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LendingTree is an online lending site that connects people who want to borrow money from lenders, banks and credit partners. It offers different types of loan services, like mortgage lending, medical loans, personal loans, car loans and business loans at different interest rates.
According to reports, LendingTree holds an estimated 42.7% market share in the online broker mortgage industry and has been downloaded over 500,000 times on Google Play Store.
But even considering the platform’s popularity, LendingTree has some downsides your business can take advantage of.
For example, LendingTree has many different lenders, and users often have trouble comparing terms like interest rates.
Users have also expressed concerns about receiving excessive communications from multiple lenders once they share their personal details.
Building an app that solves these problems could be extremely profitable.
In this guide, we'll look at the main features your fintech app needs and explain how you can create one using our platform.
What is a fintech app?
A fintech app is a software application that helps people, small and medium-sized business owners with financial services like banking, lending, budgeting, investments and payments. These applications use data analysis and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer personalised services and make user experiences easier, faster and convenient.
Fintech apps are here to stay
Fintech apps are here for the long haul. They’ve changed how traditional financial sectors worked by providing better services at a lower cost, making it easier for people to manage money.
The need to digitalise financial services combined with the emergence of technologies like AI further enhances the appeal of fintech platforms.
Types of fintech apps
Fintech applications cover a broad spectrum of financial services. Here are some of the main types 👇
Payments and money transfers
These apps simplify the process of sending and receiving money without cards or cash. Users sign in and authenticate themselves by adding a PIN or fingerprint. Examples include PayPal, Venmo and Square Cash.
Personal finance and budgeting
These apps help people manage their money by tracking income and expenses, offering budget frameworks and providing insights to optimise savings and spending habits. For example, Mint and Revolut.
Money lending apps
These apps help people and businesses borrow and lend money through digital platforms, eliminating paperwork. Examples include LendingClub and Prosper.
Insurance
Insurtech apps make it easier to buy insurance and manage claims. Examples include Lemonade and Oscar.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain
These platorms allow users to buy, sell and manage cryptocurrencies. Coinbase and Binance are notable examples.
Regtech
These apps help businesses comply with regulations by automating manual processes and reducing human error. ComplyAdvantage is a prominent example of this type of platform.
Must-have features of a fintech platform
Your fintech platform must have several important features in your digital platform so that it is safer and easier to use. Here are some essential features for any fintech digital platform which could help you stand apart in the fintech market. 👇
User authentication and security
Safeguarding your fintech platform through strong encryption measures and security policies like two-step authentication, fingerprint or facial recognition logins help in protecting user data and preventing fraud.
Real-time processing
Real-time processing in fintech apps refers to the instant execution of financial transactions and updates. This ensures financial data is up-to-date, enhancing decision-making and financial planning.
User-friendly interface
An easy-to-navigate interface helps users find and leverage features, like managing investments, paying bills or checking account balances. It also increases user engagement with your app by making complex financial information easier to understand and interact with.
Personalisation
Personalisation in fintech apps enables tailored budgeting advice and investment suggestions based on the user's financial habits and goals.
Push notifications
Push notifications are key engagement drivers, alerting users about transactions, market changes, bill payments or suspicious activities.
Customer support
Users can get the help they need through various channels like chat, email or phone, enhancing their satisfaction with the app.
Reporting and analytics tools
Analytics and reporting tools are software components that collect, analyse and present data related to financial activities. They help users track their total expenditure and make data-driven financial decisions.
Multi-currency and multilingual support
This feature lets users make payments in different currencies and use the app in different languages, depending on their preferences.
Who should you choose to build your fintech platform?
There are many ways you can create a fintech platform. If you’re a programmer, you could create one yourself, but this might take a while. After all, complex fintech apps are made up of hundreds of thousands of lines of code.
Alternatively, you can hire a team of mobile app developers, who can build sophisticated, custom fintech software. However, the challenge here is to accurately calculate the total cost of app development.
They often charge on an hourly or daily basis, and once you factor in the costs of app development, design, app testing and listing, your expenses can quickly spiral out of control.
No-code app builders are a simpler, more budget-friendly solution. You don’t need coding skills to use them and you can build apps quickly by dragging and dropping pre-made components.
However, no-code platforms may lack the flexibility to add complex features or unique customisations. Scaling your app as your user base grows may also be challenging due to performance limitations.
This is where Builder.ai comes in. 👇
Why Builder.ai is different
Builder.ai bridges the gap between these different app development routes.
Our platform provides the customisation and scalability of professional developers along with the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of no-code builders, making it an ideal choice for developing your fintech app.
Around 80% of all software is made up of around 650+ features. We package each basic feature as a reusable Lego-like block. Explain your idea to our AI companion, Natasha, and she uses these blocks to rapidly create an outline of your app.
Because Natasha handles all the repetitive coding, we can complete tasks faster and cheaper. Then it’s off to our app design team and mobile app developers. They personalise it and create any bespoke elements you need.
To build your fintech platform, simply head over to Builder Studio 4.0. The Builder Studio 4.0 platform has been built with user convenience in mind and intuitively guides you through the app creation process.
On Builder Studio 4.0, you’re greeted by Natasha. You can express your fintech app idea to Natasha via voice, text or uploading a PDF or doc file.
Before you chat with her, have a checklist of app features and be as descriptive as possible about your app idea. The more detailed information you give to Natasha, the better her suggestions will be.
For example, a prompt could look like this:
"I want to create a fintech platform like LendingTree where users can compare and apply for loan process from various mortgage lenders. It needs to have a comprehensive database that displays different loan options, user login and profile management features. It also needs to enable users to check loan eligibility, submit long and short-term loan applications and track their application status. Additionally, the platform should offer tools for credit score analysis and personalised loan recommendations to help users make informed decisions. To generate revenue, the platform should include features for in-app advertising and premium services for expedited loan processing.”
