How Much Does Mobile Banking App Development Costs?

Irrespective of how slow we call the adoption of technology in the finance sector, there is one transformational event that can not be ignored – a massive percentage of people willingly switching from desktop and branch-visiting banking to mobile banking.

Mobile banking apps have today become one of the primary ways in which people log on to their bank accounts and perform transactions. The attraction towards mobile banking is so high and prominent that banks, across size and geographical locations, are not just expanding into the online banking app development offering but are also looking for ways to make them new-gen technology-rich.

But in doing so, the most common question that crosses the mind is, how much does mobile banking app development cost?

The overall cost to create a mobile banking app can vary from $30,000 to $300,000. The cost can further increase or decrease as per the app’s overall complexity as well as the feature list. Some of the other factors that also impact the cost of banking apps include the app’s design, location and hourly rate of the developers, quality assurance costs etc.

In this article, we are going to deep dive into the different facets of banking application development and the feature-sets that come together to define how much it costs to build a banking app.

Let’s start with figuring out how you can determine the cost of your banking application project.

How to Determine the Cost to Develop a Banking App?

The banking app development costs depend on two main elements: total time taken to build the software and hourly rates of developers.

The time depends on factors including the platforms chosen, complexity of features, tech stack used, and so on. The hourly rates of developers typically depend on their skills, experience, and location.

Therefore, once you have chosen your development team and figured out the complete app development requirements, you can use this unfailing formula to get a rough cost estimate for your project:

While you can estimate the mobile banking app development cost using the above formula, you can also take a look at the average cost and time it takes to develop apps of different complexity levels in the table below.

Now that you have a clear idea of how to calculate the overall banking app development costs, let us move ahead and discuss the various factors that ultimately determine the price.

Bonus Read- How much does it cost to build an app like Tabby?

Factors affecting the banking app development cost

As mentioned above, there are several factors that affect the overall cost of mobile application development for the banking sector. Understanding these factors can help you determine your overall banking app budget while at the same time offering you a clear insight into how they play a crucial role in the app’s success.

Let’s discuss the factors in detail below.

1. Wireframe

Wireframing is a stage of mobile app design you can’t miss. A wireframe is basically the overall architectural design or map of the banking app’s layout, which is usually created with the help of tools like Figma or PhotoShop. A wireframe typically has to go through multiple testing procedures to finalize the one that offers a true vision of the product to be designed. Generally, a wireframe design can cost around $8,000 to $10,000.

2. UI/UX Design

After wireframing, comes the stage of UI/UX design, which is another crucial factor that can cause the success or failure of your app.

The general information inside a mobile banking application includes – account information, money transfer details, customer service information, an active chatbot, etc. Creating a design that tries to add all the information in place is straightforward. But what is needed and appreciated is a minimalistic design – that ensures smoother navigation and retains the audience while engaging them simultaneously.

3. App Platform

The underlying platform of the mobile banking app impacts its overall cost. Even though choosing between an iOS or Android platform usually has a negligible effect on the app’s comprehensive budget, it is generally preferred to start with the latter considering its extensive user base. You can simply decide to have your banking app built for a single platform at first and then switch to cross-platform app development once the app gains some traction in the market.

4. Team Size

Hiring a dedicated app development team is the next phase of your development project that can ultimately affect the overall banking app development costs. If in-house app development is not an option for you (due to budget and resource constraints), you can hire either freelancers or outsource your app development project to a reputed company like Appinventiv.

Hiring freelancers can help you decrease your overall app budget. However, their lack of  technical prowess and experience of developing a banking app can lead to costing you even more than the overall development costs in the long run. A full-fledged banking app development service company, on the other hand, while might charge you a bit more initially, will ensure greater return in the long run due to the quality of services they offer.

A standard team to develop an efficient banking application must include:

• 1 Project Manager
• 2-3 Backend Developers
• 2-3 iOS/Android Developers
• 1-2 Designer
• 1-2 Quality Analysts

Note, that the team size can further be increased or reduced to depending on the overall complexity of your project.

5. Location of the agency

Another element that affects the banking app development costs is the location of the mobile banking application development company you choose. As you move from East to West, the cost of app development increases.

The average hourly rate of mobile banking app developers in the US is higher as compared to that of app developers in the Asian or African countries. Let us give you a rough idea of the banking app development costs in various regions of the world.

[Also Read: How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile Banking App Like N26?]

6. App Maintenance

App maintenance, although the last, is one of the most important factors affecting your app development budget. After all, it’s important not just to deploy the app but also to keep it up and running constantly. App maintenance becomes all the more important for the mobile banking industry, considering the criticality of the user data and activities involved.

