Building a FinTech App with Cogtix: Features, Steps, Tech Stack, and FAQs

Introduction

In the dynamic landscape of 2023, the global fintech market remains a hotbed of innovation, securing a substantial $75.2 billion in funding despite a slowdown in other sectors. The surge in mobile-centric fintech consumption, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has created unprecedented opportunities. As the popularity of fintech mobile apps continues to soar, now is the perfect time for entrepreneurs to venture into this thriving industry. In this guide, we’ll explore the essential steps for developing a fintech app with a special focus on your software development company, Cogtix.

Why Build a FinTech App with Cogtix?

The fintech industry offers a vast array of opportunities, from open banking to blockchain applications. Cogtix aims to guide you through the process of creating a fintech app that leverages these trends and addresses specific market needs. By identifying untapped areas within the market, Cogtix helps you carve a unique path to success. For instance, the rise of micro-investing platforms targeting millennials showcases the potential for innovation in this dynamic landscape.

The FinTech Landscape:

The fintech sector is bustling with activity, with the USA hosting 10,755 startups, the EMEA region housing 9,323, and the Asia Pacific fostering 6,268. Digital banking is on the rise, and companies adopting automation for banking tasks achieve an impressive 100% Return on Investment (ROI) within three to eight months. Customers are drawn to non-traditional banking players for reasons such as affordability, user-friendly experiences, quicker services, enhanced features, and personalized products.

How to Build a FinTech App with Cogtix:

1. Come up with the Idea:

• Conduct comprehensive market research to identify a niche within the fintech sector.
• Formulate a core question: What pain points does your fintech app address?
• Create user personas to understand real-world users, their goals, and interactions.

2. Choose the Type of FinTech Application:

The landscape of financial technology spans various applications, and the type of app you choose to develop significantly influences the entire project.

• Digital Banking: In response to increasing demands, both web and mobile banks have elevated their services, complemented by the emergence of digital-only banks that further broaden the landscape. These solutions empower users to effortlessly open accounts, monitor balances, conduct mobile payments, and even access loans seamlessly.
• InsurTech: The insurance sector has embraced mobile solutions, streamlining processes such as payments, claims processing, and other insurance-related tasks. The projected growth of the InsurTech market is set to reach $33.73 billion by 2025. From client-oriented mobile apps to comprehensive insurance company CRMs, these applications offer users a unified platform to access policies, manage claims, and initiate new policies with ease.
• Digital Wallets: Industry giants like PayPal, Google Pay, and ApplePay exemplify digital wallets, providing users with a secure repository for their finances while facilitating swift mobile payments. Security remains paramount in this domain, with these apps serving as robust safeguards against fraud and unauthorized access.
• Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P): Platforms in the P2P lending space connect lenders—often investors seeking higher returns—with borrowers in need of funds. Rigorous background checks on borrowers enhance security and instill confidence among lenders. P2P platforms charge fees for facilitating transactions, enabling seamless interactions between borrowers and lenders.
• Neobank: Neobanks offer comprehensive services encompassing banking, payments, and money management exclusively through digital channels. The distinctive feature of neobanks lies in their user-centric approach, leveraging technology for seamless account setup, intuitive mobile interfaces, real-time transaction alerts, budgeting tools, and personalized financial insights.
• Budgeting: Apps in the budgeting space synchronize with users’ bank accounts, providing robust tools for tracking, managing, and budgeting without the inconvenience of switching between platforms. Innovative budgeting apps like Yolt, Emma, and Money Dashboard offer features such as goal setting, saving advice, and income projections, fostering holistic financial management.
• Stock Trading: Accessible stock trading apps simplify the complex world of financial investments for users at all levels of expertise. Whether one is a beginner or an experienced trader, these apps facilitate share trading, investment research, and portfolio tracking. Noteworthy trading apps such as Etoro, Plus500, and IG provide a platform for users to engage with the stock market.
• RegTech: Regulatory Technology (RegTech) applications focus on ensuring regulatory compliance for financial institutions, helping them navigate the intricate regulatory landscape, adhere to legal requirements, and minimize risks effectively.
• KYC/AML: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) applications play a crucial role for financial institutions in verifying the identity of customers and detecting suspicious transactions to prevent financial crimes.

