Building an instalment payment app akin to Afterpay: Cost Analysis
In today's ever-changing consumer landscape, folks are always on the lookout for practical and customized payment solutions that sync up with their financial goals and spending patterns. This shift in consumer mindset has sparked multiple game-changing innovations in the FinTech sector, with the "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) trend leading the charge as a promising long-term player.
These BNPL applications are revolutionizing financial strategy and management by creating opportunities for proactive budgeting and smooth money management. Take Afterpay, for instance, a trailblazer in the BNPL app market. Afterpay has disrupted how consumers shop and handle payments, allowing customers to divide their purchases into interest-free installments, thus increasing affordability and reducing the cost of costly items. With millions of users around the world, its seamless integration with online and brick-and-mortar businesses has catapulted its popularity.
Multiple factors need to be considered when developing a BNPL app, including app development expenses, legal compliance, and technology infrastructure. However, the estimated cost to develop an app like Afterpay ranges from around $40,000 to $300,000 or more. This blog will explore the major factors affecting the Afterpay app development costs and the must-have features, monetization strategies, and steps to build a similar app. First, let's dive into the growth of the BNPL market, emphasizing why it's the right time for your business to dive in.
The Explosive Growth of the BNPL Market and Afterpay App
According to a report by Grand View Research, the BNPL market is projected to reach $38.57 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 24.3% from 2023-2030. Several critical factors drive this growth trajectory, including consumers' increasing preference for flexible payment options due to the need for simplicity and flexibility in budgeting.
The demand for BNPL services is further amplified by consumers' growing need for smooth checkout processes and hassle-free payment experiences due to the rapid growth of eCommerce. Moreover, younger generations - Millennials and Gen Z - highly value convenience and transparency when buying, making BNPL solutions extremely attractive to them.
As retailers strive to attract and retain customers in a cutthroat market, the increasing use of BNPL as a payment option at checkout by companies and merchants is aiding in market expansion. Furthermore, a cultural shift towards responsible spending and financial management emphasizes the popularity of BNPL services, allowing users to budget and manage payments effectively.
Now, Afterpay is a leading Buy Now, Pay Later platform that was founded in Australia in 2015. Afterpay allows customers to split their purchases into interest-free installments, making their shopping experience more accessible and affordable. Square Inc. acquired Afterpay in 2020, further solidifying its position in the FinTech sector. Currently, Afterpay continues to disturb the retail world by offering businesses and customers easy, flexible payment options.
Factors Affecting the Cost to Develop an App Like Afterpay
The cost to build a BNPL app like Afterpay is significantly impacted by several factors related to various aspects of development, infrastructure, and ongoing operations. These factors include:
Feature Set
The cost to develop an app like Afterpay is affected by the variety and intricacy of its features, such as account management, transaction history, installment management, and payment schedules. Enhancing user experience requires the inclusion of features like real-time notifications, personalized offers, and rewards programs. While these features elevate user satisfaction, they also escalate the app's complexity, impacting the cost to build an Afterpay-like app.
Additionally, adding customer support channels like live chat, FAQs, and dispute resolution processes requires additional development work and continuous maintenance, raising the cost of developing an app like Afterpay.
User Experience Design
Investing in streamlined checkout procedures, visually appealing interfaces, and user-friendly content boosts customer engagement but also increases the cost to develop a BNPL app like Afterpay. Providing a better user experience can be achieved by:
- Streamlining navigation for easy browsing
- Adding interactive elements for increased user interaction
- Ensuring uniformity across devices and screen sizes
US
This requires more design iterations and development time, raising the cost of building an Afterpay-like app.
Platform Compatibility
Ensuring proper functionality across different platforms, such as iOS, Android, and the web, implies additional costs. High precision attention and specialized programming expertise are needed for seamless integration with native platform functionality and UI guidelines, thus increasing the cost of developing a buy now pay later app like Afterpay. Moreover, separate work and resources are needed for optimizing each platform's performance and user experience, which includes addressing platform-specific issues and ensuring consistency in functionality and design across different versions, leading to additional costs.
$95-$100
Integration with External Systems
Integrating payment gateways, merchant systems, banking APIs, and regulatory compliance tools into an app like Afterpay requires more development work and financial investment. Meticulous integration planning, development efforts, and execution are essential for seamless data synchronization and communication between the app and external systems, such as order fulfillment services and inventory management platforms. Strong error-handling mechanisms and fallback plans are necessary to deal with system outages between the application and external systems, raising the cost of developing an Afterpay-like app.
Security Requirements
Implementing robust security measures to secure confidential financial data, maintain compliance, and fend off fraud and data breaches requires additional time, effort, and investments. Necessary measures for strong security include data encryption, tokenization of private data, and using secure transmission protocols like SSL/TLS. Including access restrictions, audit trails, and monitoring systems as part of a comprehensive security plan increases the app's overall cost. Furthermore, ongoing investment is needed to conduct constant security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration tests to find and fix gaps and ensure continued compliance with industry standards.
Regulatory Compliance
Adhering to data protection laws, financial regulations, and industry standards such as PCI DSS necessitates regular monitoring, compliance audits, and legal consultations, driving up the cost of developing an app like Afterpay. Additionally, structuring systems to manage user permissions, adhere to data retention regulations, and implement data breach notification protocols requires additional time and financial resources.
