Successful apps are as mobile as your customers. They’re available in-app, in-person at points of sale, and embedded within business processes. This allows consumers and business users alike to access your services wherever they go.

Able to cross and combine aspects of traditional consumer and business categories, successful apps are authentically disruptive. Some examples include:

• Bringing commerce, payments, and retail finance together
• Blending accounting and administration services with business software and banking
• Allowing non-banking players to offer financial services and payment solutions
• Combining communications, commerce, and on-demand travel services with payment and banking services

The more modular your app architecture is, the more responsive you can be to changing business needs. That’s why many apps are built using a combination of proprietary and third-party building blocks—while also weaving in account data and payment services of direct competitors.

The best apps are updated frequently, offering new features to keep pace with new market and competitive demands. However, care must be taken to ensure that your app provides the same reliable experience to customers, no matter how much changes on the backend through your updates and maintenance efforts.

Great apps offer a service that’s so convenient and frictionless, it markets itself. To achieve this, many apps focus on offering a simple service first, then later expand to payments services, electronic money services, and even offering loans and investment products.

Financial apps are held to a higher standard than consumer or business apps. As a result, your app must be able to adapt to constantly shifting compliance standards and regulations.

Bank-grade security is absolutely crucial when building a financial app. This ensures that users’ money and personal data is always safe and secure.