Does Your Finance App Meet High Expectations of Users?

Posted on August 19, 2024August 19, 2024 by cloudmatrix.website

In the finance industry, users expect the financial applications they choose to be nothing but flawless. This higher than in other industries expectation comes from the nature of financial transactions. Here, even the tiniest error leads to the worst consequence in this sector – loss of trust and confidence.

The article is here to answer 3 important questions:

How do users form high expectations for finance apps?
Why is user trust so important in financial applications?
What are the stages where flawless performance matters the most?

The industry is shaped by its users

Precision and reliability are non-negotiable in an environment where financial applications operate. But why?

That’s because users acknowledge that their dependency on these apps is big, be it used to:

Manage their money,
Pay their bills,
Conduct transactions.

Users expect the tool they use for such important tasks to work perfectly 24/7.

Not only how a finance app works, but also what data this app uses to function is important. The fact that users give their sensitive financial information is yet another factor that raises the expected level of trust. Any glitch or downtime is a financial loss for you and for users it can be seen as possible identity theft or fraud. That’s where this little tolerance for errors comes from.

High standards are the main driver that motivates those operating in the industry to eliminate any possibility of error, often with the help of fintech application development services.

Is it clear that trust should not have doubts?

“Trust” is not just a fancy word used in ads to attract people’s attention. Trust is a valuable factor of influence for applications and it’s especially true for financial apps.

Only when being confident in the security of their financial data and in the security of the transactions, only then the app will be used.

The direct link between trust, money, and sensitive information is what shapes the financial sector and the software in it. A trustworthy financial app:

Builds user confidence
Encourages regular use
Fosters loyalty

Add a single security breach or a technical issue to that – the trust will be eroded, and users will choose competitors.

Stages, where performance matters the most

Certain stages or aspects of your financial application the utmost attention to detail to get user trust and don’t lose it.

Account Management

Effective account management means that your users can create and manage their accounts without a hustle. Every action that has to do with tuning the user’s account should be intuitive and quick to complete, be it setting up security measures or updating personal information (linking accounts, for example).

Payment Gateway

The payment gateway, for those of you who don’t know, is a point where transactions are authorized and completed. The reliability of each element of the payment gateway is a must. Every API that’s there has to be secure and efficient in the payment processing. All that must somehow be done without sacrificing the functionality of your payment gateway. It must:

Support various payment methods
Have all the necessary encryption protocols
Offer real-time transaction monitoring and fraud detection systems

Allow downtime or an error to happen at the payment gateway and lost sales together with diminished user trust is what you’ll get.

Because payment gateways are such a vital component of financial applications, many decide to turn to payment gateway integration services not to risk user’s trust and offer a smooth transaction experience. These services guarantee that there are no issues on the payment gateway stage, which saves from potential loss of clients due to payment processing errors.

Data Security

Unauthorized access and cyber threats are a big challenge for the fintech industry. That’s because hackers know that the industry has precious sensitive financial information, so they’re constantly searching for any security breaches to get that information.

When it comes to data security in the fintech industry, the saying “better safe than sorry” would be the perfect motto.

Implement as much of modern and effective security measures into your application as you can. That means having:

Multi-layered security protocols
Encryption (both in transit and at rest!)
Secure socket layer (SSL) certificates
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Regular security audits together with penetration testing go on top of what was listed to identify and address vulnerabilities. All kinds of compliances, including PCI DSS, ensure that your application meets industry requirements for handling payment data.

Overlooking data security is dangerous. Overlooking data security means playing a game with the user’s trust and when (not if!) you lose, you lose the trust, finances, and reputation.

User Interface

Finally – UI. It may sound obvious, but many don’t allocate enough attention and resources to the quality of the user interface. Your app should be intuitive and easy to navigate, so eliminate unnecessary complexities!

Give your users a clean and user-friendly layout with properly labeled menus and icons.

And give them that on various devices and screen sizes.

Even the best UI needs occasional revision, so employ user feedback to know when and what things need improvement. Screen reader compatibility, adjustable text sizes, and other accessibility features are an absolute must because you want the app to be inclusive and comfortable for as many people as possible.

To make a finance app flawless is difficult, but that’s the only thing users will accept. Make them think of your app as a reliable, secure, and easy-to-use software.

Meet their expectations and success will be the only thing you can expect in return.

By Gary Bernstein