Asia
Location of the Development Team
The regional differences in development rates significantly impact the cost to develop an app like Afterpay. Hiring a dedicated development team from countries like India allows access to a talented and competent pool of developers without compromising quality. Selecting developers from Western Europe and North America may increase development costs.
Size of the Development Team
$25-$40
The size of the development team impacts project expenses. Larger teams might finish projects faster but also require more coordination and resources. On the other hand, smaller teams may save money but may take longer to complete projects. Balancing team size, project requirements, and budgetary restrictions is crucial for optimizing development costs while maintaining quality and efficiency.
Must-Have Features for an App Similar to Afterpay
Creating an app like Afterpay requires thoughtful consideration of some essential features based on user, retailer, and vendor panels that cater to the needs and preferences of all stakeholders involved. These are the top Afterpay app features for the user, retailer, and admin panels:
User Panel
- Easy Sign-Up and Onboarding
- Flexible Payment Options
- Transparent Pricing
- Real-time Notifications
- Smooth Checkout Process
- Customer Support
- Personalized Recommendations
Retailer Panel
UAE
- Integration with Point-of-Sale Systems
- Transaction Insights
- Inventory Management
- Marketing Tools
- Customizable Branding
- Compliance Support
Admin Panel
- Dashboard
- Merchant Management
- User Management
- Transaction Monitoring
- Financial Management
- Customer Support
- Reporting and Analytics
- Risk Management
$60-$65
Advanced Features of a BNPL App Like Afterpay
Apart from simple installment management and payment processing, the capabilities of a BNPL app like Afterpay offer improved functionality and user experience. These advanced features include:
AI-driven Risk Assessment
Financial Wellness Tools
Smart Notifications
Augmented Reality Try-Ons
Australia
Green Financing Options
Localized Currency and Language Support
Steps to Develop a Buy Now Pay Later App Like Afterpay
$70-$90
Developing an Afterpay-like app follows a rigorous process involving thorough planning, iterative design, robust development, and comprehensive testing to ensure a smooth user experience and reliable performance. The critical steps to build an app like Afterpay include:
- Market Research and Analysis
- Choosing Features and Functionalities
- UX/UI Design
- Development
- Security Measures Implementation
- Testing and Quality Assurance
- Deployment and Launch
- Post-Launch Support and Iteration
Monetization Strategies for a BNPL App Like Afterpay
Several monetization strategies are employed by Afterpay to generate revenue while providing Buy Now Pay Later services. These are a few key monetization approaches:
Late Fees
Merchant Fees
Eastern Europe
Currency Conversion Fees
Merchant Marketing Services
Interest Fees
$50-$55
Cross-Selling and Upselling
By capitalizing on these revenue strategies, an app like Afterpay can generate income and deliver value to merchants and users through its BNPL platform. These varied revenue streams are essential in driving the BNPL app's growth and profitability within the competitive FinTech landscape.
Trust Appinventiv to Build a Solid BNPL App Like Afterpay
BNPL applications have become crucial in today's world as consumers value flexibility and ease in payment options. Appinventiv, with a track record of developing innovative FinTech applications such as Mudra and Edfundo, has emerged as a trusted FinTech app development company known for creating robust BNPL apps like Afterpay.
Hiring Appinventiv, a top mobile app development company in Australia, ensures the delivery of a user-centric BNPL platform that not only satisfies but also goes beyond the evolving expectations of users and merchants alike. If you're ready to venture into BNPL app development and want to know the cost to develop an app like Afterpay, it's time to connect with our experts.
FAQs
Western Europe
How long does it take to make an app like Afterpay?
A. Depending on the complexity of the project, it can take approximately 3-4 months to create a basic version. However, developing a comprehensive app with advanced features and functionalities requires more time and resources, extending the development timeline.
How much does it cost to develop a BNPL app?
$80-$90
A. The cost of developing a BNPL app like Afterpay varies, with the final cost ranging from around $10,000 to $400,000, depending on project specifics. Factors such as app complexity, feature set, platform compatibility, UI/UX design, security requirements, integration requirements, and location of development all impact the cost.
What are the benefits of developing an app like Afterpay?
A. Developing a BNPL app such as Afterpay offers numerous benefits:
- Increased purchasing power and flexibility for users
- Higher average order values and conversion rates
- Lowered barriers to purchase, resulting in increased spontaneous buys and broadened customer base
- Improved data analytics for a better understanding of consumer behaviors and spending, enabling improved product offerings.
[1] "Top 10 Mobile App Development Companies in Australia." TopDevelopers. Retrieved from https://topdevelopers.co/mobile-app-development-companies-in-australia/
[2] "BNPL app Development Cost." WebClues Infotech. Retrieved from https://www.webcluesindia.com/blog/fintech-solutions/bnpl-app-development-cost/
[3] "The Cost to Develop a Buy Now Pay Later App." Mashape. Retrieved from https://www.mashape.com/articles/cost-to-develop-a-buy-now-pay-later-app-bnpl
- The explosive growth of the BNPL market has opened up opportunities for businesses to invest in BNPL app development.
- The estimated cost to develop an app like Afterpay ranges from around $40,000 to $300,000 or more and depends on various factors related to development, infrastructure, and ongoing operations.
- Building a BNPL app requires careful consideration of key features, monetization strategies, and development steps, as well as considerations for user experience design, platform compatibility, integration with external systems, security requirements, and regulatory compliance.
