Fintech, the abbreviated term for financial technology, is a segment where we see a smart mixing of technology with financial services. Fintech has modernized and altered the way people handle, process and manage finances. Its growth in the last one decade has been nothing short of remarkable.
Thanks to Fintech app development, we now have trailblazing technologies that have made banking, trading, and online purchasing a hassle-free affair. Although investment in this segment has been on a roller coaster ride, it has evolved and expanded at a swift pace.
This is the most prominent reason why several start-ups are eager to invest in fintech software development. In this niche, React Native has emerged as one of the most widely used platforms, but the cost involved in it remains a big factor.
This post attempts to give you an overview on the cost that you can incur in fintech app development with React Native. Let’s begin by taking a quick look at the market as that is what determines its growth.
Fintech Market
In April 2023, Statista reported that the total investment value for fintech companies worldwide reached 216.8 billion USD in a timespan of merely nine years (2010 – 2019). Though the year 2020 slowed its growth due to the pandemic, it regained pace in 2021 and reached around 239 billion USD.
Recent reports predict that by 2028, the global fintech market will reach around 324 billion USD. This expansion eruption will be caused mainly due to the following reasons:
- Growing digitization, especially of small and medium sized enterprises
- Need for secured digital financial solutions
- Growth of financial tech like Blockchain
- Increase in cross-border commerce
Why React Native?
When it comes to fintech app development, there’s no shortage of platforms. Then why does React Native enjoy a special spot? That’s because it offers more benefits compared to its counterparts. Some prominent ones are listed below.
Cost-efficient Cross-platform Applications in Less Time
Since React Native supports almost all major operating systems including iOS and Android, it significantly brings down the overall development cost and time. Developers can use a single codebase for an app and deploy it across different systems with a few modifications. This also leads to shorter market time.
Native-like Performance
Thanks to React Native’s availability of APIs, developers can build applications that can take advantage of the system’s hardware quite efficiently. This leads to a native-like performance that offers a highly interactive user experience.
Seamless Integration
Most premium fintech applications are the result of seamless integration with third-party systems. React Native’s support for external APIs aling with payment gateways offer easy exchange of services within systems, which is of paramount importance for financial services.
Consistency in Design
React Native is loved by developers because of its component-based architecture This enables developers to offer consistency in their applications’ look, feel and performance. Consistency in design helps promote brand identity and make a positive image.
Thriving Community
React Native boasts a thriving community which in turn is responsible for its vast ecosystem where developers add to a wealth of resources including feature-rich development frameworks, libraries and modules.
Determining the Cost of Fintech App Development with React Native
If you have a prior experience of procuring your own app, then you should know that there are several crucial factors that contribute to app development and its cost as well. Besides designing elements, development, testing, and deployment, there are other traits that can profoundly impact the cost. Let’s see what they are.
The App’s Complexity
A simple budgeting app with static look and minimal features is going to cost you way less than a trading app that will house a multitude of features like real-time data and investment tracking.
The simple thing is that cost of a fintech app is directly proportional to its complexity. The more complex it is, the more features it will need and hence, it will cost more.
Number of Deployment Platforms
As already mentioned above, React Native offers support for different operating systems. Though a single codebase forms the foundation of an app, the number of platforms where the app needs to be deployed matters because more platforms mean more changes in the basic codebase along with proper compliance.
UI/UX Design
A good design is imperative for a fintech app. That’s why any good fintech software development company gives utmost importance to UI/UX design. But devising a high-quality design offering an intuitive UX requires investment in premium desining technologies. That’s why you need to be thorough with your app design and its core elements.
Security Measures
In fintech apps, security becomes the priority as most financial apps need their users to share sensitive information, including their financial details. So, you need to reinforce the tightest security measures including two-factor authentication, and end-to-end encryption.
You will also need to invest in premium technologies like blockchain. This can lead to additional development costs, and one that you cannot afford to overlook as you can’t compromise with app security.
Integration Features
In order to stay performant and relevant in the market, most advanced fintech apps need to integrate with several third-party services. Be it with the internal systems of financial institutions or with other banking apps to fetch information, making your app more functional with data providers, APIs, or payment gateways will increase its cost.
Maintenance
Any mobile or web app requires regular maintenance and support to stay productive and functional. So, chances are that when you hire mobile app developers from a fintech software development company, then they will ask for maintenance requirements as well because support services may require additional investment.
While hiring app development services, do remember to ask whether the development cost includes long-term maintenance or not.
Hiring Models
A large chunk of your investment will go into hiring fintech app development services. Since most businesses prefer to outsource their projects to offshore development firms, the overall cost depends a lot on their hiring models.
Your cost will also depend on the size of your development team. If you’re hiring only designers and developers, then it will cost less than if you’re hiring developers of other skill sets.
Rules and Regulations
Compared to other apps, healthcare and financial apps are more concerned with restrictions and regulations as they require sensitive information sharing of users. That’s why you need to take those into consideration as well.
You might require approval certifications or compliance with specific regulations (which again is location specific), and this might need extra development efforts as well, thereby adding up to the development costs.
The Overall Cost
After due consideration of all these factors, the cost of building fintech apps with React Native can be approximated to be somewhere in the tens of thousands. The most basic type can cost you around $20000 to $25000.
In case your app is a complex one and needs advanced features, then the total cost might exceed $50000. But these are mere speculations. So the best thing to do is to consult professionals who will be able to give you a more accurate approximation based on your requirements.
Final Thoughts
As the fintech industry continues on the path of evolution, it will continue the disruption of the finance industry by utilizing bleeding-edge technologies and bringing innovative financial solutions to the plate.
Albert Smith is Digital Marketing Manager at Hidden Brains, a leading software development company specializing in mobile & web app development services. He provides innovative ways to help tech companies, startups and large enterprises build their brand.
