JploftThe Fintech app development segment has witnessed growth over the last decade. This growth has been fostered more during the COVID-19 period since people were more connected to online solutions for their financial needs. Now, people prefer to track their spending and earnings rather than visit physical banks.
This is the reason why people are looking further to invest in personal finance applications. The personal finance application offers a wide array of features that enable users to track their expenses & make valuable decisions. Thanks to the Finance app development services, which deliver user-friendly, reliable applications.
Check this blog to learn more about the features and cost of developing applications before you hire an expense management app development company.
Market Overview
As someone interested in building a FinTech product, not opting for a personal finance product right now may be a huge mistake.
Think we’re just bluffing? Then read through these verifiable stats that further bolsters our point:
- 62% of under the ’30s in the United Kingdom use an app to help them budget.
- The adoption rate of finance apps grew from 8% in 2015 to over 50% in 2023.
- Over 60% of U.S. citizens use money management apps more than they did before the pandemic.
- Beyond the demand for budget apps, another reason to own one is the extent of investment flowing to FinTech:
- Venture capital-backed fintech raised $22.8 billion in Q1 of 2023.
There are over 79 VC-backed unicorn fintech companies as of January 2023.
Now that you’re motivated to invest in a personal finance application, let’s find out the details of a budgeting application development process.
Types of Personal Finance Apps Scrutinized
All the finance apps are divided into several categories depending on the needs they cover.
Money Management Apps: These are general-purpose products capable of classifying and tracking expenses. They provide a 360-degree view of a person’s financial situation by displaying how much they earn and spend, pinpointing areas for improvement within the latter category.
Budgeting Apps: They are honed for planning a user’s monthly financial flows and can help them meet their goals. As a rule, a person sets the amount they want to spend, and the app helps them stay within the selected margin.
Spending Tracker Apps: Such narrow-purpose products are linked to the user’s bank account, enabling automatic expense monitoring. Thus, people become aware of their spending habits and learn to balance earnings and expenditures.
Banking Apps: Thanks to them, people can enjoy the full scope of online banking opportunities, such as payments for products and services, transferring money, opening or closing an account, NFC- and QR-powered transactions, 24/7 access to their financial information, and constant customer support.
Investment Apps: They are primarily meant not for managing but for earning money. Such apps allow even non-professionals to leverage marketing analytics and buy stocks, forming their investment portfolio. People can also track investments and withdraw money at their convenience.
Peer-to-Peer Payment Apps: Such solutions can be of great value for B2B organizations. They are synchronized with the user’s business accounts, enabling them to pay for services and products.
Financial Forecasting Apps: All the advanced features of these apps are honed to leverage AI-powered mechanisms in financial data analytics. They estimate potential profits and expenses, analyze user behavior, and offer recommendations aimed at optimizing financial flows and using their resources wisely.
No matter what type of personal finance apps we speak about, their users have similar expectations regarding their functioning.
Features a Successful Personal Finance Management Application
Here are the lists of Finance management app features that set your application apart in the industry-
Account Integration
This feature allows users to like multiple accounts such as bank accounts, investments, credit cards, etc. It allows you to access the financial dashboard at your fingertips.
Safety Measures
We all know financial information is sensitive, so security and safety should be measured. Utilize the robust security features in personal financial applications such as 2-factor authentication, data encryption, and secure coding practices. These security measures work like personal guards for the application.
Multi-Factor Authentication and Biometric Access
By adding layers of protection, such as two-factor authentication & biometric access, you can add security. It keeps unauthorized users away from your application.
Real-Time Notifications
The cost-effective expense tracking app development solutions must send necessary financial events like large transactions, due bill dates, etc. It works like a personal financial assistant that keeps users alert & informed.
Chatbots and AI Algorithms
Integrating AI in the development of personal finance applications reshapes the financial industry. AI algorithms offer customized financial advice, whereas chatbots deliver necessary answers to the user’s queries.
Ease User Experience
The financial application management must have a user-friendly & intuitive interface. It helps to foster the user experience by keeping all the things easy.
