What To Look for in Personal Finance Apps

6 min read
Jun 14, 2023 3:00:00 PM

Over the past ten years, the personal financial app development market has expanded significantly, with lockdowns providing an intelligible boost. 

The necessity to keep track of income and expenses, as well as the ability to purchase online without having to go to a real bank, has made investing in personal finance applications a very profitable venture. 

According to some estimates, the number of people actively using money management tools climbed by over 150% between 2020 and 2021. 

This blog will help you understand the present market conditions and provide you with some effective building blocks for creating a successful personal finance app if you are looking to invest in its development. 

TransformHub, counted among the top digital transformation companies in Singapore guides you through the entire process of finance app development along with the best digital transformation solutions 

Features to Consider While Creating a Personal Finance App 

No matter what kind of personal finance app you decide to create for your company, you must think about having one constructed with a few crucial elements needed for the application's success.   

Here are a few essential characteristics for personal financial management apps to consider in 2023. 

1. Account integration 

Ensure that the information from all of the consumer's financial accounts, including credit cards, debit cards, loans, mutual funds, etc., is combined in your financial management software. 

You should be able to find all you need for money management on your finance software.  

2. Security steps 

Building safe software is quite different from building a money management app, which is one thing. 

Thanks to a variety of technologies, your money may be kept safer and less exposed.  

Therefore, ensure that your software has all the necessary technology to strengthen its security. 

Below are a few of these technologies: 

a. Biometric pass 

It involves distinctive personal traits, including voice or fingerprint trends. 

It might be quite challenging for someone to hack into your money management software using biometrics. 

b. Authentication using many factors 

This provides an additional layer of security. 

The use of a multi-factor authentication procedure makes it much more difficult for hackers to access critical customer data.  

c. Real-time warnings 

Your personal money management software must be technologically cutting-edge to alert consumers in real time. 

Knowing for sure that they would be notified if someone attempts to obtain their account or private data gives consumers a lot more confidence while using the service.  

3. AI algorithms 

Regarding user engagement and developer app income, there are several ways AI is changing the mobile app market. 

The user experience may be tailored with the use of artificial intelligence algorithms, which is now an integral part of the top digital transformation solutions. 

AI assists in the incorporation of expenditure categorization, which tries to categorize the costs associated with a certain category, such as investment, entertainment, food, and so on.  

AI also examines spending analytics, which continuously updates and displays financial data for each category. 

4. AI chatbots for practical guidance 

All customer data is accessed by AI chatbots, who then evaluate it and make recommendations. 

This might involve monitoring spending patterns, giving information on credit ratings, and controlling budgets. 

Customers that use AI-based advice can manage their money more skillfully. 

Customer care chatbots powered by AI are created to mimic human interactions and quickly and effectively give consumers the information they require. 

5. Tracking and real-time spending 

Build a personal financial app that enables users to keep track of their spending. 

Since customers won't need to navigate between applications to keep track of their spending or investments, this function will be useful. 

They will save time, effort, and money by carrying out all activities quickly and easily on a single platform. 

6. Efficiency 

No one likes having to go through a complicated process each time they transact or make an investment, even if money management software contains sensitive information and important facts. 

Given this possibility, you must design a personal financial app with the "3 Clicks Rule" in mind, which states that customers only need to click three times to go where they want to go. 

7. User experience 

Businesses frequently create apps without paying attention to the value of UI/UX design. In the end, this results in the app's failure.  

Build a personal financial app with incredibly user-friendly features for simple navigation and improved customer satisfaction if you want to make it a great hit in the fintech sector. This will eventually result in business expansion.  

You must understand your target market and think like a user if you want to develop a personal finance app with an engaging user experience. 

The user interface and user experience (UI/UX) design of your app will determine whether the users will accept it.  

8. Ongoing customer service 

Customer assistance is crucial round-the-clock. 

Offering customer service in several languages, day and night, is the key aspect that will attract clients from all over the world and keep them coming back.  

9. Warnings and notifications 

One of the most important things you must include in your ideas for a finance app is notifications. 

