If you lack the necessary knowledge to manage a portion of your Fintech development effectively, outsourcing is a wise decision. It may also free up time for your organization to devote to its strategic mission. Further, outsourcing is a business strategy used by many Fintech companies. How? A company hires a third-party company to handle a portion of its operations.
Why outsource? Well, it ensures internal staff has a lighter workload, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities. Many forward-thinking businesses, particularly in transition, find outsourcing to make the most sense. Business relationships with outsourcing companies are distinguished by dialogue and strategy. Interviewing a potential Fintech development outsourcing partner before signing a contract will help you when determining the most viable option for your company. Thus, we have developed this list of 10 questions to ask your vendor.
1. Have you ever worked on a Fintech project similar to ours?
Consider the sector, characteristics, technology, and the industry.
When a company has previously worked in the same industry, they are better equipped to understand your product and address the problem it is meant to solve. A background in payment integrations, maps, or other standards (or uncommon) features is crucial regardless of industry.
In addition, working with a small business versus a large corporation is vastly different. They have different stages of product development, which means they have varying requirements, approaches, and procedures.
2. Can they meet your regulatory requirements?
As we wrote in our blog post about Fintech security and compliance, you’ll want to understand how potential vendors are responding to emerging policy change.
If your company is under the compliance radar, any third party you contract with should employ a compliant process and infrastructure. It is also the vendor’s job to ensure that basic standards are met and hold them accountable if they do not. If the data being processed, stored, or accessed by your vendor is sensitive, then they should evaluate current security controls more frequently.
Also, prepare to demonstrate to your regulator that the third-party service provider is integral to your compliance program. You have the right to audit the records of any third party who is in charge of handling sensitive or confidential information. As a result, this clause should be included as a standard in third-party contracts.
3. How does their Fintech development process work?
When it comes to developing your Fintech application, it’s critical to understand how much emphasis the vendor places on the business side of the project.
Make time for a thorough examination of the organization’s software projects and methodology. For instance, it should be concerning if they immediately offer to create a prototype without even hearing your idea.
4. How many Fintech developers do you have? Are they at a senior level?
To illustrate, if there is only one person and they are a junior developer without the assistance of an experienced developer, they may not complete your Fintech project to your satisfaction.
Regardless of seniority, you should request some proof of their seniority level. Is it possible to view some code samples? Please take a look at the code they provide. Is it simple to read? Do they meet your needs?
5. Do they meet your data security requirements?
This is similar to meeting regulatory requirements, but keep in mind that meeting compliance is not the same as having security. You may have additional safeguards in place to go above and beyond what your regulator requires, or you may be wholly unregulated. Still, it’s vital to follow best practices to reduce your risk of monetary losses, data breaches, and negative publicity.
You can have a defined security management system or work within a specific framework. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, the potential Fintech development vendor can review your security management program (NDA). A compliance review of their assured security controls should be performed regularly to ensure proper operation.
Explain to the Fintech vendor how you define a security incident and ask if they can adhere to your definition. It’s a good idea to check whether your potential service provider has ISO certification to ensure the security of your data. You should also specify when and how you will provide notification of any security issues.
6. What are their areas of Fintech expertise?
Even if you’ve already started working on your project, you should double-check that the third-party vendor has the appropriate Fintech skills. If they do, processes will be much easier.
Glean topics such as their experience with emerging technologies like NFC, crypto, and others. Visit their website or blog to learn more about the technologies they advocate. Remember, a reputable Fintech vendor will recommend a solution and explain why it is the best option for your current project.
7. Is their group Agile?
Ask about the group-based technologies you’d want to use (project management boards such as JIRA and instant messengers such as Slack or Rocket). To accurately assess progress and be prepared for any problems that may occur, maintain a communication cadence (or when the team needs some specification or clarification). Also, ask if you will have direct access to your project’s developers.
To minimize misunderstandings, make sure you communicate with your team precisely and succinctly and try to talk to them at least once a week. Invariably, Agile Fintech providers use agile ideas while building software. Additionally, they create adaptable applications that are intended to solve pain points rather than create new issues. Businesses may perform more work in less time if agile development is incorporated into the application development process. This model includes several important elements, including:
- Changeable schedules
- Faster product development without sacrificing quality.
- Quality and flexibility
- Consistent progress
8. How do they manage changes in project specifications?
You’re spending money on Fintech software to help you implement a solution.
As you move down this road, your needs will change. Make a list of the essentials, such as your company’s objectives, sales goals, budget, service levels, and marketing tactics. Take note: As your Fintech project proceeds, each of these components can evolve.
When considering the value of your Fintech project, it’s important to work with a flexible partner that can react to changing requirements, even late in the project’s life cycle. Also, hiring a vendor with the ability to adapt to change helps to solidify a competitive advantage.
9. Do they have a disaster recovery or business continuity strategy in place?
Check to see whether the Fintech vendor has a plan in place in case of any events that could prevent it from providing services, such as outages in power or communication lines or other situations that could disrupt services. The vendor should be able to give the BCP/DR–if asked. They must be able to provide the most recent exam results as well. It’s crucial to know where your project stands at any time.
Consider whether it would help if you had access to the following services:
- The original source file. (Gitlab, Github)
- Diagrams depicting burndown (to show how quickly your team is burning through the user stories)
- A project management dashboard (such as JIRA).
- Continuous integration/continuous delivery.
10. Do they offer a Fintech package, and how much does it cost?
It’s important to know how much it costs to outsource Fintech development, but it’s equally important to know what it covers. Here is a helpful checklist:
- Scheduled updates.
- UX/UI development mockups/prototypes.
- Ensure that all copyright and license requirements are met.
While negotiating, it’s essential not to hyper-focus on price. Regardless of the estimated cost, the seniority and skill of the vendor’s development teams must be evaluated. Because these are the types of factors that truly influence service quality, try to be cautious when making assessments solely on price. If the Fintech development team meets your needs and provides a future-proofed application, the ROI alone will be worth far more than the original cost.
To Summarize
Fintech apps are undeniably brilliant in today’s digital business climate. Moreover, Fintech development outsourcing is a great way to have them built. Selecting a vendor that’s on top of fintech trends will help to maximize profits and success. Further, Fintech outsourcing can help you create a solution that solves your customers’ problems while improving their overall experience. Last but not least, it’s essential to partner with a vendor that can address your company’s specific Fintech needs.
