Banks in Germany and the Netherlands are rapidly transforming into digital-first banks to compete with competitors, automate compliance, and meet customer expectations.
73% of Germans use online banking, which has caused the evolution of N26. N26 is a Berlin-based Neobank that operates 100% mobile and has been trusted by millions of customers.
On the other hand, banks in the Netherlands are already at the forefront of digital innovation. For example, big names like ABN AMRO and ING banks elevate their customer experience through mobile apps.
But do not let all their flashy success blind you from the reality that at the core of any digital banking strategy is technology. And in this blog, we’ll talk about Flutter for the banking tech stack.
Since the number of smartphone users is snowballing, digital transformation for banks has become necessary. Besides, you can’t miss out on Android and iOS when considering mobile banking app development. On top of that, you also need to consider future upgradation, expansion, and AI and ML integrations.
That’s why developing your banking app with Flutter seems the ultimate solution, as it ticks all the boxes for the ideal banking tech stack. Powered by Google, Flutter has several gem features you can use to strengthen your bank’s digital strategy.
Also, learn how to leverage AI in banking app development fully!
So, let’s explore reasons why using Flutter for your Banking app is the best.
What is Flutter and Why Choose Flutter for Banking Apps?
Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit and framework launched by Google in 2017. Besides being Google’s brainchild, Flutter empowers developers to craft visually stunning, natively compiled mobile, web, and desktop applications from a single codebase.
The open-source SDK is engineered with Dart programming language to provide native performance across different platforms. Your banking app will deliver a consistent experience with fluid animations and responsiveness, whether on iOS, Android, or the web.
Dig out more about Dart and why Flutter uses Dart.
Moreover, Flutter’s features go hand-in-hand with banking app development. For example, Flutter’s “hot reload” feature accelerates the banking app development process by reflecting code changes in real-time.
So, now developers can instantly see changes as they code, leading to quicker iterations, reduced development time, and accelerated time-to-market for banking apps.
But this is not the only benefit of choosing Flutter for banking app development. There are many reasons and benefits of using Flutter for banking apps. Now, you may ask…
What Makes Flutter Ideal for Banking Tech Stack?
The right tech stack is the foundation upon which your bank creates exceptional customer experiences. Flutter seamlessly integrates into the banking tech stack, offering benefits that align with the demand of the banking industry—for example, consistent UI/X, rapid prototyping, code reusability, customizable widgets, and more.
With Unified Codebase, Banks can target Diverse Platforms.
Traditional app development requires separate codebases for different platforms, leading to code duplication, maintenance challenges, and inconsistencies. Flutter allows you to write one codebase that runs on multiple platforms, ensuring consistent functionality and appearance across iOS, Android, and the web.
Banks achieve Native-Level Performance with Flutter cross-platform SDK.
Customers demand fast, smooth, and responsive experiences from banking apps, which can be challenging to achieve on multiple platforms. Flutter’s “compiled to native” approach ensures that apps achieve native-level performance. The framework also eliminates sluggishness and provides seamless interactions irrespective of the platform.
Customizable and Engaging UI, no matter what platform
Banking apps require intricate interfaces and dynamic animations to engage users and facilitate complex transactions. Flutter’s rich widget library empowers developers to create customized UI components and captivating animations, enhancing the overall user experience and driving engagement.
Banks can Iterate and update faster with Flutter.
The banking landscape evolves rapidly, necessitating swift adaptations to customer needs and market trends. Flutter’s “hot reload” feature accelerates the development process, enabling real-time code changes and immediate feedback. This agility allows your bank to stay ahead of competitors and customer expectations.
No Confusion. With Flutter Easy Cross-Functional Collaboration
Banking app development involves collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders, sometimes leading to miscommunication and delays. Flutter’s single codebase fosters clear communication because designers and developers work on the same code, reducing discrepancies and promoting seamless collaboration.
How Can Flutter Improve Customer Experience in the Banking App?
The success of banking apps hinges on a user experience that resonates with customers while ensuring convenience and accessibility. Flutter does not just address these challenges but also provides innovative solutions that enhance customer experiences.
Flutter transforms banking apps into dynamic tools that meet customer needs by offering personalized interfaces, unifying experiences across platforms, and delivering real-time updates.
