Development of a Secure Digital Banking Platform for Credit Building and Financial Inclusion

Potential users face difficulties obtaining credit cards and accessing financial products due to low credit scores, limiting their financial growth and inclusion. The client aims to address these barriers by creating a streamlined, secure mobile banking application that enhances creditworthiness and promotes responsible financial behavior.

A financial technology startup focused on providing innovative credit-building solutions and accessible banking services to underserved populations in the US.

• Create an intuitive, attractive interface to facilitate user onboarding and engagement.
• Implement a stable, secure system ensuring data privacy and compliance with financial regulations.
• Enable secure account creation via phone number authentication and biometric methods.
• Incorporate KYC procedures for identity verification and fraud prevention.
• Provide features for account management, including linking external bank accounts, issuing virtual/physical cards, and managing transactions.
• Offer capabilities for salary direct deposits, auto payments, fund transfers, and transaction analytics.
• Include a rewards system incentivizing responsible spending with cashback offers.
• Implement secure profile management, password recovery, and notification settings.
• Design the infrastructure with scalable microservice architecture and robust data protection measures.

• User registration and login via phone number, biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID).
• KYC process with personal info submission, document verification, and real-time approval notifications.
• Home screen displaying linked cards, recent transactions, and rewards with tap-to-reveal balances.
• Issuance and reissuance of virtual and physical debit/charge cards with external bank account linkage.
• Account features including direct salary deposits, auto-pay setup, instant transfers, and top-ups.
• Transaction analytics dashboard tracking spending patterns and recurring payments.
• Rewards system offering cashback for online and offline partner transactions, with a map for locating nearby partners.
• Secure profile management enabling editing personal info, notification preferences, and profile picture.
• Password recovery via email or phone, with multi-factor authentication for sensitive actions.
• Integration with external banking services through APIs for account creation, card management, and transaction processing.

• Banking API providers for account creation and transaction management
• KYC verification services for identity validation
• Fraud detection and risk profiling services
• Rewards platform for cashback processing
• Direct deposit switching services
• Financial data aggregators for account linking
• Event-driven messaging systems for inter-microservice communication

• System must support high availability with minimal downtime, utilizing database replication and failover mechanisms
• Data security must comply with industry standards, including encryption at rest and in transit
• Application must process user requests with low latency to ensure seamless user experience
• Support concurrent users scaling up to thousands without performance degradation
• Microservice architecture should isolate sensitive data, limiting access based on least privilege
• Regular security audits and compliance certifications should be maintained

The platform aims to empower low-credit-score individuals by providing accessible financial tools, thereby increasing user adoption and engagement. Expected outcomes include onboarding approximately 1,285 verified accounts in initial phases, with ongoing growth driven by marketing strategies. The scalable, secure system will facilitate continuous feature enhancement and user retention, ultimately contributing to improved credit scores for users and expanding the client’s market share in underserved financial segments.