How to Develop a Mobile Banking App Like Revolut?

All forms of digital banking are developing very fast in 2024, reflecting a broader shift to digital-only solutions and reliance on innovative technology in the financial sector. Due to such massive changes, the Neobank solutions market is expected to reach $394 billion by 2026, which suggests a CAGR of 46%+. 

The same is observed in the global mobile banking market, which is currently valued at $1.5 billion and is projected to exceed $7 billion by 2032 – a CAGR of 16.8%. These figures suggest that FinTech is the future of banking and finance, so the niche is quickly getting saturated because of tough competition. 

Yet, you still have a vital competitive advantage in the rapidly growing market of mobile banking. Here, I explain how to build a digital bank similar to the trendsetting Revolut bank app, to beat the competitors. 

Why Is Digital Banking a Thing in 2024? 

The times of lengthy and cumbersome banking services accessible only via offline bank branches are long gone. Digital banks offer comprehensive 24/7 service coverage accessible from a person’s smartphone and revolutionizing the very concept of banking. People can open and manage accounts from any place, just with a couple of clicks, and complete transactions and currency exchanges without the need to travel to a bank office. 

Digital banking makes all financial operations transparent and quick, with robust safety measures safeguarding users’ personal data and funds. Accessibility of a wide range of banking operations from a laptop or smartphone also boosts financial inclusion by giving rural populations unprecedented opportunities for opening accounts, sending and receiving money, and initiating investment and savings practices. All this comes at lower fees and costs, which also boosts the popularity of digital banking and FinTech compared to traditional finance. 

What Makes Revolut Different from Traditional Banks? 

Revolut is a UK-based private FinTech business launched in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yetsenko. The Revolut app is currently used by 45+ million users, who enjoy seamless payment features and can transact in 36 currencies across 160+ countries. As of 2023, its annual revenue exceeded £1.8 billion, and the net income of the company was over £344 million. 

Revolut has proven to differ from traditional banks in many ways, mainly due to the user-friendly digital interface that contributes to full user control and a stellar UX, and because of lower fees for transactions and ATM withdrawals. Besides, Revolut offers unique features that traditional European banks don’t have, such as investing in NYSE stocks or buying and selling cryptocurrencies. 

While Revolut is broadly known for low fees and customer-friendly conditions, it has still proven to be a commercially viable project. So, how does Revolut make money? The company enjoys a steady stream of revenue from: 

• Subscriptions. Users can access premium features and more favorable conditions by paying for one of the advanced plans – Revolut Plus, Revolut Premium, Revolut Metal, and Revolut Ultra. 
• Cashback from Visa and Mastercard. The company receives a small sum of cashback from every card purchase made from a Revolut account. 
• B2B plans. Users operating a B2B Revolut account pay £25 per month for advanced features for businesses, such as multi-user access, API integrations, and business expense management. 

Key Features of a Mobile Banking App Like Revolut 

Revolut has been the highest-valued FinTech company in the UK since 2020. Its numerous beneficial features, which have already become a blueprint for digital banking businesses, include: 

• Multi-currency accounts and support of transactions in multiple currencies. 
• Physical cards from which Revolut users can withdraw money in partnering ATMs worldwide. 
• Smart budgeting and saving features. 
• Insurance plans. 
• Premium features (e.g., unlimited foreign exchange transactions and increased ATM withdrawal limits). 
• Open banking APIs. 

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Build a Digital Bank Like Revolut 

As soon as you decide to develop a Revolute-like app, it’s time to take several vital steps that will take you from idea to a ready, functioning product. We at RNDpoint usually employ the following algorithm to develop a mobile app like Revolut. 

Market Research and Planning 

This initial stage of digital bank development is very important from a strategic viewpoint. An in-depth market analysis will highlight the key technical requirements and user needs that your product may address to offer real value to customers and be successful on the market. These insights will inform a more concrete strategy for developing your digital bank in accordance with present-day realities. 

Understanding of Legal Requirements and Licensing 

Digital banking is regulated differently across jurisdictions, so you need to collaborate with legal consultants to understand the regulatory landscape and requirements for your business’s legal functioning. Introduce KYC/AML compliance measures and double-check the relevant data protection legislation in your jurisdiction; these efforts will eventually pay off. 

Business Model Selection 

One of the important decisions you need to make is whether you will have a standalone app or employ a white-label solution on a BaaS basis. Both variants come with pros and cons; for instance, the standalone app offers you the freedom and flexibility of source code ownership, allowing for feature updates, scaling, and other benefits of software ownership. Working with a BaaS platform is more cost-effective and quick in terms of the banking app’s or wallet’s setup. Yet, you face limitations in feature diversity and may come across vendor lock-in, unable to transfer your customized banking app to another platform. 

Key Features & Development Roadmap 

At this stage, you need to create a detailed list of features you want to integrate into your digital bank. This data will inform a practical roadmap with the main milestones and deadlines for app development. The roadmap will keep you and the development team organized throughout the project. 

UX/UI Design 

Sleek, minimalist, and intuitive design is a vital parameter that makes or breaks a mobile bank project. Therefore, you should take this stage seriously and work on the wireframes, prototypes, and sketches for the app’s structure and layout. Consult with experienced designers to select a consistent color scheme and fonts; invest time and effort in developing an intuitive navigation system. Mind the interoperability parameter; your app should look good and be easy to operate on any screen or device. 

Technology Stack Selection 

You need to partner with one of the digital wallet solution providers to develop a state-of-the-art tech stack and create a technologically superior design for your digital bank. This way, you can offer a sustainable and appealing digital banking product that will remain relevant to users for years to come. 

