5 Fintech Problems That May Drive Customers Away

Driven by the sheer convenience, a lot more people have adopted fintech (financial technology) solutions in the form of mobile wallets, online banks, and lending platforms. With financial services available with a few taps on the mobile phone, we skip long lines at banks, get our loans approved in a matter of minutes, and pay our retail splurges with no hassle.

This huge demand for fintech applications is a promising opportunity for businesses. But at the same time, it poses the challenge of standing out from the competition. With so many fintech solutions out there, how can you ensure that yours won’t end up collecting dust in the app store?

While there are many factors to consider when choosing  download-worthy apps, at the core, they’re the ones that solve financial customers’ key challenges. To reign in this industry, you should be able to address these fintech problems below, with the help of a reliable mobile app development agency.

5 Problems Your Fintech App Should Address

1. Complicated user experience
2. Inadequate data protection
3. Weak security
4. Poor loading speed
5. Intimidating platform

1. Complicated user experience

Many fintech applications are far too complicated that many stop using the tool altogether before they even complete a single transaction. The complexity can come in two aspects, the financial process itself and the visuals.

On the process

The most common example of this fintech problem is when there are too many steps the user has to take to accomplish an action. Just imagine the frustration of the user if they need to fill out so many fields every time they need to transfer money to another bank. 

On the visuals

Bright colors, fancy fonts, and a hodgepodge of images, videos, icons, and buttons not only turn off users but make it hard for them to navigate through the app. 

On the flip side, outdated visuals reduce the credibility of your platform. This is one of the biggest reasons people abandon an app. It’s no surprise though: who would want to entrust their most important financial transactions on a tool that is not up to date? Confusing visuals is one of the biggest fintech problems you should address to boost your chances of adoption in the market.

Solution: Excellent user experience and fintech design must be a priority when improving online solutions. Here are specific tips you can follow to avoid this issue of complicated user experience in your fintech app:

Keep it simple

Carefully map out and create your user stories to complete their financial transactions with one tap, reducing the amount of fields they need to fill out. Offer a feature to save bank transfer contacts or utility payment accounts. 

In the same way, keep the visuals simple. Don’t overcrowd the user’s screen with too many features and financial information. Use two to three primary colors. Stick to one typography, only varying its styles based on whether they are a page title, an element in a form, and whatnot. With these simple design moves, you’ve taken a big step already towards avoiding fintech problems on user experience.

Exercise consistency.

Regardless of your choice for font, color scheme, and other visual elements, they should be uniform across all sections of your fintech application. Otherwise, it will leave users confused and unsure about proceeding with the transaction. Tie the design elements of your app to your branding image. Refer back to your digital marketing framework that outlines your branding strategy.

2. Inadequate data protection

Users can readily delete your fintech application when it doesn’t give them the assurance of data protection. The #DeleteFacebook movement in 2018 was, in part, inspired by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data from millions of Facebook users was used in the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Imagine how massive the backlash would be if it’s not just personal information being mishandled, but also financial information. 

For this reason, you should address privacy challenges facing user adoption right from the creation of your app.

Solution: First things first, make sure that you’re compliant with data privacy laws. Build privacy into your platform from the get-go. Here are some of the best practices for that:

Create a privacy policy

To avoid costly fintech problems and legal disputes in the future, explain what data you collect, how you use it, and with whom you share it. Remember that the more data you collect and use, the more thorough and exhaustive your privacy policy should be. If you update your app in the future, review if the changes affect the policy. Add or remove provisions, when necessary.

In terms of placement, the policy must be in a prominent, easily accessible location. Most developers file it under the Settings menu. Once users click on it, the actual policy must fit to the size of their screen and facilitate easier reading.

Provide a short-form notice

This is a section that outlines the most important elements of data privacy policy. With a quick glance, users can understand how their personal information is used in the fintech application, addressing top-of-mind privacy issues. But all the same, provide a link to the complete privacy policy.

Grant users the ability to opt-out

This applies to the collection of data outside of the scope users would reasonably expect. These are sensitive information, as well as the ones that will be used in a non-obvious way (e.g., location data, users may not readily connect this feature with the app’s ability to find a nearby ATM). Giving users the choice and control to opt-out can solve key privacy-related issues.

3. Weak security

It’s no secret that even with the strongest protections, some fintech applications can still be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Paypal, one of the biggest platforms known and used worldwide, experienced such incidents last year. According to Forbes’ coverage on the issue, there was an authentication hack that allowed attackers to get into an account with phished credentials, getting past the authentication tools of the platform. 

Weak security is one of the biggest fintech industry problems that deter customers from adopting the technology. After all, it’s finances that are put on the line when cyberattacks happen.

