How Much Does It Cost to Develop and Maintain an E-wallet App?

Digital wallets have made it too convenient for users to make payments anywhere, anytime. If you are looking to develop an e-wallet app like Google Pay, there are many things you need to take care of. Assuming you have done your part of the research and homework, you already know the market size, the growth rate, the competition, and the legal aspects involved. Let’s get straight into the cost of e-wallet app development and the factors that impact it.

Cost to Develop an E-wallet App

We understand starting a new business needs hefty investments, especially if it involves the development of a new application. Here’s a quick guide to help you approximately manage your budget and enter the market with a solution that reflects well.

First thing First, Type of Application

Before you start calculating the cost of e-wallet app development, be sure what type of application you want to build. You could opt for:

• Closed eWallet App: Available over a certain network or platform and is accessible only to a certain set of users who have registered themselves on the application.

• Examples: Starbucks Reward Card, Myntra Insider Points, Zomato Wallet, etc.

• Semi-closed eWallet App: Used to make transactions even with users not registered over the network are semi-closed eWallet applications.

• Examples: Amazon Pay, Samsung Pay, Paytm, etc.

• Open eWallet App: Offers the ease of making payments generally, without one being registered on the same network are open eWallet applications.

• Examples: PhonePe, Google Pay, etc.

Each of these app types has its own set of features and functionalities.

Okay! So, now we know what we want.

What Platforms Do We Use?

Well, now you may want to start slow by being available for simply one platform, or you can be available for both. Simply stating you may want to reach only Android users or iOS users or both.

Yes, this is a strong factor that decides the cost of digital wallet app development.

You can choose either:

• Native App Development: Available for any particular platform

• Hybrid App Development: Available for both platforms.

Generally, hybrid app development costs a little higher than native app development, as the development process is complex and requires more developers.

The Right Hiring Model

Choosing the right hiring model for your e-wallet app development impacts your cost of development to a great extent. You can choose to hire a team in-house or outsource your app development project.

• In-house Team: Once the e-wallet app is ready, you don’t need such a big team of developers and designers who will handle the app. Thus, you’d have to take a hire-and-fire approach that would bring a bad name to the company. Second, it is a time and energy-consuming process that will cost you a lot.

• Outsource Your Project: Connect with an e-wallet app development company and get your app ready. You can leverage their expertise and experience in your favor and get an app that users love. You can choose to hire freelancers or a firm for the same.

Note: We suggest hiring an e-wallet app development firm instead of a freelancer, as the credibility and accountability of the firm are always higher than that of a freelancer.

Where Does the Team Come From?

A major factor that defines the cost of digital wallet app development is the location of the development team. If your team is based in the US or UK, the cost of development would be higher. Hiring a team from Southeast Asia can bring down the development cost by several folds.

Type of App	South-East Asia	Europe	USA	UK
Simple	$10 to $15	$45 to $80	$40 to $60	$45 to $65
Medium	$20 to $30	$90 to $120	$80 to $100	$71 to $82
Complex	$40 to $50	$140 to $170	$120 to $125	$120 to $150

So surely connecting with the right team of developers from the right place can help you save a lot of time and money.

The Complexity of Look and Feel

How you want your app to look and feel is a significant factor that influences the mobile wallet app development cost. If you want to add animations and other effects, gamification, and other factor factors the cost becomes a little higher.

It is vital to note that having an intuitive and interactive mobile app design is critical to the success of your e-wallet application. Investing in intuitive and user-friendly interfaces will make the app easier to use, thus gaining popularity and a loyal customer base.

Everything One Could Do

All your brainstorming would be for this section. It is important that you decide all the features and functions of your e-wallet application and reach your mobile app development team with your requirements. If you want to provide a seamless payment experience for your customers, then you must include features like:

• Registration and Authentication: Easy onboarding and 2FA registration

• Wallet Management: Add Money, Link Bank Account, Check Balance, AutoPayment for Recurring Payments, etc.

• Payment Integration: Third-Party payment integrations and APIs

• Peer-to-peer Transactions: Send and Recieve money from individual accounts

• Bill Payments: Allow users to pay bills via the app easily

• In-app Notifications: Real-time Paymentalerts, Reminders, etc.

These are some very generic features that your team cannot miss in mobile wallet app development.

Other than these, there are a few advanced features one can consider:

• Multicurrency Transactions: You can let your users make transactions in different currencies depending on their location.

• Cross-border Payments: Let users make international payments without worrying about the forex exchange rates and conversion hustles.

• Advanced GPS Integration: With advanced GPS integration, ensure your users can find the receiver nearby and make transactions seamlessly.

• Data Synchronization: Mobile wallet developers build an app where the user doesn’t have to go through the formalities of entering data every time they make a transaction.

• Wearable Integration: With wearable integrations, one can make payments without hassle using their connected devices.

• Categorization and Portability: An interesting and quite asked-for feature these days, let users categorize their transactions according to their needs.

So, yes. The features you want to include and the perks you want to provide to your users are one of the most significant factors in determining the cost of developing and maintaining an e-wallet app.

The Tech Stack

Another important factor to consider here is the tech stack. Advanced technology, more the cost. Most e-wallet app development companies deliver scalable products that can be upgraded with the latest tech stack.

Other Aspects

Along with these, there are a few more hidden costs of eWallet app development that you need to consider.

• Hosting Servers
• CDN
• Development Tools
• API Libraries
• IT Support Services

Along with these extended updates, maintenance, and support contribute to the cost of development.

Maintenance and Updates

Once the application goes live, ongoing maintenance and updates become important to address. The e-wallet mobile app developers need to fix bugs, add new features, and address security issues that can affect the cost of development.

The Final Verdict

The cost of developing and maintaining an e-wallet application depends on various factors. Some of the most dominant ones are geographical location, requirements of the project, experience, and expertise of the development team, members of the development team, technology stack, etc.

With this article, you can at least make an informed decision on how much investment you want to start your e-wallet app business.

Author’s Bio:
Keith Laurance is a technical content writer who has been working with the custom web development team at Octal IT Solution. Other than researching tech-related queries, she loves to eat and read books. You can always find her in the nearby market buying quirky elements for her super cozy place.