At a minimum, you need to use Angular and React programming languages for front-end development, while preferred database technologies include MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. You may use Swift and Objective-C for native iOS development and apply a blend of Kotlin and Java for native Android development. Back-end technologies that may help you create a Revolut-like app are Node.js, Python, Java, and C++. 

Development of Core Features 

Though the pace of digital banking innovations is very fast, there is a core functionality that you can’t skip when developing a digital bank. It should necessarily include: 

• A secure login feature. 
• An ability to create a user account. 
• P2P payments among account holders. 
• Ability to create virtual and physical debit cards. 
• Direct deposits and withdrawals of money in multiple currencies. 
• Budgeting features and smart expenditure tracking. 
• Payment integrations. 

API Integrations 

You need to set up API endpoints to ensure your app’s connectivity to other services and apps. This way, you will guarantee the flexibility of financial service range expansion for your app via API integrations. The APIs are also vital for keeping your front-end connected to your back-end architecture for the performance of financial functions. 

Security Feature Integration 

When you develop wallet like Revolut, cybersecurity should be the main area of your concern. Digital banking is still a relatively innovative niche in which hackers and criminals prey on user data and funds. Therefore, only robust security features like two-step authorization, advanced user verification, and encryption can guarantee safe transactions and storage.  

QA Testing 

You can’t launch an app before testing its code correctness and fixing all bugs and vulnerabilities. By means of unit and integration testing, you may verify the correct work of every app element, while bug fixes will increase the app’s usability. You need to complete the testing before the launch stage to ensure that users enjoy a stellar UX upon downloading the digital banking app. 

Launch and Marketing 

Now it’s time to launch a digital app like Revolut, making it accessible for download and registration. You should market the app and upload it to Google Play and App Store to let millions of users learn about a new appealing offering. Create promo materials and launch a marketing campaign to fuel demand for your product through media ads and social posts. Offer exclusive benefits to the first subscribers to stimulate people to try your software. 

Monitoring and Regular Updates 

Once your digital banking platform starts working, it’s important to provide users with 24/7 maintenance and support services so that technical glitches and bugs don’t undermine user experience. You can hire a tech team to provide maintenance and monitoring, ensuring that your digital banking app is always functional and safe. It’s also necessary to update the app by adding innovative features and services so that your product remains in demand and popular. 

Partnerships and Growth 

It’s not enough to build a digital bank like Revolut and relax after launching it to the market. You should conduct consistent work on business expansion and growth, guaranteeing stable revenue streams for your business and enhancing its visibility in the FinTech landscape. 

How to Make Profit from an App Like Revolut? 

Similar to Revolut, you can devise a couple of steady revenue streams that do not affect customers directly. It may be a tiered subscription plan, which allows for free service coverage at the base level for every user and presupposes exclusive access to premium features at higher, paid subscription plans. This way, your customers will make informed choices about paying for premium features or remaining at a free base plan with the standard set of available services. 

Other sources of revenue may be in-app advertising, partnership offerings, and related service promos. This monetization strategy works well as your business expands and becomes more visible, with more companies eager to pay you for advertising. 

Cashback arrangements are also a viable monetization option for digital banks. You can establish multiple partnerships with payment providers and e-commerce platforms, where your users and your company will receive appealing cashback for all operations. 

Finally, there are always plenty of options for monetizing advanced payment features for businesses. Corporate accounts usually work differently than individual accounts, so you can set a base subscription price for B2B transactions and gain revenue from business users of your digital bank. 

How Much Does It Cost to Build an App Like Revolut? 

It’s hard to give a more or less concrete cost estimate for a digital bank project because every software is individual in terms of the number and complexity of features, the tech stack involved, and the location and expertise of the development team. You may count on around $2,000-$5,000 of expenditure on product discovery with in-depth market and user need analysis and reserve from $12,000 to $20,000 for UI/UX design. The actual app development will cost anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000+, and the app’s launch support and pre-launch marketing can cost an additional $5,000 – $20,0000. The figures are sure to fluctuate depending on your development team’s hourly rates. 

RNDpont’s Digital Bank Solution to Create a Bank Like Revolut 

As soon as you decide to create a bank like Revolut, you have two options: custom app development from scratch or a white-label solution with pre-built modules and functionality. RNDpoint can assist you in both ways, as we have a large team of software engineers with in-depth expertise in the area of digital banking and FinTech.  

Our ready-made white label mobile wallet is an excellent solution for businesses that want to take advantage of speedy and affordable development and enter the market ahead of competitors. It contains a unified core for digital banking and digital wallet setup, with all in-bank processes and document management functionality, CRM, HRM, and encryption available for seamless customization and quick launch. 

Due to the availability of many preconfigured features and the availability of a well-designed backend core, you can reduce digital wallet costs and end up with a much smaller budget for digital bank development compared to building it from scratch. Other benefits include: 

• Pre-integrated payment solutions
• IP ownership and source code rights
• No vendor lock-in 
• Only one-time license payment 
• Reduced cost and time of digital bank/wallet development 
• Minimal support needs for the deployed banking software –

RNDpoint has already launched digital wallets in five regions, covering MENA, North America, Asia, and Europe with efficient and safe banking services. Over 10 million users already utilize wallets and digital bank solutions developed by our experts, informed by 15+ years of extensive presence in the FinTech market. Our team also offers extensive consulting services to enhance your visibility in the FinTech space and design a winning strategy for a smooth entry to the FinTech market.