Only one thing is certain in modern business: stay in the loop or drop out. With that in mind, we’re introducing the FinTech Wire—a weekly news feed curated by Code & Pepper. It covers top headlines in finance, technology, banking, and everything in between to keep you informed, inspired or maybe even intrigued… Tune into the #FinTechWire on our LinkedIn and Twitter or explore the extended version below.
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Progressive Web Apps have gone from buzzword to mainstream in record time. Freeing the user experience from the boundaries defined by devices and network conditions marks another step in the digital evolution. So does bridging the gap between web and native applications to offer unprecedented usability and reliability. While PWAs are making headway in boosting performance and engagement, Code & Pepper investigates their key features and business growth potential.
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Digital transformation is like taxes or iPhones: present everywhere. Despite many CEOs, CTOs and CIOs being interested, not all of them have a clear picture. In reality, it’s not only about technology. It’s a tool that enables teams to work efficiently, creating even more valuable products. But first – security.
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Testing web applications in an effective way can be super-simple nowadays, thanks to many available tools. When it comes to examining basic issues, Google Lighthouse is one of the best and most popular instruments to do it, so every web developer and website owner should be familiar with it. Especially if it’s available for free, built in WebPageTest, PageSpeed Insights, Chromium based browsers (such as Chrome and Edge) and as an extension for Firefox. So why don’t you try it out on your own? This guide is the quickest way to start!
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The cloud adoption trend isn’t slowing down. That’s no wonder: cloud computing has completely changed the way we think about IT infrastructure. However, for organizations that deal with never-ending deployments, the complexity of provisioning and managing all the infrastructure elements can become a headache and a source of serious issues. In this case, infrastructure codification, known as Infrastructure as Code, comes to the rescue.
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In the app economy, green is the new black. Investors, companies and teams expect apps to perform and deliver sales results overnight – or at least quickly enough to verify assumptions of a minimum viable product (MVP). Especially today, when COVID-19 washes off many companies and the future is uncertain. Sometimes, when the pressure is on, pressing the “off” button might be healthy. Not only under the current market conditions but in software development overall. That button is quality assurance and it can be an anchor for the business, guaranteeing customer loyalty and lower maintenance costs.
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From data aggregators at the core of open banking to payment processors for digital marketplaces – many FinTech products deliver value through application programming interfaces (aka APIs). In those cases, it’s hard to speak of User Experience as such. What becomes important then is Developer Experience (DX), which reflects how easy it is to work and integrate with an API. This in turn, can have a huge impact on the final quality and scalability of the API product. So if your goal is to build a highly-performant, future-proof and integration-ready solution, don’t forget about Developer Experience. Use the pro tips below to accelerate and empower your API development process.
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In the UK, FinTech apps should be handled in a way similar to banking institutions, both from the legal and technological point of view. It obviously imposes a lot of responsibility and work to ensure the system is 100% secure, so users can trust it with their money. But what does it mean in practice? Let’s take a deeper look at the FinTech security standards you’ll need to deal with in order to abide by the rules, while still being able to offer the most to your customers.
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Every digital business needs a reliable toolset that will support its operations. And for many of them, online payment processing platforms are essential: according to a 2018 survey, 62% of UK’s small and medium enterprises use digital solutions to make or accept payments. However, choosing among a plethora of payment processing companies is not a breeze. This one decision can have serious implications in multiple areas, starting with customer experience, transaction security, and even your business cash flow.
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Payment technology remains one of the most dynamically developing sectors of FinTech. Its disruptive potential and versatility make it the perfect breeding ground for innovation, actively redefining digital experience in finance. However, challenging the status quo comes with a package of challenges in their own right. When coins changing hands are replaced by bitcoin trading platforms and wads of cash are turned into digital wallets – how well is your business prepared for the ultimate digital-first future?
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As digital finance is gaining traction, the KYC (Know Your Customer) process is becoming vital for sustainable business models. With regulatory compliance at the roots and modern software solutions in all branches of operation, FinTech’s evergreen status relies on striking the right balance between code of conduct and customer experience. While tapping into the ABC of KYC, we begin our due diligence by identifying industry leaders in digital identity verification for financial services.
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According to its origin myth, FinTech was born out of the global financial crisis and the huge behavioural shift it had brought. Fast forward another 10+ years, and we are on a brink of another economic twist. This time with a slightly different cocktail of inhibitions and attitudes. Although creative and agile by definition—are all FinTechs equally equipped to withstand the blast of a market shakeout? Another week into the general lockdown, the industry’s resilience and adaptability meets trial by fire.