3. Adhere to Compliance:

• Research and understand legal and regulatory landscapes, including GDPR, CCPA, Financial Action Task Force Recommendations, and PCI DSS.

4. Define Features:

Ensuring clarity in defining the requirements for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is crucial for prioritizing features that align with customer needs. The specific requirements of your app are determined by its type, target audience, and user interactions. These factors influence various aspects, ranging from the interface’s colour palette to the app’s storage demands on user devices. However, foundational features and capabilities tend to overlap across different fintech systems:

• Dashboard and Reporting:
  – These tools offer an intuitive interface for users to access their financial data.
  – The speed and accuracy of this data are crucial in determining the value of the information.
• Push Notifications:
  – Traditional financial institutions often lack timely customer communication.
  – Push notifications bridge this gap by providing real-time updates on market changes, offers, and important information.
  – When combined with personalization, push notifications become potent marketing tools.
• Chatbot:
  – Accessible customer support is pivotal for any new technology.
  – Chatbots and live chat support differentiate fintech apps by offering instant and efficient assistance.
  – These features benefit both users and streamline developer resources, with automation and AI-driven responses managing customer queries.
• Biometric Security:
  – Biometrics offer unparalleled security, virtually impervious to breaches.
  – This method enhances convenience, allowing users to access the app without recalling and typing passwords.
  – Implementing biometrics is straightforward, especially on iOS devices using Apple’s robust Face ID API.
  – Effective application involves using biometrics for sensitive operations while maintaining a balance between security and user convenience.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):
  – 2FA presents a formidable security layer, requiring two types of credentials: a known password and a passcode generated from a unique device in the user’s possession.
  – This method thwarts hackers as they would need physical access to the device, which generates changing passcodes.
• Blockchain Integration:
  – Blockchain records transactions autonomously and tamper-proof, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
  – Financial data recorded on the blockchain is transparent and fraud-resistant.
  – This technology ensures faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions, with potential applications in identity verification and cross-border payments.
• API Integration:
  – APIs, or application programming interfaces, streamline data sharing between software components.
  – They eliminate the need to build redundant features, enabling access to checking account data or facilitating purchases through systems like PayPal.

5. Choose the Tech Stack with Cogtix:

Before delving into specific technology stack recommendations, it’s crucial to consider the following key factors:

• Scope of the Project:
  • Clearly define project goals, features, functionalities, and budget to align with the appropriate technology stack.
• App Architecture:
  •  Embrace a recommended architecture, such as MVC (Model-View-Controller), for seamless communication among components.
• Development Timeline:
  • Consider cross-platform development using technologies like Flutter or Xamarin to save time while ensuring the delivery of high-quality apps.
• Integration of Advanced Technologies:
  • Explore the integration of advanced technologies such as AI, biometric authentication, blockchain, tokenization, and fraud detection.

The development team then proceeds to create comprehensive technical documentation and selects suitable technological stacks. This stage establishes the framework for functionality, defines user roles, estimates the project, and outlines the scope of work. Additionally, the tech selection is influenced by factors such as:

• App Functionality
• Scalability Demands
• Time-to-Market Urgency
• System Load Requirements
• Platforms (Web, Native, Hybrid)
• Security Level
• Number of Users
• Automation Goals (For AI-Powered Solutions)

The team composition is similarly adapted to these technological aspects. Projects with moderate-to-complex functionality may demand more development hours, while simpler solutions can be created more quickly, requiring fewer resources.