Sending alerts or reminders on occasion is a wonderful approach to inform clients of their financial reports and demonstrate your concern for them. 

Notifications can assist customers in the event of: 

a. The money spent 
b. Account balance falling low 
c. Future obligations to pay debts 
d. Fantastic bargains for savings or investments 

10. Gamification 

Gamification helps keep your users interested in your site. 

Users will be encouraged to utilize the app more regularly thanks to this feature. 

A useful and entertaining application that improves their ability to save is a money-related game. 

11. Points and rewards 

Offering incentives to app users, such as discounts, coupons, cashback, credits, etc., may keep them interested in and devoted to your program. 

Users are more inclined to stay active and engaged with the program by earning such significant prizes. 

This may encourage additional people to download the app and keep it popular. 

12. Financial consultation and advice 

Users may ask financial professionals for recommendations or guidance by using this cutting-edge tool. 

They might learn more about strategies to save costs and manage their spending thanks to this. 

Additionally, they could find out about other investing possibilities and develop strong credit management skills. 

Non-functional Requirements for Personal Finance Apps 

Personal financial software apps should additionally achieve the following performance standards in addition to the necessary features: 

1. Safety 

Regulations and standards relating to security should be followed by finance applications. 

For instance, the PCI DSS law requires developers to go by twelve guidelines to guarantee credit card security. 

Passwords, firewalls, data transfer, authentication, and risk assessment are all covered by these regulations. 

2. Adherence to recommended Open Banking practices 

A worldwide standard called "Open Banking" allows for the secure interchange of financial data. 

The tenets of Open Banking prioritize security and data protection. 

The majority of applications for managing personal finances can access users' accounts to retrieve data, however, consumers should be able to limit this capability to secure their privacy. 

3. Honest reporting 

Customers adore reporting features the most in personal financial software. 

However, the information in this report should be straightforward to understand and apply for financial growth and insights. 

How To Make Your Personal Finance App Profitable? 

You've spent a lot of time, money, and effort creating personal financial software for your consumers. 

Now, you might be wondering how you'll profit from the app. 

You have a few options for generating revenue from your personal finance app development.  

Let's examine some of the most profitable methods to make money from your financial app.  

1. In-app buys 

Offering extra features or functions as in-app purchases is one method for generating revenue for a personal finance app. 

Users can use the essential elements of your personal financial app for free, but you may save the premium features for the version that costs money. 

Advanced versions of fundamental capabilities may be included in premium services, and customers will always value additional functionalities. 

2. Ads within apps 

Additionally, you may earn money from your personal financial app by showing users customized adverts. 

However, use caution when showing an excessive amount of advertising since this may degrade the user experience. 

3. Model of subscription

Offering a subscription model where users pay a monthly or yearly price to access premium features or capabilities within the app is another way to monetize an app. 

If your app provides continuous financial advice or individualized investment suggestions, this strategy may be effective. 

4. Affiliate promotion 

Another intriguing option to make money off of a personal finance app is to collaborate with financial institutions and provide affiliate marketing possibilities. 

For instance, you may collaborate with a credit card provider through your app and receive a commission for customers who apply for a new credit card. 

5. Monetization of data 

Finally, you may think about selling user data. 

You must, however, safeguard consumer privacy and be open and honest about how you acquire data. 

Selling aggregated user data to financial institutions or leveraging user data to develop individualized financial solutions are a few potential data monetization tactics. 

The distinctive features, target market, and overarching business objectives of your app will ultimately determine the best strategy to monetize a personal financial app. 

What’s Next? 

Due to the economic crisis, the rise in smartphone usage, the rivalry from personal banking applications, and the emerging embedded finance sector, the personal finance app business is now expanding at an astonishing rate. 

You must have a pretty decent concept of what your app will look like now that you are aware of the attributes that are required of any top-notch personal finance app. 

But that's only the beginning. 

What matters most is how these functionalities are implemented, and here is where things become difficult. 

There are many challenges to overcome, including compliance and security threats, and the competition is typically severe. 

Amidst these challenges, TransformHub takes complete accountability to provide a precisely tailored solution according to your business requirements. 

Let’s connect and begin the discussion today!