How To Build A Finance Management App Like Mint
Budget planner app development is an easy task since now that we already have an app like Mint to refer. The Mint app consists of all the features that an efficient financial tool should have. Mint financial app is the best in the niche.
However before we get deeper to understand the nitty-gritty of Budget Tracker app development, it is essential to consider all the pros and cons of the Mint application. This will make things easier to develop mint clone script.
INTRODUCTION TO MINT APP
Mint is an award-winning financial application introduced by Aaron Patzer. It was initially developed to cater to Canadian and the US market. However, in the year 2009, the newly established budget tracker app company was acquired by Intuit for $170 million.
Post-acquisition, mint became another great tool in the company’s lineup of products. Mint app features some excellent systems like Turbo Tax, Quicken and other great software related to tax and accounting. The financial app is available for various platforms including the most popular one such as Android and iOS. It is also available for Windows and Macintosh.
THREE KEY FACTORS FOR MINT APP SUCCESS
Mint has an active user base of 15 million. The budget planner app has proved to be one of the most reliable and trusted financial application for North America and Canada. For Budget Tracker app development like Mint, you need to consider certain important factors. These are the main determining factors and critical to the success of the Mint app.
- Great design and usability features
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Availability of free version
BUDGET PLANNER APP DEVELOPMENT LIKE MINT APP
If you are considering budget planner app development similar to mint, you will also need to consider features that will save users from the unnecessary hassle of manual operations to access their financial data. To put it in another term, your financial app should provide ease of access and offer better management process. Mint app can do all of these operations for users.
Mint app goes beyond providing assistance related to budget planning by operating as a trusted financial advisor. Based on the user’s financial preference, the Mint app uses a special algorithm to provide clear money-saving strategies. As a trusted financial advisor mint offers money-saving strategies tailored to specific user requirements.
USER ACCOUNT AGGREGATION TECHNOLOGY
In a real scenario, a user typically has a variety of different accounts such as bank account, credit cards, loans, investment accounts, and other business accounts. Mint app can link to the respective website automatically and pull data from user’s accounts and put them into one place. With all financial data in one place, it becomes easier for users to manage their financial affairs. The financial data comes directly from the bank, investment firms, and other financial company and is as safe as the origin website.
Mint app uses aggregation technology to connect all user’s account. If you want to develop a budget planning app like mint you will also need to use account aggregation technology. You can either self develop it or get it integrated from a reliable source.
CATEGORIZATION OF TRANSACTION DETAILS
During the initial days, the Mint app was providing account aggregation through a deal with Yodlee. After its merger, it is using Intuit now. Intuit uses proprietary aggregation technology of its own. So far Mint app only works with US and Canadian Financial Institutions. When you sign up to use the Mint app, it asks for your permission to manage money by getting access to your bank account.
This means the Mint app gets your permission to download transaction details. The details are then categorized based on the vendor’s name or other similar transactions done in the past.
SIC CODE FOR INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION
Mint app is able to successfully categorize your transaction because it has several million merchant data. It uses Yellow Pages data categorization service which typically labels businesses according to Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes. The SIC codes are assigned by the U.S. government to classify industry and to identify the primary business of the establishment.
Mint has hundreds of subcategory to its disposal but still, sometimes it may make mistake. For example, if you stop by a gas station to buy gas. The Mint app may categorize this purchase as gas and fuel rather than auto and transport. For such cases Mint app allows users to easily edit the information.
Mint app users cannot modify the existing standard categories; however, they can add their own subcategories. Users can also enter details related to purchase made with cash manually. Mint app has geolocation capability which makes it possible for the app to instantly match the transaction to the point of purchase.
CREATE AND MONITOR THE BUDGET
Mint app’s development technology is not just limited to tracking user expenditure but goes beyond monitoring the budget. The app allows users to create and monitor the budget. The budget can also be set for a certain specific category. The system is smart enough to recognize a transaction that falls within the budget category and accordingly updates it. This helps users to not only save money but also increases the app engagement metrics. Mint app users get a regular update every time they exceed their budget.
AN ARRAY OF NOTIFICATION METHODS
The app uses a variety of notification method such as email and pushes alerts. Users can set up an alert for low bank account balances, unusual purchases, bank fees, bill reminder, over budget alert. Mint app offers a great user interface to help the user increase or decrease budget on the go.
The app provides information in a variety of ways such as colorful pie and bar charts for different time periods. This makes it easy for users to understand and thereby create a positive user experience.
FINANCIAL GOAL SETTING
Mint app also has a feature that allows the user to set financial goals for themselves. Mint discovered through a survey that users have eight common financial goals. Some of these financial goals include getting out of debt, saving for a trip, buying a house, buying a car, an emergency, retirement, or college. These financial goals are available to mint app users.
However since financial needs and situation would be different from person to person, Mint app gives provision to choose an existing one or create a custom financial goal. Users can set themselves financial goals by answering a range of simple questions. When a user sets a financial goal for them, mint provides a guide on how they should budget and distribute their paychecks. It also provides guidance on specific ways to cut back in certain areas to save more cash to reach financial goals.