Based on your prompt, Natasha will ask you some supporting questions and you simply need to answer them based on your requirements.
2 - Choose a base
Once Natasha has your requirements, she’ll create a custom framework for your app based on everything you tell her. She'll also suggest some pre-built bases she thinks are best suited for your app.
For instance, once you tell her to create an app like LendingTree, she’ll suggest a custom base similar to LendingTree and share any matching core bases as well.
You can choose up to 3 you feel are related to your big idea by simply clicking the ‘+’ icon. These selections make it easier for us to understand the features your app needs. When you’re ready, click 'Next'.
3 - Make it mine
The 'Make it mine' step aligns your app with the identity of your brand. In this step, you choose the name to your app, select its colour scheme using the colour wheel and upload the logo of your brand.
If you already have a website, you can add the link and Builder Studio will automatically pick your brand’s colours and logo.
Once you’ve personalised your app’s name, colour and logo, you can click ‘Next’.
4 - Refine your app idea
Now comes the fun bit.
In the 'Refine idea' stage, you can review and customise your app journeys and features and also create an instant prototype of your app.
Journeys
In only a matter of seconds, Natasha creates app user journeys with corresponding features.
Go through these journeys carefully and see if your app needs additional journeys. For instance, check if you want to add journeys for monetisation, sending notifications or any other relevant journey.
To add journeys, click on 'See more suggestions'. Doing so will open the list of pre-built journeys. You can browse the list and select the journeys you’re missing. You can also add custom journeys by clicking on 'Add custom journey'.
Features
By clicking on individual journeys, you can see the feature list each journey contains. Doing so will open the feature list each journey contains. You can scroll through the feature list and check if a journey contains non-essential features or if you want to add extra features.
To remove a non-essential feature, you can hover over the feature and click ‘Remove’. This way you can manage project costs. If you’re not sure what features to remove, you can click on an individual feature and check the label at the top. We highly recommend keeping the ‘Essential Features’.
In case you want to add more features, you can simply click the ‘+’ button. Here you can go through different categories or use the search bar to look for missing functionality. In case you don’t find the feature you’re looking for, you can also add a custom feature by clicking on 'Add custom feature'.
Instant prototype and user flow
Once you’re happy with the journeys and features of your app, you can create a prototype by clicking on 'Preview your app' in the top-right corner.
Sign up and Natasha will create a working prototype of your app. You can click on the screen at different areas to progress through the journey.
You can also see the user flow by clicking on the 'Flow mode' at the top of the screen to see how users will interact and navigate within your app.
If you need extra help, Natasha is on hand to help.and you can interact with her at any time by clicking on 'Speak to Natasha'.
She’ll provide you with suggestions and help you find features or journeys from the library. Or you can click on 'Book a demo' to talk to our product managers who’ll guide you through your app development journey.
Click on 'Save & Continue' to go to next step.
5 - Plan delivery
It’s time to choose the platforms you want your fintech app to be available on. You can choose Android, iOS or develop for both platforms simultaneously.
Next, you can choose to add Natasha to your platform to supercharge the customer experience of your fintech app. Natasha uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to engage your customers in fluid, human-like conversations.
In the development speed section, you can change the speed of each phase according to your needs. The faster the development speed, the higher the costs and vice versa.
Next up is Design. If you have your app designs ready, you can save your costs by clicking 'You have design' and we’ll reduce your costs accordingly. You can share your design files (preferably in Figma) and our designers will upload them, so you can kick off straight away.
If not, you can choose the 'We do your designs'. Here, you simply need to add your brand assets and we'll do everything from storyboarding to fully designed screens.
Now it’s time to plan the phases of your project. Here you get 3 options:
Clickable prototype: you’ll get a visual representation of your app to test with users
Basic build: you’ll get an MVP (Minimum viable product) – a hard-coded but simplified version of your idea— this allows you to collect feedback and iterate before you do a full build
Full Build: you’ll get market-ready software, including a kick-off with our product team and review sessions
After that, you need to select your support plans. With 'Full Build' you get one year of Studio One support included free of charge.
Once you’ve planned your delivery, click on 'View Buildcard'.
6 - Review Buildcard
Buildcard provides you with a bird's eye view of all the selections you made in the previous steps. Here, you can review all the features, cost per feature and delivery details.
You can also download the PDF of Buildcard or invite others to show your team members what you’re building.
If you want to make any changes, simply click on 'Edit Buildcard' under 3 dots in the top-right corner
If you’re happy with everything, click on 'Add billing details' to go to the next section. Alternatively, if you want to review it with experts, click on 'Review with an expert'.
7 - Select your payment plan
We offer weekly or monthly payment instalments, with visible payment dates and amounts for each option. You can also choose to pay upfront to reduce the cost of your build.
Simply select your preferred billing cycle, then click 'Continue' to proceed.
You’ll be asked to input your payment details and agree to the terms and conditions. Once that’s done, click 'Continue to Payment'.
Once your payment is done, you can set up a meeting with our product managers to begin your app development.
8 - Monitor your app build in real-time
With Builder Home, your real-time project dashboard, you can monitor development progress and make sure your app is exactly the way you want it.
This includes access to a suite of collaboration tools to help improve your app design. You can chat with your team of experts in Builder Meet, brainstorm in Builder Whiteboard and visualise your ideas with free Tailor-made prototypes from Builder Now.
Conclusion
While fintech apps like LendingTree have revolutionised how we manage our finances, they also have their own set of challenges.
Creating your fintech app isn't just about entering a competitive market — it's about better serving the diverse needs and preferences of the audience.
With the right features and a user-centric approach, your fintech platform can provide a refreshing alternative to the industry giants.
Hit the banner below and kick off your fintech app project with us today 👇
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