Market Conditions

The fintech market has shown significant growth through the years; in 2018, there were 5686 fintechs in the Americas, 3581 in the EMEA area, and only 2865 in APAC. In 2024, we see completely different numbers as the Americas have grown their market to 13100 fintech enterprises, EMEA 10969, and 5886 in the APAC region. America keeps being the biggest fish in the sea, with 34,05% of the global market share in 2023.

Despite a dramatic downturn in investment in the fintech industry, falling from $226 billion in 2021 to 113.7 billion in funding in 2023, the market remains strong, with an expected revenue of $1,152.06 billion by 2032.

The fintech market’s continued growth is fueled by the development of innovative apps that address consumer needs. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most successful fintech apps of the year.

Top FinTech Apps of 2024

Let’s check out the top fintech apps and see what features set them apart from their competitors.

Robinhood

Robinhood is an electronic trading platform that allows users to trade stocks, options, and ETFs with zero commission fees. It also offers the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. The platform is accessible via a mobile app to help individuals manage their investments easily. With a trustworthy name, Robinhood gets 19th place in the list of the largest fintech companies in 2024, with a market cap of $15 billion. Robinhood attracts younger generations by incorporating gamification elements in the app and adding cryptocurrency trading to its offerings. The company cares about the customer experience by providing a user-friendly interface and ensuring a seamless experience with the app. Robinhood was a pioneer in offering commission-free trading, making investing accessible to a broader audience.

Revolut 

Revolut is a global neobank and financial technology company founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, UK. It offers various banking services, including the ability to send money to over 160 countries, hold up to 36 currencies in the app, and spend in 150+ currencies. It has over 45 million customers worldwide. According to Forbes, Revolut is in 3rd place in the list of top fintech companies for August 2024. The phenomenon of Revolut is its approach. The app combines a strong focus on customer experience and effective management of finances. Revolut built the app by applying a user-friendly interface with an intuitive design and a mobile-first approach for seamless mobile banking. The company provides a multi-currency account option, offers competitive exchange rates, low fees, and insights into spending habits, aiding budgeting. 

MoneyLion

MoneyLion is a financial technology company that offers personal loans, mobile banking, cash advances, and financial resources to help users make better money decisions. The company offers a premium membership that provides additional benefits, including credit monitoring, financial tracking tools, and rewards for on-time loan payments. The platform also includes mobile banking features, allowing users to manage their finances, check balances, and make transactions all in one app. MoneyLion provides users with educational resources like articles, guides, and tools that can help them improve their financial literacy and make informed financial decisions.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a secure online platform that allows users to buy, sell, transfer, and store cryptocurrency. It is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States and is known for being a trusted platform to manage digital assets. Additionally, it is a publicly-traded company, signifying its compliance with financial regulations. Coinbase gets the 11th place in the list of the biggest fintech companies in 2024, with a market cap of $48,7 billion. The company prioritizes the security of user funds and implements advanced security protocols to protect against hacks and theft. Coinbase offers a vast selection of cryptocurrencies, catering to different investment preferences and risk tolerances. The platform also provides clients with additional features, such as a “coinbase wallet,” where users can store and manage their cryptocurrencies securely; the educational feature “coinbase earn,” in which clients can earn cryptocurrency by completing educational tasks; and a “coinbase card,” which works as a debit card linked to cryptocurrency holdings for easy spending. 

What features are essential for a successful fintech app? Let’s delve into the key elements that can set your app apart from the competition.

Must-Have Features

Every service has its must-have features, without which the application’s success can be a total failure. Let’s discuss these essential features for fintech apps and their importance.

Upgraded Security Measures  

Nowadays, cybersecurity is paramount, as the number of cyber criminals and their victims is only rising. Implement these features in the app to be sure of the safety of your users’ data:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides an extra layer of security beyond traditional passwords.
• Biometric authentication offers convenient and secure access through fingerprint or facial recognition.
• Device binding links the app to specific devices to prevent unauthorized access.

Integrations with Payment Gateways

For successful payment transfers, it is vital to have integrations with financial services like PayPal, Stripe, and Zelle or cooperate with the bank’s API. Besides, you can deploy peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, enabling users to send and receive money from other individuals. 

User-friendly interface

A fintech app’s success depends on its simplicity and clarity. A complex design can quickly drive users away. By prioritizing intuitive user experiences and interfaces, your fintech app can not only attract new users but also foster trust and loyalty. Satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the app to friends and family. Ultimately, a seamless user journey contributes to higher conversion rates, increased user retention, and improved overall usability.

Account Management

To improve the user’s experience and satisfaction, develop detailed account management, letting customers have:

• Account overview that displays account balances, transaction history, and account statements.
• Account settings, which allow users to manage personal information, preferences, and security settings.
• Account alerts that provide messages about low balances, suspicious activity, or other important events.