Apart from keeping a normal hygiene check to avoid bugs, your app might also sometimes require upgrading. For instance, the overall budget may increase if you decide on implementing some new technologies to the banking app to maintain a competitive edge in the market.

For further details on how app maintenance can impact your banking application costs, hop on to this resourceful guide on app’s maintenance cost.

7. Technology Integration

The other key factor that has a direct impact on the banking app development cost is technology integration. While we suggest adding new technologies like AI or Blockchain to future-proof your banking application, it can considerably affect your overall app budget.

[Know how choosing the right tech stack for your app is one of the most important decisions that can ensure the success of your app.]

Here is a general tech-stack for banking software development:

8.  Features

Mobile banking app feature-set is one of the most vital factors that contributes to the development cost. The more advanced and complex the features are, the greater is the development cost.

Let us now look at some of the most sought-after features of a banking mobile app.

While the above graph gives you a good idea of the features that users demand the most in an online banking application, let us help you understand all the must-have features in detail.

Must-Have Features to Include in a Mobile Banking App

1.  App access

Like a majority of applications, a banking application also starts with authorization and registration. The sign-in option in the banking application should be simple but also highly secure. There are two options that brands generally follow when building a banking app – PIN entry and Fingerprint.  A multi-factor authentication system can help secure the application to a great extent. Know the various ways in which you can implement a multiple authentication system.

2.  Account information

You should enable the users to access their bank account information – account number, balance, card number, name, etc. There are a number of success stories that highlight the need of showcasing the feature of checking balance and other information in the first screen that opens when the user logs in. However, even if it goes differently than your plan, try to make the sections easily accessible for the users.

3.  Payment and transfer

The next must-have feature of a banking application would be the ability to make real-time payment and transfers. There should be a specific section for the transfer activities containing the ability to add beneficiaries, view account balance pre and post-transfer, etc.

At the payment stage as well, you should ask the users to put in their password/PIN or fingerprint to allow money transfer.

4.  Transactions history

Another primary feature of a banking application is real-time transaction history. On a usual note, you should give your users the feasibility of viewing their transaction history for the period that they want, i.e custom date setting.

5.  Push Notifications

A well-thought of push notification strategy can not just help you retain your customers but also increase the engagement levels in your application.

Generally, push notifications are divided in three parts:

• Transaction-based – notify users of everything related to their bank accounts
• Promotion-based – inform the users about offers, discounts, and deals
• Application-based – document submission or password change request

6.  Bank and ATM locations

It is one of the most convenient features present in a banking application. You should integrate Apple or Google Maps in the application to help guide the users to the nearby bank locations and ATMs.

7.  In-app chat

There are a number of ways chatbots make banking better. The number one is making banking accessible to the users on a 24*7 mode. A securely-devised chatbot can help keep updated with their account details, check if x amount was credited from their accounts, etc.

8. ATM connectivity

Innovations in QR code scans and near-field communication technology will help customers manage their ATM transactions without fumbling to find their debit cards, while saving them from entering passwords in a public setup.

[Also Read: How Much Does it Cost to Build a Mobile Banking App Like Chime?]

9. Voice commands

Voice technology is finding itself getting adopted by the banking sector to a greater extent. Users will now be able to check their bank balance or transfer money to people in their contacts simply by initiating a voice request.

10. AI Integration

This year will see a number of innovative use cases of AI in the payment & banking sector. Right from fraud detection to establishing a 24*7 connectivity between users and banks, AI and Machine Learning will be integrated by the banking institutions to a great extent.

11. App security

Although the banking sector is still one of the most secure sectors, the future will see it become unhackable. Here are a few elements that we will be adding in the banking applications to make them breach-proof:

• Multi-factor authentication system
• End-to-end encryption
• Fingerprint authentication
• Real-time alerts
• Incorporation of AI to identify fraud instances, etc.

While these are the must-have features that define how to build a banking mobile app, there are a number of advanced features that can elevate the returns on mobile banking development services investment. They can be – regular payments, QR scan, integration of third-party services like investment portals, hotel or travel booking options within the app, etc.

All the elements come together to define the cost of app development for banking. If you are looking for an exact numeric value, share your idea with our banking software experts. They’ll help you validate your app idea while giving you a costing estimate.

While you are working to build a banking app idea, let us now offer you a good look into the mobile banking app market that can help make your app future ready.

A Peek Into the Mobile Banking App Market

The ease that banking apps come with – real-time access of account information, ease in transactions, card-less ATM withdrawals, etc – has led to the fact that every bank now comes with their own banking applications.

But does it mean that the time for entrepreneurs to join the bandwagon has passed? No!

