Creating a realistic and executable personal finance app is easier said than done. To create a successful budgeting app, you need to consider the needs of your users and what is currently available on the market.
Creating a finance app is a daunting task, but it’s also incredibly lucrative. With the proper planning and execution, your app can be a success.
There are a few key features that every personal finance app should have, and we will discuss those in this blog post. We will also look at the current market for budgeting apps and see what trends are emerging in that space.
What Are Financial Apps, And Why Do People Use Them?
To build a realistic and executable finance app, you must first understand what financial apps are and why people use them. According to AppsFlyer, globally, finance apps account for 5%, or the second-largest category for complete application installs on mobile devices.
Consumers can use financial apps to track various financial data, including income, expenses, and investments. In other words, they work by helping the user get a better understanding of where their money is going each month. Making and committing to a personal budget is critical to financial success.
Consumers can also use money management apps to manage budgets and track financial goals. There are several reasons why people might use financial apps. Perhaps they want to get a better understanding of their financial picture. Maybe they are trying to get out of debt or save for a rainy day. The bottom line is that your app should cater to as many of those reasons as possible.
The Types of Personal Finance Apps
Usually, budgeting apps focus on one or a few different aspects of a user’s financial needs. However, in terms of technology, budgeting apps will fall into two main categories: manual data entry and automatic entry.
- Manual Data Entry – This type of app usually requires users to input all their financial data. This can be time-consuming, but these apps are more straightforward and less expensive to develop.
- Automatic Entry – These apps automatically use a user’s bank account and credit card information to track their spending. While it’s more convenient for the user, it can be expensive to develop and more difficult to keep accurate.
Which type of app is right for you will depend on your budget and the features you want to include in your app. However, you can break down finance apps into further classifications, which begins to highlight the purpose of each type of application. For example, money management software can include Spending tracker apps, Investment apps, and Budget planning apps.
Finance App Categories
- Spending Tracker Apps – They can be helpful for users who want to be more mindful of their spending habits, and they usually include valuable charts and graphs. They can be manual entry apps or automatically synced to the users’ bank accounts.
- Investment Apps – Investment apps track stocks, bonds, and other investments. They can provide users with up-to-the-minute updates on the market and help investors make more informed decisions. Plus, they can learn effective ways to generate passive income.
- Budget Planning Apps – Budget planning apps help users create and stick to a budget. They usually have helpful features, such as goal setting, tracking progress over time, and alerts when spending exceeds a budget.
What Features Does a Personal Finance App Need?
Now that you understand what financial apps are and why people use them, it’s crucial to get a feel for the market. How competitive is it? What features are most important to users?
The market for personal finance apps is quite competitive, especially since the features mainly affect the cost of the app. While it’s debatable, when you build a personal finance app it should be intuitive, helpful, affordable, and provide something unique.
The majority of users expect an app to at least include these standard features.
- User Profile – This allows users to input their pertinent information to make the most of the app you’re designing.
- Registration/Login – registration should be easy and not require too much personal information. You must have two-factor authentication and biometrics as standard features.
- Regular payments – helps customers remember to make payments or allows them to make payments directly from the app.
- Debt – allows customers to keep track of their debt, including interest rates and monthly payments.
- Investment and savings advice – Helps customers make better investments and saving money decisions by giving advice.
- Asset management– Tracks net worth, including bank accounts, investments, and properties.
- Sync with accounts – Sync automatically with the user’s bank and credit card accounts to get real-time updates on their spending.
- Analytics – users want their finance software to help them monitor their spending and offer advice on trends.
Other Unique Features
Depending on your niche, you might consider adding other features, such as receipt scanning, expense tracking, or charitable donations. However, that’s not all; with technology evolving as quickly as it always does, you’ll want to ensure that your app can compete.
- Products/Services Comparison – Helps the user make better decisions about what product or services to buy.
- Cryptocurrency Integration – allows users to manage all their cryptocurrencies in one place.
- Financial Consulting – This is a premium service that allows users to get one-on-one help with their finances from a professional.
- Chatbot Integration – allows the user to talk to a chatbot about their finances and get real-time help with important questions 24/7.
Necessary Performance Criteria For Personal Finance Apps
While your app’s features are important, nothing is as critical as your app’s performance. The primary function of your finance app should be to provide users with their financial data in a stable and reliable platform. To that end, some aspects of your fintech app need to be solid.
- Security – Users are susceptible to their data, and they need assurance that it is safe. Therefore, your app must have top-tier security features, such as two-factor authentication and encryption to ensure that its data is protected.
- Personalization – The user experience is key to the success of your build a personal finance app. It must be easy for users to navigate and understand, but it should be flexible to serve users’ needs.
- UI/UX Design – The design of your app is just as important as its performance. The user interface must be intuitive and easy to use, while the user experience should be top-notch.
- Compliance With Open Banking Protocols – To ensure that your app can work with as many financial institutions as possible, it must adhere to the Open Banking protocols. In short, data should be safe to exchange, and users should be able to enable or disable the app’s ability to pull their data automatically.
Monetization Factors
Have you ever heard the saying that everything good in life is free? While that might be true for some things, it doesn’t apply to finance apps. To make money, you’ll need to consider a strategy for generating revenue.
Advertising/In-App Purchases – This is the most common way to make money from an app. Offering features, and services, and displaying ads that users can purchase within the app.
Subscriptions – This is a recurring revenue model in which users pay a monthly or yearly fee to use the app.
Premium Services – A Freemium strategy that’s a popular subscription-type model where users can choose to pay for exclusive features or the entire app’s services. Businesses refer to this as the Freemium strategy.
Selling Financial Data – Through the app, you can legally collect and sell data as long as it remains anonymous.
Building The App
Now that you better understand the features your app needs and the market it will compete in; it’s time to start building. But, before you start coding, you need to take some preliminary steps.
- Research – You need to research the market and your competitors to understand what is already out there and how you can make your app better.
- Development/Design – The design of your app is just as crucial as its function. The user interface must be intuitive and easy to use, the experience top-notch, and the purpose clear.
- Testing – Don’t forget to test your app on different devices and platforms to ensure it works as intended across all devices. QA must thoroughly test for any issues.
- Marketing – No one will know your app exists if you don’t market it. You need to create a marketing plan to get your app in front of the right people.
- Launching The App – Once your app is ready for launch, it’s crucial to have the plan to introduce it to the world. A Press Release is a great way to announce your app and generate some buzz.
Conclusion
To create a successful finance app, you need to understand the market and the potential users. You’ll need to ensure that your app has plenty of features and customization options, but it needs to be safe and easy to use.
