Determine Cost Estimation for Digital Payment App like Google Pay

Birth of Digital Payment Apps

Prior to the emergence of payment apps like Google Pay, people chose online net banking and card payments to do cashless transactions.

Digitalization has been a catalyst to the modern world and has massively contributed to conducting convenient transactions that save time and effort for users.

In the past, there were many cases where bank fraud happened due to unauthorized online transactions.

This happened due to the technology barrier that put normal account owners and investors into huge losses. The reason being, the transactions were done online.

People sometimes had to take help from other people to conduct the transaction online, which was unfortunately taken advantage of.

However, now the securities and encryptions have gotten better and stronger with time. This has helped users to safely transfer money to other persons or merchandise with complete balance records through online payments supported by OTPs and verifications.

But online payment apps have made this process easier. Here is the basic model of how online payment apps work:

Digital payment apps offer a safer and easier mode of making online transactions for people who are not tech-savvy. The app designs are self-explanatory enough that navigate users how to use the app.

Just scan the code or fill in the pin and the transaction is done immediately. 

Apps like Google Pay and PayPal are such kinds of payment apps that provide a user-friendly interface to users. Their easy payment and receiving procedure has given these apps worldwide appreciation from people.

The development of digital payment apps was done to make a secure yet convenient way of online transactions. The app could either be a website, or a web app or could be used over mobile.

But in the era of the digital world, mobile online payment apps are accumulating massive popularity.

The Popularity of Digital Payment Apps

Digital payment apps have become the favourite mode of doing online payments for users. Be it ordering food online or booking a taxi for traveling, people prefer to choose online payment apps to conduct payments.

These apps have become so much a part of the routine that even chatting apps like WhatsApp now come with a payment feature.

These online payment apps are crucial for the industries as follows:

1. Telecommunications Companies

These companies demand payments as their services are online too. Providing data packs, calling packs and online streaming all come under the branch of telecommunications.

The providers can not collect payments from door to door. In such situations, online payment helps the service providers to receive the amount by simply giving users the option to pay bills online by a simple QR code scanner or tap to pay.

2. Online Commerce Payments

When the user places an order online, online commerce apps also provide the option to pay online for offering ease of payment to the users.

The user can directly pay online and do quick payments with the online payment app that gets interlinked with the e-commerce app and debits the said amount. This happens only after the user grants permission. It is quick, simple, and easy!

3. Transportation and Logistics

This app is very useful for the transportation and logistics industry where there are different parties involved that have to get their payments done separately.

Online payment transfers funds instantly and saves the user from the loop of step payments.

Digital payment apps thus play a significant role in doing instant and hassle-free transactions today.

Apart from these industries, the reports revealed that:

• Around 1.2 billion people have bank accounts with payment accessibility.
• By 2020, online payment users will reach 150 million- eMarketer
• Around 5 billion people have smartphones with functional apps.
• The revenue of mobile payment apps has increased by 300 billion dollars recently.
• In the USA only, the volume of online payment apps will surpass 300 billion dollars- Zelle
• The 25-34 age group has high dependability on online payment apps to do money transfers and transactions.
• Retailers have a preference for online payment apps to receive payments.
• Gen Z prefers P2P online transactions- Accenture

Thus, it is quite evident that online payments are getting popular, and having the same facility on your mobile phone is definitely what the user wants today.

Cost Factors for Making Apps Like Google Pay

To make the best payment app like Google Pay, it is important to have Google Pay-like features. The cost of making digital payment apps like Google Pay depends on the features that you integrate into the app.

More the features, the more costly the app development would be. Also, the complexity of the feature decides the cost. So here we will be discussing the features that will impact the cost.

You can learn about these features and get an estimated budget for app development. These features further could be divided into two categories. These are basic features and advanced features.

Let’s start with basic features that determine cost estimation for a payment app like Google Pay.

1. An Interactive User Interface

The user should be able to use the app easily. The UI/UX designs and the wireframes should be self-explanatory enough so that users can navigate easily and check different options.

Scrolling and swiping over the menu should lead the user to the result they are searching for.

So if you are planning to add more graphics and animation to your app, the cost will increase.

2. Secure Login

When money is involved, privacy and security are the utmost priorities. The app should have a secure login. Just like Google Pay, where the user is only able to log in to the app post filling the passcode or unlocking the iPhone, with the face ID, the person can log in. Even when the transaction is done the PIN is asked to ensure safety. Adding more login options like a biometric scan, face id, or passcode adds to the cost.

3. Seamless Transactions

The primary reason why people today choose mobile payment applications for online transactions is the hassle-free process. Just fill in the amount, choose the bank account number from which you want to pay, fill in the PIN, and then the payment is done.

No need to fill in cheques or IFSC codes. Simply, tap and pay. So if you are developing an app that has the option to add multiple bank accounts and pay with single or multiple secured pins, this will add to the cost.

4. Checking Account Balance

The online payment apps are interlinked with the bank account. After every bank account transaction takes place, it should be reflected in the bank immediately. Also, the person should be able to check their balance anytime they want.

