Technology when used to deal with finance is called fintech by software developers and experienced users. Fintech apps are apps that have features like tracking debits, deposits and credit ratings in real-time. They help people make purchases for either real or digital goods and transfer money to others. There are also applications where people can buy loans and there are others that focus on stock markets. All these come under fintech applications. Fintech is one of the fastest-growing industries in the software marketplace and is expected to reach a market capital of 309 billion dollars by 2022. The use of fintech apps has surged around the world by 354% according to surveys, and the customer demand is only expected to grow in the coming years.
However, any app development company that is going to build a fintech application must deal with a lot of risks. As this technology is focused on money, it attracts a lot of people trying to hack an application. Data leaks, vulnerabilities, exploits and similar breaches have occurred on many famous applications and platforms in history and technology has had to improve to minimise any potential of such incidents. Any personally identifiable information of a user must also be secured by the application even if it cannot be used to steal the digital currency of the user. Apart from this, all the usual rules apply and financial applications must also have a feature-rich, fast and attractive UI to be successful. In this article, we will go over the prerequisites and the best practices for building a fintech application.
How does one build a successful and secure fintech application?
In this section, you will see steps to build a secure but also successful fintech mobile application.
Start with the application logic
The first step of security and development starts with application logic. What infrastructure your app is based on matters a lot, and therefore you should choose wisely. A company-wide security policy that sets the standards of app security must be followed for the best results. you can minimise the attacks on your users if you store only crucial information and force them to use strong passwords.
Follow the best coding standards
A lot of hackers are attracted to fintech applications and therefore you should be absolutely strict on the coding standards of your application. Things like SQL injections must be impossible to achieve in your code and a lot of validation of user data must be performed. Networks should be monitored at all times and the code should be agile and portable across different devices so that developers can act fast if a data breach does occur.
Use 2-factor authentication and data encryption
One of the most important features in a fintech application is 2FA or two-factor authentication. Apart from the usual validation through usernames and passwords, one time passwords(OTP) can be generated and sent to verified devices which can then be made mandatory for critical access to data. Data encryption, most preferably end to end encryption should be standard for any kind of data that passes through a fintech app, and this is to protect the application from network breaches. That is to say, even if the network security is compromised, the hackers will not be able to decrypt the data as they will not have access to decryption keys.
Use payment blocking feature
Fintech applications should monitor user behaviour and block any large transactions from occurring unexpectedly without further authentication from the user. A human element can be added by notifying the financial institution like a bank, which then can verify the transaction is what the user wants by means of a phone call or other methods. This also applies to transactions that happen in an unusual location where the user is not usually seen doing any kind of activity.
Read more: How to develop a digital eWallet mobile app like Phonepe and Google Pay?
Rigorous testing
After the application is built, rigorous testing methods should be applied and tests should be carried out to check if the application is secure. Client-side security, server-side security and networking testing are a must. The API must also be checked and refined for security and functionality. Any vulnerabilities must be fixed by going back to the drawing board and redesigning the application, as even a single vulnerability can potentially be a gateway to data or financial theft.
Integrating updates
Technology gets better every day and to minimise attacks one has to upgrade the fintech application regularly. If such updates are not performed, there is a potential for hackers to advance their tactics through improved technology and jailbreak the application. Technologies that help in creating good fintech applications include artificial intelligence, which helps in pattern learning of user behaviour, microservices which help in easy decentralization of features and biometric security that makes sure unauthorized access to applications is very difficult. Blockchain technology is also proposed to increase security and is being integrated with various fintech applications. A good software development company can make sure that whatever application is being created is secure by following the above best practices and integrating any new technology that may be useful for fintech.
Conclusion
As you can already see, fintech applications require a lot of security within them and people will not readily adapt to them if they are not equipped with an attractive user interface that is both fast and functional. Therefore choosing a good software development company for your fintech application matters. Nextbrain Technologies is one of India's most well-known mobile application development companies and is one such company capable of delivering high-quality fintech apps.
We are based in Bangalore and specialise in both iOS and Android app development. We have a lot of expertise developing mobile applications and have a lot of clients with whom we work to improve their market solutions. We have designed various fintech mobile apps for various clients. We have UX and UI designers on staff who are important in the creation of such architecture. Our technology expertise includes Swift, Flutter and others.
Saran
January 06, 2022 Author