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In one of previous posts, Code & Pepper took you on a full-blown product design journey: from discovery to development. However, that roadmap wouldn’t be complete without at least hinting at some user experience notions. The compilation below focuses on certain aspects of UX, which come to the forefront in FinTech applications as make-or-break moments.
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In the context of digital experience, instant response is the new norm: shaping users’ expectations and forming business imperatives. FinTech software is no exception to that new rule of thumb. Therefore, our engineering team at Code & Pepper is always on the lookout for tools and solutions that could give our clients the upper hand on the market. Taking Cloudflare for a spin fueled our appetite for more-than-optimal web performance: read on to see why.
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“Stay home” is probably going to be the most exploited phrase of 2020. The consequences of global lockdown will loom large for years, turning the job market upside down. However, one thing hasn’t changed – you can’t go wrong with stepping up your professional game by gaining confirmed knowledge and skills. Read on to discover Scrum Master certifications tailored to different professional areas of the IT industry.
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Talent acquisition is one of the most complex organizational processes, with immense impact on businesses in the long run. When paired with the crude fact that great leaders are nothing without great teams, the importance of an effective and sustainable recruitment strategy becomes self-evident. Team augmentation clients are therefore setting the course for the future and Code & Pepper is honoured to contribute its unique know-how to their success on the FinTech scene.
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FinTech has been on the rise since the turn of the 21st Century and analysts estimate the sector’s revenue generation will reach $4.8 trillion in 2020. A healthy mix of traditional banks and upcoming startups gives the industry a strong outlook for future growth. Successful cross-platform FinTech apps reach users across as many platforms as possible, including iOS, Android, and Windows OS. Frameworks like .NET Core, React Native, and Flutter are helping to make this happen. Let’s dive into how you can emulate some of the best financial apps that run on all platforms.
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Tel Aviv is home to dozens of accelerator programs designed to equip founders and startup companies with business training and industry know-how. With them, you’ll not only start the right way but also the big way. Not every program is the same, though. Which FinTech accelerators are worth your while and would be a good match for your business? Take a look at the lucky 13 of the best accelerators you can find in and around the hot & breezy city of Tel Aviv.
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Businesses have their founding fathers and products have their life cycles. Not surprisingly, product design has its own set of handy analogies. In this scenario, you are the fiery explorer, design is a breakneck journey and Code & Pepper is your jovial guide. We’ll take you through the wild terrain of product development: where conversions flow like rapid currents and rugged benchmarks lurk in the shadows.
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London is a sprawling economic hub that boasts a mind-boggling 750 FinTech companies. The “Big Smoke” represents 84 percent of the UK’s VC, CVC, and PE investment volume, making it a desirable place for startups to find their financial feet. Looking for investors? Connections? Opportunities? Here are 8 FinTech accelerators in London you need to know about in 2020.
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Do you ever have an impression that the concept of transparency in software development could be more… transparent? In every company, it can mean something entirely different and, just like any other industry practice, it has fluid boundaries. At Code & Pepper, we start our transparency policy by explaining what it stands for and what aspects of cooperation it involves. Here we go with project transparency explained for every step of the way.
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Let’s imagine you’ve made it this far: your FinTech idea is rock-solid, the market research is an all-night read and you’re on first names terms with the most wanted VCs. Having gone far and beyond in shaping your vision and giving your business a head start, it’s high time you covered all bases by exploring the why’s, what’s and how’s of product development. The five FAQs below should give you more insight into the intricacies of product development with the peppery flavour of our custom approach. With a pinch of Agile and a drop of Lean, it might be that acquired taste you’re looking for to give your product an edge.
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Part I of this article focused on awareness and gave a few examples of how technology choice can have serious consequences for the future of your product: to the point of making or breaking your business. Part II investigates how and why the ripple effect of this one decision can reach as far as your recruitment schedule, delivery plans and innovation potential. Mind you, this applies not only to technologies in FinTech!
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I’ve always been passionate about technology and that’s why I was shocked by the meeting I had recently. I was in my home office talking on Skype with a CTO from a FinTech startup (let’s call him Richard). Richard explained that he wanted us to build some payment processing service but, to my surprise, what he said was…
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The need for striking thriving partnerships might be yesterday’s news in the world of financial technology. Yet, as the available cooperation models are continuously evolving to offer more tailored options, the final decision might pose a challenge. Potential savings in time and costs have to be carefully weighed against risks connected with the required credit of trust: a value of paramount importance, notably in FinTech applications. If reliability is an essential aspect of all collaborative efforts, is there a key to handling it the right way?
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