6. Assemble Your Expert Team:

Choosing the right technology is one aspect while building a proficient team is another critical element. However, standard app developers may not be adequate in the intricate FinTech landscape. The unique architecture and compliance requirements mandate a specialized group of programmers and engineers.

A cybersecurity expert is integral to your team—playing a crucial role in fortifying your app’s security and addressing potential data breaches. Alternatively, collaborating with established companies proficient in FinTech, such as TechMagic, can be a strategic move.

7. UI/UX Design:

Your design team will craft a thorough design strategy, extracting insights from content requirements, competitor analysis, user personas, stories, and customer journeys.

The result of this stage is a refined layout accompanied by a detailed design description, covering various states of all app screens. This provides your fintech app developers with a comprehensive view of the application’s appearance and user experience.

UI design involves crucial elements such as images, buttons, menus, and footers, which have a significant impact on user engagement. Every design choice, from the arrangement of elements to the color palette, contributes to the overall user experience.

8. Develop FinTech App:

In this phase, adept developers craft various components of the application while adhering to architectural principles.

• Front-End Design:
  • Enchant users with an engaging front-end design that aligns with your brand’s colors, style, and user experience preferences.
• Component Development:
  • Develop interactive components that seamlessly engage users, prioritizing an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
• User-Centric Approach:
  • Simplify the representation of complex financial data, presenting numbers and charts in an engaging manner while ensuring responsiveness.
• Back-End Development:
  • Select back-end technologies with a focus on scalability, robustness, regulatory compliance, and customer interface.
• API Development:
  • Implement APIs for third-party access, leveraging them to enhance banking services through your app.

9. Rigorously Test with Cogtix:

While the fundamentals of software testing hold true across various domains, FinTech apps necessitate an elevated level of precision. Functional testing, a fundamental aspect of app quality assurance, carries immense significance in this context. It is imperative to ensure that every app function interacts with sensitive financial data and transactions accurately and securely. Consequently, a broader spectrum of test cases is essential to comprehensively evaluate the app against diverse scenarios.

Implementing strategies like Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), integrational and regression testing, device compatibility and network testing, along with automation techniques, guarantees the robustness and quality of the application.

10. Deploy & Integrate:

Upon the completion of QA testing, the team moves forward to deploy the thoroughly tested product version into a production environment. Beta testing is then conducted, allowing real users to interact with the app and provide valuable feedback.

The creative output generated throughout your app development journey is considered intellectual property (IP). This includes original content, designs, logos, source code, and more. It is crucial to protect your endeavor by registering trademarks, copyrights, or patents to secure the distinctiveness of your app.

11. Support and Update Continuously:

• Gather feedback, iterate on the app, and continuously improve based on user suggestions and market trends.

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Who can benefit from building a fintech app with Cogtix?
– Fintech apps extend their benefits to a wide spectrum of stakeholders. Entrepreneurs, financial institutions, startups, and established businesses seeking to enhance financial services, streamline transactions, and connect with tech-savvy users stand to gain substantially from developing fintech apps.

2. What are the key steps involved in building a fintech app with Cogtix?
– The journey encompasses ideation, market research, design, development, testing, deployment, and continuous refinement. Each step contributes to shaping a user-centric, functional, and secure app that resonates with your target audience.

3. What skills or expertise are required to build a fintech app with Cogtix?
– Developing a fintech app necessitates a blend of skills. Expertise in app development, UI/UX design, backend programming, security protocols, and financial domain knowledge are vital. Collaboration among developers, designers, and domain experts is instrumental in crafting a holistic solution.

4. How long does it take to build a fintech app with Cogtix?
– The timeline varies depending on app complexity, features, and team efficiency. While a simple app might take a few months, more intricate solutions may extend to a year or more.

Cogtix invites you to embark on a fintech app development journey with innovation, dedication, and a relentless commitment to improving financial lives. With a user-centric approach and a team of experts, Cogtix is ready to shape the fintech frontier and help you achieve enduring success in this rapidly evolving industry.