Photo courtesy of Franck via Unsplash

Solution: Make security an integral part of your app’s build and design. It’s important to reassure users that their information is safe, not susceptible to attacks. Here are some security-related steps you can take when developing the fintech application:

• Use secure coding practices. With multiple programming languages available, always include secure input validation, keep logs, and monitor login attempts. Implement API and server security. In every step of the app development process, enforce proper testing strategies. By detecting vulnerabilities in the code regularly, you can swiftly address security problems of your fintech app.
• Encrypt users’ data. This involves usernames, email addresses, and passwords. In case a data breach happens in the future, the data you stored is safe. PKI, tokenization, and SSL certificates are methods that ensure the information is only readable to the receiver.
• Introduce multi-factor authentication. The security challenges facing fintech apps can be addressed when developers go beyond the traditional login method of keying in usernames and passwords. Combine it with email or SMS verification codes or OTPs (one-time passwords). If possible, provide the option for biometric identification. 
• Send timely notifications. Users must receive alerts about unauthorized logins or transactional attempts. This way, they can easily report suspicious activities and from your end, take steps to remedy the situation and avoid worse fintech problems moving forward.

4. Poor loading speed

This is largely related to the user experience, but it can also be due to weak security. Improper structuring and duplication of stored data slows down apps. Unoptimized encrypted connections likewise lead to sluggish performance, which is another common fintech problem.

Like anyone on-the-go, a longer app load time turns off app users and affects conversion. It will just be a matter of time before they find an alternative fintech application that has faster loading speed.

Solution: If you don’t want your platform to lag behind your competitors and be totally forgotten by customers, make it load faster. Ideally, you want your platform to load in less than three seconds, a similar standard to websites. Here are some ways to do that:

Write lighter code

This doesn’t mean creating a fintech application that only has basic features. It only entails using the most pragmatic, intuitive programming language. JavaScript and CSS are ideal in building apps, as they make optimization of the database easier.

Optimize images

Images and visuals take a lot of space in fintech applications, consume more bandwidth, thus increasing load speed. For this reason, you must perform image optimization. 

Reduce the size of visual elements on your app. As a rule of thumb, they should be below 100Kb to reach optimal page load speed. While compressing, however, make sure that the quality of the photo isn’t compromised. Rethink the inclusion of other images, too. Consider replacing them with other visual elements, such as different shades of colors.

Optimize encryption protocols

To secure data, most fintech applications use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security). In the process, however, they increase the loading speed of the platform. In the same way that you optimize images, you should also improve the efficiency of these encryption protocols. It’s best to consult professional app developers for your options to make sure that encryption-related fintech problems are resolved properly.

5. Intimidating platform

Finances are intimidating enough. Mixing it with technology, it becomes more overwhelming, especially to non-tech savvy people. As a result, there’s fintech hesitancy, which is one of the challenges facing tech players.

If you’re simply translating the cold, impersonal traditional banking experience into your app, you’re likely to drive away potential customers before they even download your platform. An exciting, interactive tool is what you should offer.

Solution: Gamify your app. Gamification simply infuses game-like mechanics into fintech applications, making exciting activities in doing routine tasks. Here are some of those “boring” functions you can gamify:

• Saving money. Allow users to create saving goals. Provide a visual illustration that will let them see how close they are to their goal. Once they reach milestones, say, half of their saving goal, give them a reward.
• Educating financial housekeeping. Create a series of short videos about complex financial concepts. Have them earn points whenever they complete a course and a quick quiz. Once they finish everything, let them redeem points from your partner brands.
• Determining insurance risk. Use scores to educate users about insurance contract terms. With the help of visuals, they can easily understand the inclusions in policies.
• Encouraging others to use the tool. Set up a rewards system wherein users who recommend the fintech application to a friend will receive exciting prizes.

When introducing game elements to your platform, be clear on these two factors: goals and rules. The former is supposed to compel users to take action, while the latter is to guide them through the steps.

Key takeaways

The best way to start the development of a fintech application is to know exactly the problems users are already facing. You’ll be more intentional in each step of the process when you’re highly aware of what you’re avoiding. Remember these guiding principles as you develop your tool and increase the chances of its adoption among your target market:

• Simplicity in design and user experience is always the best route. Less is more when it comes to app development. The simpler your fintech design is, the better it will function and compel users to explore.
• Reliability is what makes users stick with your app. The fintech application must deliver what it promises to deliver. More importantly, it should function in the fastest way possible, with no hassle on the user’s end whatsoever.
• Security is a non-negotiable item and the highest priority. Remember, people are entrusting you with their financial information. To avoid costly fintech problems along the way, make sure that your customers’ money and data are safe with you. Reassure app users and be transparent.

How’s your fintech application development coming along? In case you need help, shoot us a message on our social media accounts, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.