So this feature lets users directly check their bank account balance with a single tap from your app, which is a third-party platform. The cost is considered.

5. Fund Transfer

The amount of transferring to another bank account or another person’s e-wallet should be easy. Different apps have different ways of fund transfer.

Some do this by biometric confirmation, some others by adding a PIN that is set for ID, and some by putting in a phone passcode. So the way you choose to build it as well as the complexity of that feature determines the cost.

6. Recharge/Bill Payment

As told in the section above, multiple industries prefer online payment. Online payment apps should have options where they have a payment window for different services.

For example, you want to recharge your Netflix account. A direct button for a Netflix renewal subscription could be added. Just tapping the window and filling in the amount would provide payment to the respective service provider.

Therefore, adding more payment windows will add more cost.

7. Code Scanner

This is one of the prominent features of Google Pay. Vendors are allotted a unique scanner code and the user does not have to manually fill in the GPay number to make the payment.

One can simply scan the code that is displayed in the shop and the amount gets transferred to the payee’s account.

Integrating a code scanner is a prominent feature that adds to the cost.

8. Authorizing Credit Card or Bank Account or Debit Card

Many online payment apps remember filled card information. This way, payments could be done quickly. Remembering card data is an essential feature of payment gateways like PayPal.

But now it is also one of the prominent features coming for online payment apps. So that if the user has to directly pay through a credit card linked to the account, they can do it easily.

Since this feature is still new. You can expect it will add some amount to the overall expenditure.

9. Push Notifications

The notifications that keep you updated with app new versions, announcements, or messages increase customer loyalty. It is one of the prominent features that keep users notified related to activities and news of the app. This feature adds to customer satisfaction.

10. Discount/Redeem Coupons

The best way to keep users engaged with you is by keeping showing them the advantages of using the app. If you provide discounts or coupons that subtract the price value of the transaction they are doing.

Like ordering food online with the app or making any kind of purchase. 

You should enable such a strategy. It is not technically a part of the development but plays a huge part in getting you, loyal customers.

11. Digital Receipts

Whatever the user is selling or buying and getting transactions done through the online payment app, the invoice should be provided. Just like the user can check the balance. 

Similarly, they should instantly be provided with the receipt that probes the evidence of the transaction. Therefore the instant generation of e-receipts over the screen is an added feature that if not much, add a little cost.

12. Loyalty Card and Rewards

The user who sticks to your app needs o get appreciated. And that is why you have to provide them with rewards for using your mobile app to do transactions.

Just like Google pay, you can give a scratch card after transactions or spin a wheel or anything like that work keeps your user excited to use your app again and again.

Such scratch and animated spin wheel features are some of the important factors that add to cost. The redeemed awards have to be credited to the user’s account balance too and this also needs a separate mechanism.

Till now we talked about the basic features that make a good online payment app. Now we will be discussing some advanced features that could be a USP of your app but add cost to your budget significantly.

Let us learn about some of these advanced features below:

1. Membership Cards

It is an extended and advanced level of loyalty cards and rewards. In this, the user can take a membership card from their online payment account by filling in some prepaid amount in the Google Pay wallet and then do transactions from that wallet only.

Doing transactions from this prepaid amount will do more savings for the user. The wallet integration though can add a good amount to the cost.

2. GPS Tracker & Navigation

In this, the user can track at what location the transaction was done. It can geographically show to which account or app ID the amount was transferred at what time and in which location. This adds authenticity to online payment transactions.

3. Smart Device Integration

Some health apps can track and record your heart rate and activities to count your burnt calories and steps taken. Similarly, you can make a feature that allows users to make payments by scanning with their smart devices.

Making your app compatible with different smart devices will obviously add a good amount to your overall cost for app development.

4. Integration of Geo-tags

It is somehow similar to GPS tracking and navigation. However, in this feature, you can learn – as an admin – which locations were the receiver and sender while doing a transaction.

And similarly, both parties will be notified at what location the amount was transacted to keep the record.

It adds to security and also fetches the right information about the time and location of the amount transacted.

5. Expenditure Analysis

Screen time is a very new feature that comes in mobile apps these days to learn the pattern of online mobile usage.

Expenditure analysis will help users to know the overall expenses and incomes they got in a particular time frame.

This will help them monitor their expenditure and at the same time, your app will be welcomed by users for providing them guidance. This feature may cost a bit as it involves part of logistics.

On average, the cost estimation of making an app like Google Pay comes to around 70,000 US dollars. However, it varies on the different features you include as mentioned above.

Conclusion

Today, users don’t like to wait. They want instant results. Standing in long queues for bill payments or filling in cheques to get cleared are old things now. People want to have transactions online and pay with the best payment apps like Google Pay.

And with the world getting digitalized, investors have to think smart. Making apps like Google Pay will attract users that already use Google Pay. So you have a higher chance of getting more downloads and revenue. If you are looking for mobile wallet app development company to develop an app like Google pay, contact us today.