There are a number of statistics that validate the need for a mobile banking application. Here are some prominent ones –

• According to Allied Market Research, the mobile banking market was valued at $715.3 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $1,824.7 million by 2026.
• The market will witness a CAGR of 12.9% from 2019 to 2026
• The number of digital banking users in the US has increased from 196.8 million in 2021 to 203 million in 2022
• According to an Insider Intelligence report, more than 97% of the millennials use mobile banking application today

In a decade’s time, mobile banking apps have taken over the combined user count of internet banking, branch-visit banking, and telephone banking. We can only imagine how big the market will be in the years to come.

Let us now move ahead and understand how you can tap into the growing potential of the industry by discussing the various stages of mobile banking application development.

How to create a mobile banking app?

If you are wondering how to create a mobile banking app, following a pragmatic approach is your best option. Let us discuss the stages in detail, from the pre-development phase to gathering requirements and deciding on the app budget.

1. Market Analysis and Data Gathering

The first stage of developing a mobile banking application is conducting thoughtful market research. You first have to create a proper plan to help determine the need for a banking application in the market.

The next step is to start researching your target audience, analyzing the competition, and finding out various loopholes in the currently available banking applications. A more significant ROI is guaranteed if you can determine the shortcomings of the existing apps and develop an application that is unique and different from the competitors.

2. Deciding the features and tech stack

The second step of the mobile banking app development process is finalizing the app development features that will be integrated into the app during the development phase. In addition to this, this stage also involves choosing the right technology for your app that can make your app scalable and robust so as to remain ahead of the competitors. A modern tech stack and an extensive feature list can help you increase your overall ROI.

3. Implementing UI/UX design

The next step of the development phase is implementing the UI/UX design for the banking app. One of the foremost factors you need to consider while designing the app interface is seamless navigation, which can further help in increasing the app’s overall engagement and retaining existing users while attracting new users effectively. A dedicated design team can help you design a custom app that resonates with your brand’s essence.

4. Developing the banking mobile app

This is the stage where all the parameters are combined and implemented by the development team with the help of a programming language. The development team uses a robust tech stack to ensure your app runs smoothly and offers a seamless performance.

The team also takes all essential measures at this stage to ensure a hack-proof mobile banking application. Our team at Appinventiv follows every country-wide security protocol to ensure your app protects user data effectively.

[Also Read: How to develop a PCI-DSS-compliant Fintech app?]

This stage of the development process also includes implementing the required third-party APIs. Implementing them into your development plan ensures that your app is user-friendly while adhering to all security requirements. In addition to these, these APIs are capable of retaining users and enhancing the overall customer experience.

5. Testing and maintaining the app

The last stage of the development is app testing, followed by the app’s maintenance. Quality assurance of the app is required to ensure that it is bug-free and offers a smooth user experience to your customer base. A dedicated quality assurance team can help you provide all that while maintaining the app’s performance. Maintenance of the app further includes various app upgrades per the market requirements, implementing new functionalities, features, technologies, etc.

So, the stages mentioned above finally conclude the app development process.

Final Thoughts

Now that you understand the banking app development costs ($30,000 to $300,000) and the various factors affecting them, it is time to invest in a custom mobile banking application that can put you on the chart.

Appinventiv is a dedicated fintech application development services organization that can offer you a well-defined app development plan and create a banking app integrated with a modern tech stack and an extensive feature list per your business requirements. For instance, this is how we recently developed an AI-based banking solution for a world’s leading bank, leading to a 20% improvement in their customer retention rate. We also helped the renowned Asian Bank develop a holistic crypto-based banking platform, leading to 250K mobile app downloads.

Get in touch with our team for more detailed information on how we can help you put things into perspective with a well-curated banking software development.

FAQs

Q. How much does mobile banking app development cost?

A. The mobile banking app development process costs can vary from $30,000 to $300,000. Several factors that can further increase or decrease the overall cost of the app includes the app’s complexity, its feature-list, UI/UX design, hourly rate of developers, location of the app development organization, etc.

Q. How to build a mobile banking app?

A. Banking mobile app development first requires you to gather the initial requirements and make a thorough market analysis. Then starting with an app prototype, you must implement the app design, write the code and deploy the app in the market. Some of the further development stages include quality assurance and app maintenance.

Q. Can developing an MVP for a mobile banking app reduce the overall costs?

A. Designing an MVP for your mobile app can help you reduce the overall budget. The MVP for the banking app can include features like:

• Profile creation
• Account management
• Customer support
• Offline access
• Secure funds transfer
• Push notifications
• ATM locations

Once you have created an MVP, it is time to launch it in the market to get initial feedback. After the MVP has gained traction in the market, you can switch to a fully-fledged mobile application.

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director