Pragmatic Coders have been developing FinTech software products like trading platforms for many many years. We can confirm that in many ways this is much more difficult than standard software products in other industries. Why? Despite hard competition in this area. FinTech is a highly regulated niche and you need to comply with a lot of local legal requirements. Trading platforms also require fulfilling very strict security & data privacy standards. This article should help you plan everything in appropriate order before hiring developers to build your product.
Start from preparing the Product Vision
This is mandatory for any startup owner or project manager. Product Vision is a document that includes the real purpose of your product, the problem that it resolves, target audience, and Unique Selling Proposition. In the linked article you will find a template to prepare this easily.
Finding a niche in a competitive market
For fledgling projects, it's always a good idea to find a niche and then scale the product and acquire a wider and wider range of users. It might seem to be difficult, especially when you realize how many digital trading platforms already exist, but think how many possibilities you have. Existing products differ in many ways, starting with the type of goods that can be traded, technology, and differences in terms of fees. Internet users can trade stocks, currencies, cryptocurrencies, investments, digital assets (like NFTs), and more.- There is always a way to find a new solution that will be the best for some group of users.
An excellent example is the case of Nest Bank that has discovered that there are many entrepreneurs in the trading sector in Poland who do not have a bank account and prefer to operate with cash. The bank provided them with safe, tax-free accounts and delivered ATMs to the fairgrounds, so they could deposit cash.
Finding the best software vendor to develop your trading platform
Once you know what your product should be, you need to find someone to make it. This is quite a challenging task, considering that the competition in the software services market is huge. You need to find the golden mean between quality and price. For this reason, you should consider companies from countries that are known for their good programming skills and whose rates are lower than in the United States or Western Europe. Countries such as Slovakia, Poland or Hungary are common and in our opinion the right choice. Besides, you should cooperate with a vendor specialized in your area. By this, we mean FinTech. You can learn more about choosing the best software development company from our dedicated guide.
Check regulatory compliance
As we mentioned before, the FinTech industry is subject to many regulations. Therefore, before you even start creating a product, consult in advance whether your idea is in conflict with the laws of the country. For example, in the UK such a product must meet The PCI Security Standard, and the process of obtaining it takes a long time. So you should proceed as soon as possible.
MVP first
To put it in a nutshell: you should build an MVP version of your product and release it to the market as soon as possible to save your money and time. Even if the startup founder conducts diligent market and competitive research, only by having a finished and working product can they verify business assumptions. First of all, whether the product meets the expectations and is it worth developing further. You have to take into account that your product simply won't catch on, and it's better to find out as soon as possible when you haven't spent all your savings on it yet. Besides, having a product released, you will start gathering users faster, testing the product and simply monetizing it. If you want to know more about building MVP you should read our extensive guidebook on how to go live with your product in less than 3 months.
Reinventing the wheel
Although each platform is different all of them must include some basic functionality - the core of the application. For example, all trading platforms need a user interface, features responsible for transactions, withdrawals, or payment processing. To speed up MVP building, use ready-made and proven open-source solutions that are available on the market. Similarly, if you are going to include the blockchain technology in your application - it's worth using an existing blockchain like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain.
User experience
Trading is complicated enough, so at least try to make using your platform simple. If your project involves user experience specialists - good, and if they are from the same company as the development team - even better. The great UX creates an opportunity for you to stand out and gain more satisfied customers who will recommend your product.