Flutter enables Personalized and Intuitive User Interfaces in Banking Apps:
Banking transactions often involve complex tasks. Numerous service options can overwhelm customers, creating confusion when navigating the app.
However, Flutter offers a rich customizable widget library, empowering banking app developers to craft intuitive and personalized user interfaces. By simplifying navigation, offering contextual assistance, and tailoring experiences to individual preferences, Flutter transforms the app into a user-friendly financial companion.
Implementing Omnichannel Support for Cross-Platform Banking:
Banks develop apps for both iOS and Android because customers use a variety of devices.
According to Statista, in Germany, Android and iOS share the market by 70% and 30%, respectively. While in the Netherlands, the operating systems market is shared by Android 59.07% and iOS 40.28%, as per a recent report.
Having apps for both platforms ensures that everyone can easily access their accounts and use banking services without any hassles, regardless of their phone choice.
However, ensuring a consistent banking experience across iOS and Android platforms is challenging, often leading to disconnected user interactions.
But Flutter allows you to bridge the gap through its widget-based architecture, effortlessly ensuring a uniform experience across iOS and Android. Widgets encapsulate platform-specific design elements, adapting automatically.
The Flutter framework’s rendering engine ensures pixel-perfect rendering, ensuring consistent UI across devices, which is crucial for banking apps requiring reliability and visual coherence.
Push Notifications and Real-time Updates for Customers:
Updating real-time transactions, security, and more is crucial for maintaining customer trust and satisfaction in modern banking. Because a lack of timely communication can lead to frustration, potential security concerns, and a diminished customer experience.
Flutter’s streamlined architecture and efficient push notification packages can handle background notifications, alerts, and notifications taps across iOS and Android. This technical prowess guarantees that banking apps built with Flutter maintain constant communication with users, enhancing engagement and providing essential information promptly.
Whether it’s a fraud alert or an account activity notification, Flutter ensures that your banking customers are always informed, enhancing transparency and trust.
Overall, the power to render native-like performance and experience across multiple platforms with a single codebase proves Flutter an ideal choice for banking app development. Now, let’s discuss how to build a Banking app with Flutter step-by-step.
How to Build a Banking App with Flutter?
The first step in building a banking app with Flutter is to hire the right development team. Then choose the platforms, prepare your banking app requirements, and start designing and developing with the team.
Let’s look into the Flutter banking app development phases for a more precise idea of the journey.
Choosing the Right Development Partner
When it comes to building a banking app, it’s crucial to choose the right development partner. Look for developers with experience developing secure, scalable, and high-performance applications. Since you are creating your banking app with Flutter, ensuring your team profoundly understands the framework is essential.
Remember to,
- Collaborate with experts experienced in Flutter app development, such as Kody Technolab.
- Leverage their knowledge to ensure seamless integration of Flutter into your banking tech stack.
- Choose a partner who understands your bank’s vision and can contribute valuable insights to enhance your app’s functionality.
Here’s the checklist to assess Flutter developers’ skills to reinforce your team selection!
Understanding the App’s Requirements and Goals
Next, you must list the features you want to offer, such as account overviews, bill payments, fund transfers, and transaction history. Make sure that they align with the needs of your target audience.
Also, consider the design and functionality of your app that can help you stand out in the competitive banking industry. You can identify competitive and user-friendly functionality by,
- Conducting thorough market research to identify customer pain points and demands.
- Defining your app’s objectives, target audience, and unique selling points.
For instance, if your target customers struggle with sluggish fund transfers, you develop a feature that simplifies the process, improving customer satisfaction.
Designing the User Interface and User Experience
Designing an intuitive and user-friendly interface is vital for any banking app. Flutter’s extensive widget library makes designing an intuitive banking app with simple navigation more accessible.
However, you must create a consistent design that aligns with your brand guidelines while keeping the user experience simple and engaging. Designing’s best practices include:
- Prioritizing a user-centric design that focuses on intuitive navigation and clear communication. For example, if your banking app caters to a younger demographic, integrate modern design elements and interactive features to engage and retain users.
- Creating wireframes and prototypes to visualize the app’s flow and functionality. For example, when designing the account overview screen, ensure that crucial information such as account balance and recent transactions are prominently displayed for quick access.
Developing and Testing the App
Developing and testing the app are the most crucial stages in building a banking app with Flutter. The app’s development process should adhere to industry standards, and its functionality should be rigorously tested to ensure its reliability and security.
