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Even though the financial industry is perceived as one of the most rigid ones due to the high-security standards, we see it’s becoming more and more digital-friendly.
Banks now have mobile apps that allow clients to easily handle financial operations through their phones. Moreover, fintech startups are on the rise, providing innovative solutions to their users and disrupting the industry. Such technical solutions have to be able to improve the dynamic nature of the financial industry as it’s all about timely communication. If we take a look at the numbers provided in the infographic below, it won’t be exaggerated to state that messaging is the operating system of financial services. That’s why, now more than ever, it’s extremely important to take the right approach towards implementing safe and transparent chat functionality, as every security hole can be damaging for any financial company’s reputation.
Why Are Apps for Secure Messaging Needed in the Financial Industry?
As far as communication goes, messaging apps have shown to be the preferred method for most industries – and the financial sector is no stranger to this. In general, messaging apps are on the rise and according to Business Insider’s report, since 2015 they have surpassed social networks and there is a steady trend for them to grow even further:
This is not a surprise, as messaging apps ensure shorter feedback loops, allowing companies to have a better relationship with their customers. This way, they serve both the client and the business and save time and effort required by phone or email communication. Yet, financial services need to go one step beyond regular messaging apps and ensure that they are both fully secure and readily accessible to be able to cater to the speed of communication necessary.
To be able to assess these needs, many fintech companies have chosen to either build their own messaging apps or add chat functionality into their products. There are various types of fintech solutions and some of them will greatly benefit from integrating secure messaging functionalities such as apps dealing with:
- Stock and financial instrument trading and analysis
- Stocks, options, futures and cryptocurrency trading
- Real-time financial visualizations and analytics
- Brokerage integration, financial charting, and investments
Information workers and financial app users need to be fast and accurate, so the best way to ensure a flawless instant messaging service is through custom solution development. Moreover, it allows for more control over security, which is the most important feature for this sector.
Custom Secure Messaging App for Financial Companies
There are many communication apps available but custom solutions are worth the investment. To avoid hacker attacks such as the one against WhatsApp in 2018, security needs to be overseen during the development of the functionality and tested regularly. You’d want to use a messaging service like Twilio that allows you to have certain added criteria such as specialized security. This is essential for the finance industry since it handles important information such as customer database, financial records, among others.
So what to look for when you decide to integrate a secure messaging functionality into your product? The provider must offer some key features such as end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, soft tokens (one-time password), push authentications, multi-device authentication, and the company has to be compliant with all the security laws and regulations.
Relying on custom solutions allows you to ensure the highest security standards but also to change and adapt the chat functionality as much as you need and whenever your business goals require it.
We’ve come up with a list of good practices for management to keep in mind while developing a secure messaging app for financial companies. As a client, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- Choose a trading software development company that has experience in building secure messaging apps for financial companies.
- Give clear requirements about the goals of the project and the functionalities you want to be included.
- Ensure constant communication between the development team and the company’s management.
Realizing the need for a secure messaging app for financial companies and the limitless opportunities that custom chat solutions would bring to your business is a wonderful start. If you decide to go for a custom solution, the next step is finding the right experts to help you build the functionality. You would want to have reliable partners who know your industry on both the technical and consulting side. Following the management tips listed above, you will ensure a smooth workflow and successful implementation. Are you ready to start improving your fintech app? Contact us to discuss how we can help you empower your product by building custom messaging functionality for you!
