Today, financial institutions are shifting into the digital space to offer services through mobile applications. Most people today prefer personal banking within the comfort of their homes or offices. You can easily shop online, transfer funds, and make deposits with one click. Queuing at the bank is not as common as it was recently. Since the demand for banking apps is rising, the software industry is becoming more competitive.
Mobile banking app development is the future as many financial firms are developing apps for efficient service delivery. However, before you even start the development process, it is imperative to know the cost. How much will you spend to develop a mobile banking app? This important question will guide you through the entire development project.
This article highlights factors that might influence the budget estimates and all the expenses you need to know when building a bank application.
What Is a Mobile Banking App?
Before we go into details about the cost, it is important to understand the definition of a mobile banking application and what it entails.
When we talk about a bank app, you will immediately relate it to a mobile app. Bank apps are usually designed as mobile applications where customers can access their accounts from a mobile device, for instance, a tablet or a smartphone.
Each bank application is unique and has different functions, depending on the institution or services offered. Let us explore some of the features of many banking applications:
- Authorizing payments.
- Viewing bank account information.
- Instigating peer-to-peer transfers.
- Payment scheduling.
- Paying utility bills.
- Ordering bank cards.
Factors Affecting the Cost of Mobile Banking Apps
Developing a bank application is not an easy task since it is complex. Usually, experts calculate the cost by multiplying the working hours for developing an app by the developer’s fee per hour. However, each phase has its own cost, for instance, design, customer support, or advertising. So, the ultimate budget for building an application depends on many factors.
Let us explore some of these factors:
- Complexity
As mentioned above, a bank app has many features and tools depending on the services. Hence, this directly impacts the cost of app development. Whether a scaled app or a minimum viable product, you must understand its complexity to determine the ultimate cost precisely.
- Technology Stacks
Each app uses different technologies to achieve efficiency. You need to know the type of programming language, the APIs, and other tools you will use to develop your app. These teach stacks to impact the final cost. Though it is advisable to use native programming languages, you can try modern stacks to enhance performance.
- Developers
Another factor that goes into cost is the location of the product development team. Outsourcing teams from abroad might be quite costly compared to local developers.
- Recruitment
The cost of hiring freelancers and in-house developers is different. If you have an in-house team, the costs might be higher because they are experts. Conversely, choosing freelancers is cheap but very risky. They might charge less and compromise the product quality. You need to be wise and conduct due diligence before settling on the right development team.
Mobile Banking App Costs
There are many apps for financial institutions offering different services. You can find an app that focuses mainly on Internet banking, while another is for making mobile payments. So, different applications have varied costs. Let us look at some of the common features and their costs.
- Internet Banking App
Most banks have an Internet banking app that helps customers access their accounts online. These applications are good for personal banking. Developing such an application is quite costly, ranging from $250,000 to over $1,000,000. One of the major reasons this app is quite expensive is that you need to develop an exceptional UX/UI experience.
Moreover, you must have the approval of different government bodies and provide many requirements to develop this app. It is mandatory to comply with the regulators if you want to develop banking applications. Thus, you have to pay for smooth operations and avoid prosecutions.
- Mobile Payments App
Mobile payments are very common today since many people enjoy the convenience of the apps. You can easily send money directly from your bank account to another person. At times, developers create apps that only allow transactions from one individual to another.
Unlike Internet banking apps, mobile payments have fewer regulations and few features. It is not complicated and is easy to develop. The range for building this app starts from $250,000 to around $500,000. However, the final cost might depend on the UI design and the features you choose to include in the application.
Though the costs are still higher, many financial institutions opt to develop these apps for their customers.
- Expense Monitoring App
Another popular app in the banking industry is the expense tracking application. This app is not used for any payment or to hold funds. It is a platform for monitoring your expenses. Since it has a specific function, the development overheads are significantly lower than other bank apps. Thus, the developers determine the cost by the app’s complexity. The budget estimate for this app is not more than $100,000. But the cost still depends on the UX design and app features you want to incorporate.
Bottom Line
Developing a mobile banking app is not a one-size-fits-all kind of project. Each app is unique and has specific functions depending on the bank’s services. Therefore, estimating the exact budget for an app depends on various factors. It would be best to carry out due diligence to understand your budget from the complexity, developers, and technologies used in the application.