Developing a banking app with Flutter can significantly reduce development and testing time, enabling your banks to launch the app sooner.
Here’s how you navigate this crucial phase effortlessly by leveraging Flutter:
- Work closely with developers to ensure the efficient translation of design into code.
- Utilize Flutter’s “hot reload” feature to iterate and refine your app in real-time.
- Prioritize thorough testing across devices and platforms to ensure a consistent user experience.
- Scrutinize authentication processes, encryption mechanisms, and data transmission. Flutter offers a range of debugging tools and supports unit, widget, and end-to-end testing to ensure your app’s complete security.
Launching and Maintaining the App
Banks must ensure the app’s launch is seamless and meets the expected user experience. Once launched, banks must regularly maintain the app to provide users with an updated experience, improved functionality, and security features.
Launching and maintaining a banking app requires ongoing support and updates. It’s crucial to have a dedicated Flutter development team that can provide timely support and maintenance services.
Here’s how to maintain your banking app’s high performance and engaging customer experience.
- Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to create anticipation and drive app downloads.
- Monitor user feedback and analytics to identify areas for optimization post-launch.
- Continuously update the app with new features based on customer needs and technological advancements.
For example, consider adding biometric authentication options to enhance security as the technology evolves.
Are there any Banking Apps built with Flutter?
Since digital banking transformation has become a norm in the banking sector, Flutter is an ideal technology. Flutter’s cross-platform nature and ability to render native-like experiences have enabled even digital-only banks like Nubank to innovate their customer experience and optimize operations faster.
Credit Agricole’s Flutter-Powered Banking App
Credit Agricole is a French multinational bank operating in over 50 countries. With a long history dating back to 1894, it has grown into one of the largest banks in Europe and a leader in the global financial industry.
Challenge:
As part of their digital transformation efforts, Credit Agricole wanted to create a mobile banking application that would provide their customers with a seamless and intuitive experience.
Solution:
Credit Agricole turned to Flutter, Google’s open-source mobile app development framework, to achieve these goals. By leveraging Flutter’s fast development cycle and rich features, Credit Agricole created a high-quality mobile banking app that met all their requirements.
Results:
- Consistency: Flutter’s single codebase ensured a uniform experience across iOS and Android devices, enhancing customer trust.
- Agility: “Hot reload” accelerated development, enabling quick iterations and feature testing.
- Engagement: Flutter’s widgets facilitated an appealing, user-friendly UI, improving customer interaction.
Credit Agricole’s adoption of Flutter exemplifies the framework’s potential to drive modernization, elevate engagement, and streamline development in the banking sector.
Nubank’s Flutter-Powered Banking App
Nubank is a Brazilian digital bank founded in 2013 to revolutionize the traditional banking sector. Since its inception, Nubank has grown rapidly and now serves millions of customers across Brazil.
Challenges:
Nubank’s existing mobile banking app was built using native technologies and faced scalability, maintenance, and performance challenges. The app’s user interface was also not optimized for different device sizes and operating systems, resulting in a less-than-ideal user experience.
Solution:
Nubank chose Flutter because of its ability to create high-performance, native mobile apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase. They chose Flutter because of its ability to create high-performance, native mobile apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase.
Results:
Since launching its Flutter-based mobile banking app, Nubank has significantly improved app performance, customer satisfaction, and business metrics. Some notable achievements include:
- 50% increase in app installations
- 30% increase in daily active users
- 20% increase in transactions per user
- 10% reduction in churn rate
- 50% reduction in development time for new features
Nubank’s successful migration to Flutter demonstrates the potential of this technology in transforming the mobile banking landscape. By leveraging Flutter’s strengths, Nubank created a best-in-class mobile banking app that exceeded customer expectations and drove business growth.
Are you planning to develop your banking app with Flutter?
Choosing the right Flutter development partner is the first and foremost step in building a reliable banking app. App security and seamless user experiences must be the top priority. But you need experienced Flutter developers who understand the complexities of building a banking app that meets regulatory requirements.
If you’re wondering where to find the perfect Flutter development partner for your banking app in Germany and the Netherlands, look no further than Kody Technolab. Our fusion of banking domain expertise and Flutter proficiency ensures a flawless user experience. We effortlessly infuse innovation into your banking app journey.
