Fintech app development
We build software that moves or measures money: payments and checkout, subscription billing, invoicing, payouts, expense tracking, and financial dashboards. A typical fintech first version is a standard web app at $16,000 with payments at $2,500, an admin panel at $3,500, and one or two integrations at $3,000 each, such as a banking data provider or accounting system. Our relevant work includes multi-tenant metering and billing for Sapient Industries' energy platform, and Stripe billing for N3XUS Social. This page covers the typical first version, the price range, and the compliance points that matter, from PCI through Stripe to identity checks and change history.
Relevant work
- Sapient Industries: an IoT energy-management platform with device fleets, multi-tenant metering, and billing, where we were the primary development partner for more than three years.
- N3XUS Social: subscription billing on Stripe for an AI-native social platform.
The typical first version
- Secure sign-in with multi-factor authentication.
- Accounts, balances, or invoices modeled with a proper ledger, so every number can be traced.
- Payments or payouts through Stripe, or bank connections through a provider such as Plaid.
- Notifications for every money event, by email and in the app.
- An admin panel for reconciliation, refunds, and support.
- Exports for accounting and an activity history for every account.
Compliance notes
- PCI DSS through Stripe. We never store card numbers. Card entry uses Stripe's hosted fields, which keeps you in the simplest PCI scope.
- KYC and AML. If you hold or move funds for others, identity checks and transaction monitoring are required. Stripe Connect or a banking-as-a-service partner handles most of it; we build the flows around it.
- Money transmission. Holding customer funds can require state licenses in the US. Most startups avoid this by working through a licensed partner. Confirm your model with a fintech lawyer before build.
- Change history. Every change to money is logged with who, what, and when, and records are never silently edited.
- SOC 2. Business buyers often ask for it. We build with access controls and logging that make a later SOC 2 program easier.
What makes fintech hard
Rounding, currencies, time zones, and retries. A payment that is sent twice, or a balance that is off by a cent, destroys trust. We use integer amounts, idempotent payment requests, and a ledger that can be reconciled against the provider every day. And we test the unhappy paths, failed cards, partial refunds, and disputes, as carefully as the happy one.
How we work
Every first version starts with a signed plan listing every screen and workflow, then a clickable design you approve on your phone, then the build, then launch. You get a written weekly plan, a daily update, and a demo every Friday. You pay in four equal milestones tied to those stages, and you own the code and the cloud accounts from day one. After launch, a care plan from $1,000 a month or a dedicated engineer at $8,500 a month keeps the product moving.
What we leave for later
The fastest way to a fintech product that earns its keep is a first version that does fewer things well. These are the items we usually move to after launch, once real usage shows they matter:
- Multi-currency accounts
- Open API for partners
- Card issuing
- Advanced analytics and forecasting
- SOC 2 program, until a buyer asks
Each one is a fixed-price addition later. Leaving them out keeps the first version inside the range above, shortens the time to launch, and means you spend on what customers actually ask for.
Timeline and team
A lean first version ships in about 5 weeks, standard in about 8, and large in about 12. A typical team is a product designer, two or three engineers, and a delivery lead you talk to every day, with a senior engineer reviewing every change. You see the work every Friday, and you can stop after any milestone with the code and designs in your hands.
Questions founders ask
How much does a fintech app cost?
Most first versions run $16,000 to $26,000 on web, plus payments, admin, and integrations as needed.
Do I need to be PCI compliant?
Yes, but using Stripe's hosted fields keeps you in the simplest scope, with a short self-assessment.
Can you integrate with banks?
Yes, through providers such as Plaid for account data, and banking partners for accounts and transfers.
Do I need a money transmitter license?
Possibly, if you hold customer funds. Most startups work through a licensed partner instead; confirm with a lawyer.
How fast can we start?
Usually within two weeks of a signed plan. The first week is design, and you see screens by the end of it.
Can you work alongside our own engineers?
Yes. Many clients keep an in-house lead and add our engineers to the same repository, stand-ups and review process. We follow your conventions, document what we build, and hand over cleanly whenever you want to take a piece of work in house.
Do you sign an NDA before the first call?
Yes, on request. Several of our clients, including a consumer AI company, work with us under NDA, and we never show their work without written permission.
What happens after launch?
Most clients move to a care plan from $1,000 a month for fixes and small features, or keep one or two dedicated engineers at $8,500 a month each.
The Idea Lab turns a two-sentence idea into a build plan: why it could work, what to get right first, the first version worth building and its price. Two minutes, from our published rates.