Building a Successful FinTech App in 5 Steps

It’s difficult to imagine that you can build an entire profitable application in just five steps. Don’t forget that some of the stages can take months or even years to complete and consist of other small steps. You should remember that the process will always be easier and faster with the right approach and a skilled team. Let’s discover 5 steps that set you apart from having a fintech app.

Step 1: Defining Your Product 

The first step in building your app always consists of thinking and researching. First of all, you should start by generating an idea. Think about how your app will stand out among competitors, which features it will include, and how it will help people. Define your target audience and create a couple of “persona” profiles to find your ideal users and understand their specific needs. Secondly, it’s important to perform deep research before developing an app. To perform a competitive analysis, study existing fintech apps to identify gaps and opportunities. Another crucial step before the start of app development is to determine your way to generate revenue. Fintech brings a couple of options, such as fees, subscriptions, or partnerships; you can choose a preferable one or combine them.

Step 2: Recruit a Team

The second step of building a fintech app is one of the most important, as the right or wrong choice can be crucial for the success of your project. You should hire a team of professionals before you can start creating an app. Choose software developers who have experience with fintech and understand all the details of working in this industry. Besides engineers, you will need to recruit skilled people with knowledge of UX/UI design, web development, Android and iOS development, software testing, and DevOps engineering. 

Another key choice is between outsourcing and in-house development. Select what is more efficient and cost-effective for you, as both options have benefits and drawbacks. If you decide to outsource, check out our article, “Exploring Outsourcing Contracts: A Comprehensive Analysis and Comparison,” to understand which contract will work best for your cooperation with the outsourcing team.

Step 3: Design and Development

Design

The design phase is crucial for creating a user-centric and visually appealing fintech app. While working on the UI design, remember these adjustments:

• Create a clean, intuitive, and visually pleasing interface that aligns with the app’s overall aesthetic.
• Ensure consistency in design elements across different screens and platforms.
• Prioritize clear and legible typography, color schemes, and iconography.

With UX design, follow these guidelines:

• Understand user needs and behaviors to create a seamless user journey.
• Design intuitive navigation and information architecture.
• Optimize user flows for efficient task completion.
• Conduct usability testing to gather feedback and make improvements.

Development

After design, it’s time to think deeper about the creation of the app. Let’s start the development process by selecting your technology stack. Talk with the development team, and choose:

• Appropriate programming languages (e.g., Swift, Kotlin, React Native) and frameworks.
• A reliable backend infrastructure (e.g., Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails).

Consider using a cloud platform for scalability and cost-efficiency. We conducted a deep analysis of the top 3 cloud providers in the world in our article, “A Journey Through the Cloud Maze: Comparing Azure, AWS, and GCP,” to help you make your best choice.

The front-end and back-end parts require:

• Building the app’s user interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Integrating UI/UX designs into the app.
• Ensuring responsiveness and compatibility across different devices.
• Developing the server-side logic for data management, user authentication, and API integrations.
• Integrating payment gateways and other financial services.

It’s pivotal to develop an API to have smooth and fluent access across the website. For additional functionalities like payment processing or credit scoring, integrate with third-party APIs to ensure secure data exchange between the app and external services.

Step 4: Testing and Debugging

If you want the launch of your fintech app to be perfect, it’s vital to perform testing to check the work of all features and parts of the app. Try to test your fintech app on different mobile devices to ensure users of both iOS and Android can access all functions and use them successfully. During testing, you can fix bugs and errors and perform security audits to identify vulnerabilities. 

Step 5: Release and Perform Continuous Updating

Once all four steps have been completed, it’s time to release your fintech app to the world. After launching an app on App Store and Google Play Market, you can start to collect feedback and prepare for updates. Try to regularly perform updates, as the fintech world is continuously moving, and innovating helps keep you competitive.  

Now that you know all the details about building a fintech app, you can actually build one. If you don’t have an in-house team, it’s time to outsource to HYS Enterprise. Let’s explore some examples of how the HYS team helped fintech companies bring their desired solutions to life.

Custom CRM for a Financial Platform: The financial platform of our partner had its management processes bogged down by manual data entry and poor communication. HYS engineers developed an advanced internal CRM with a unified database, enabling efficient data management and analysis. Our developers implemented a secure integration module to streamline communication with external partners. The HYS team leveraged the Mendix platform to create a user-friendly interface and accelerate development. Rigorous automated testing ensured a bug-free system.

In essence, our partner received a CRM system that eliminates the need for workarounds, enables the management of information about debtors, and generates accurate client cards for debt counselors. 

Loan Management Software Solution: Our partner needed a service where users could apply for loans and a system for recording and processing these applications. The HYS team worked on:

• Development of a robust MVP to attract early adopters.
• Integration with third-party services for streamlined loan processing.
• Creation of user-friendly interfaces for both clients and internal staff.
• Automation to boost efficiency and productivity.

As a result, our associate obtained a brand-new web platform with a transparent client interface, an easy-to-use admin panel, and fully automated processes.

Still have doubts? Let’s discuss your project and find the best solution – book a call with our experts!