Fitness app development is a complex process that requires significant resources and expertise. With the rise of mobile-first banking, traditional banks are struggling to keep up with the pace of digital transformation. But what's the cost of building a fitness app like N26?

Many banks argue they need sufficient technology budgets for their digital transformative success. However, in reality, they invest resources in digital banking transformation and still struggle to execute them properly. The consequences? Germany records 88.62% bank cost-to-income with the 4th Global rank, while the Netherlands has 61.15% in 2021. For your information, the global bank cost-to-income ratio based on 113 countries is 54.8%.

The reason behind this dramatic difference can be the slow adoption of opportunities offered by technology or not leveraging technology correctly. Take the example of N26, a digital-only featured in Forbes World's Best Banks of 2022. The irony? The neo-bank is from Germany.

While banks are busy arguing for the technology budget, neo-banks like N26 are getting ahead of the curve. The whole business model of N26 relies on mobile technology. Do banks with existing IT systems also need to embrace mobile technology?

After analyzing Revolut, NuBank, N26, and other virtual banks' evolution, it becomes clear that it's decade-old legacy IT applications that pile up technical debt in banks. This technical debt causes challenges in digital banking transformation, making it costlier to fix problems that potentially will affect banks in the future.

Factors Affecting Fitness App Development Cost

The fitness app development cost is volatile and subject to differ based on a few crucial factors. For example, what features you want to offer, customer experience level in your app, security measures, compliances to adhere to, and technology to use. Let's understand each one in simple words.

  • App Type: The complexity of features and services, like essential banking functions versus investment tools, directly impacts the development effort and cost involved.
  • Features & Functionality: More features require additional coding and testing time, increasing development costs. For example, incorporating money transfers, bill payments, and customer support features will contribute to higher expenses.
  • App Platforms: Developing for multiple platforms (iOS and Android) separately increases development time and cost compared to using a cross-platform framework like Flutter. Using Flutter for fitness app development offers technical advantages, including streamlining both platforms in one go.
  • UI/UX Design: Creating an intuitive and visually appealing user interface demands design expertise, which can add to the overall cost.
  • Technology Integration: Implementing advanced technologies like AI and ML in Fitness apps requires specialized skills, contributing to higher development costs.
  • Backend & Frontend: Utilizing a unified framework like Flutter for both frontend and backend development can lead to time and cost savings compared to using different tools.
  • Data Management: Storing and managing customer data securely, whether through on-premises servers or cloud solutions, carries associated costs for infrastructure and maintenance.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring the app complies with banking regulations involves thorough development, testing, and documentation, which increases the overall cost.
  • Security Measures: Implementing robust security measures, like encryption and authentication, requires additional development time and resources, impacting the cost of the app.

N26's Unparalleled Journey

N26, a trailblazing digital bank, launched in 2013 and launched its first banking product in early 2015. Originating from a prepaid card concept for teenagers, N26's visionary founders quickly grasped the potential to reshape traditional banking. Their comprehensive digital banking solution, encompassing cards, an app, and deposit accounts, aimed to meet the evolving needs of tech-savvy customers.

What is fascinating about N26 is that despite having a full European banking license, it has no branches. Aiming to redesign banking for the 21st century, N26 is available on desktop, iOS, and Android platforms instead. N26's unparalleled journey hinges on customer-centricity, agility, and innovation. Their approach garnered early adopters' excitement, resulting in a waiting list of 50,000 prospects before the banking product's official launch. Currently, the digital-only bank has about 7 million customers across 24 markets.

This paradigm shift (coupled with their commitment to a transparent and profitable business model) positions N26 as a compelling example for banks seeking digital transformation in the modern financial landscape.

N26's Tipping Point!

However, since customers rapidly embrace mobile banking, it wasn't easy for N26 to scale and maintain secure and fast transactions. Not to mention, the regulatory compliances are the same for digital-only banks as traditional banks. So, N26 found a technology partner to keep up the pace of releasing updates and features in Android and iOS apps. With the partnership, the neo-bank reduced its build time by 50% along with testing times, increasing the app store release frequency.

Leveraging the technology partner's expertise, N26 can quickly test the market with new products, staying ahead of the curve in the market. This partnership will not only reduce the cost and risk for N26 but also help it to meet customer expectations.