity or low balances can increase overall customer satisfaction.	80 hours	$2000-$3000
Access to сard details	Allow users to conveniently transact without having to manually enter their card details every time.	150 hours	$4000-$6000
Transactions and payments	Including options such as internal transfers, national/international payments, or automatic regular transfers.	300-350 hours	$8000-$10,000
Transaction history	Transaction history facilitates record keeping by providing details of past financial activity.	80-100 hours	$2500-$3000
Spending analytics	Identifies trends based on user spending habits to promote effective money management strategies to customers.	120 hours	$4500-$5500
In-app chat with customer support	Direct interaction with customer service representatives via an in-app chat system that allows users to easily resolve issues.	130 -150 hours	$3750-$5250
Splitting bills	By integrating this feature into your banking app, you provide a convenient way to share expenses with friends, family, or colleagues.	160-220 hours	$8000-11000
QR Code Scanning	This feature enables users to conveniently make payments by scanning the QR code displayed by merchants.	140-200 hours	$7,000-$10,000

Keep in mind that these timings are only subjective estimates that take into account factors such as region-specific developer rates, technologies used, and other aspects that dramatically affect the overall price – so consider them only as rough guidelines!

Tech stack

Broadly classified into two major approaches:

1. Native application development: employing technologies designed for specific platforms (iOS-Swift/Objective C & Android-Java/Kotlin). Although this escalates costs owing to separate apps per platform— it promises higher performance & better user experience.
2. Cross-platform application development: cross-platform frameworks like React Native and Flutter can reduce development costs because you can write the code once and deploy it to multiple platforms.

Source: FDT

It is important to know that a wrong choice of tech stack can lead to inferior solutions that multiply future expenses through constant fixes – this underlines the importance of considering the long-term impact on banking application development costs when initializing your project.

Location and team

The average cost range involved in banking app development varies significantly depending on a number of factors. It’s worth noting that mobile banking app development is a sophisticated process and rightfully requires a larger financial investment compared to apps with less versatile features.

Typically, banking application development costs can range from $250,000 to over $1 million depending on an agency’s geographic location, experience level, required features, and underlying technology stack. However, this is only a rough estimate; actual prices can vary widely depending on specific requirements.

For instance, agencies in North America generally charge higher rates ($150-200/hr), amplifying your overall banking app development cost. As compared to Eastern European countries where software development services typically offer lower hourly rates ($50-100/hr).

Do keep in mind that these estimates are flexible and tip towards providing an inkling into budgeting for your project rather than exact figures. 

Source: Cleveroad

How to reduce the cost of developing a banking app?

It goes without saying that profitability is paramount in banking app development. In this digital age, developing a top-notch, feature-rich banking app doesn’t necessarily come with sky-high costs. Nevertheless, you can adopt certain strategies to manage your budget without compromising on quality.

Be methodical from the outset

Planning plays a critical role in managing the cost of developing banking applications. Careful planning helps anticipate and avoid unnecessary design changes in the middle of the process that can result in significant additional costs. Accurate estimation of costs prevents spending more than expected.

Prioritize core features only

Cost savings shouldn’t equate to sacrificing features important to user functionality. Prioritize core features such as transaction capabilities, balance inquiries or money transfers before adding luxury features such as chatbots or analytics. By implementing these unimportant elements later, you’ll improve financial efficiency during the early stages of mobile banking app development.

While there is no standard recipe for keeping expenses in check while optimizing performance, applying these strategies can make a huge impact on your ability to comprehensively control banking app development costs. Consciously managing all variables that directly impact overall costs promotes sustainable financial management in mobile banking app development.

Hire an experienced development team

While it may be tempting to cut corners when hiring developers, keep in mind that expertise plays an important role in determining long-term cost effectiveness. An experienced team minimizes errors throughout the development process, reducing spending on error corrections and revisions after the fact.

With SDK.finance FinTech software development services, you can speed up the development process and skip the most time-and resource consuming part of your product development and focus on UI/UX, the necessary integrations, and monetization.

Choose a reliable software vendor

Another important strategy for reducing costs is choosing a reliable software provider. By working with an experienced vendor, you can leverage their expertise, access cost-effective solutions, and ultimately ensure that your banking application development project stays within budget without compromising quality or security. For example, you can use a pre-developed SDK.finance payment software and cooperate with our development team to streamline the banking app development process. 

Final thoughts

Developing a banking app involves several factors that affect the overall cost. Understanding these factors allows organizations to budget effectively and minimize financial risk. From assembling the right development team and prioritizing features to integrating third-party services, ensuring security and compliance, and investing in usability and design, each factor plays a critical role in the cost of developing a banking app.

Get a shortcut in software development – a ready FinTech software backend and an experienced financial software development team to save your time and resources.

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• Source: https://sdk.finance/uncovering-the-banking-app-development-cost-how-to-maximize-the-return-on-investment/