Tracking Real-Time Expenses
This feature allows users to track their spending in real time. It helps users stay within their budget without overspending. The Expense tracking app development works like your financial health monitoring solutions.
Notification Alerts
On-time notifications & alerts are the must-have features of finance management applications. The app must deliver financial tips, market updates & account activities to keep the users engaged and informed.
Customer Help
The application must deliver customer assistance service 24/7. It works like a friendly guide.
Financial Consultation
You must utilize this feature in the application to add value to your service. Through this feature, you can allow users to make valuable financial decisions in your life.
Steps to Building a Personal Finance App
Once you have determined the need for a personal finance app, follow the steps below for a fully-functioning app that will meet your goals:
Know your Audience First
Understanding the main audience is the key to bringing out a Personal finance app that will meet your goals and objectives. Therefore, at this stage, ensure you identify the problems the target audience is facing, then figure out the best approaches you will use to solve the existing problems.
Define the Aim of the App
Once you’ve determined your audience and highlighted the problems they are facing, think of the aim or purpose of the app. This will enable you to know the key features you should include to make the app useful or productive, especially to the audience.
Gather Requirements
At this point, you have a clear picture of what you want to create. Therefore, do thorough market research to collect all the basics needed to make the app fully functional. As you collect the project requirements, focus on the main features, UI design, security, data management, and any other functionality crucial to making the app useful.
UI Design
The UI design is a critical step when developing a personal finance app. Figure out a plan to bring out an easy-to-navigate user interface that is simple. With a good user interface, users can easily manage finances, track expenses, and access information effortlessly. What’s more, a good UI design should be compatible with different platforms and devices, work smoothly, and be highly responsive.
Develop and Test
Once the user interface is in place, the main Personal finance app development process begins. Begin with the basic functionalities such as data management, data input, ad user registration, and log in. Make the app highly interactive by adding graphs and charts, and this will enable users to have a better concept of their finances. After the development process is over, perform testing to ensure the app is functional and doesn’t have any technical issues.
Launching the App
Finally, after a series of testing and correcting any arising technical issues, it is time to launch your app. For a better experience with the app, consider releasing the app to beta testers to get useful feedback and make adjustments where necessary. A minimum viable product (MVP) option is also practical at this stage. Once you are sure the app is great and ready for the market, you can add some more features that will meet other customer needs and wants.
Next is to market the app to reach the target audience. Depending on the type of audience, think of the best marketing approach you need to use. It can be through content marketing, paid ads, or social media. The goal is to use a marketing medium that will attract a large user base.
Maintain and Update the Application
After releasing the app to the public, that isn’t all. You need to keep checking the app’s performance, checking the feedback, and adjusting where necessary to make the app better. That is why you shouldn’t skip the maintenance and update stage.
What’s more, take note of the ever-changing technology and the emerging trends in personal finance apps to keep your app updated always.
Cost to Build a Personal Finance App
The cost of building a personal finance app can vary widely depending on various factors, such as the complexity of the app, the features included, the platforms it is built for, the development team’s location and experience, and many other factors.
However, as a rough estimate, the cost to build a basic personal finance app can range from $35,000 to $80,000. This would include basic expense management app development services such as budget tracking, expense management, and goal setting.
If you want to include more advanced features such as investment tracking, bill payment, financial planning, and integration with third-party financial services, the cost could go higher and range from $80,000 to $200,000.
It’s essential to keep in mind that building an app is not a one-time cost; ongoing maintenance, updates, and bug fixing will also add to the cost over time.
Conclusion
A personal finance app is a fintech product that allows users to monitor their expenditures, manage finances, explore spending habits, plan their budget, and save money. To bring maximum value to financial service consumers, such apps should have a user-friendly interface, present data in an understandable visual format, be super secure, flexible, and customizable, integrate with payment systems and banks, and offer 24/7 customer support.
Personal Expense Tracker App Development is a no-joke endeavor that should be delegated to seasoned professionals in the field who will fill it with proper functionalities, choose the optimal monetization strategy, and follow an efficient SDLC roadmap.
