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According to several leading types of research, mobile banking users are continuously growing in number, and fintech apps are more frequently relied upon for investment decisions than ever before. As an increasing number of smartphone users are using fintech apps and using their financial information for banking and other financial transactions, there are growing security risks for people's financial data.
Fintech apps, unlike most other app niches, involve a lot of privacy risks, and there are credible reasons for people to hesitate to share their financial information with these apps. If a fintech app aspires to be used by a wider audience, it, first of all, ensures optimum data security.
In recent times many fintech apps have adopted cloud platforms, and there is an increasing number of fintech apps that embrace the DevOps approach for development. Besides other incentives, both Cloud support and DevOps approach are known for their stronger data security. The ease of access with cloud and simpler and faster mobile app development with DevOps approach both revolutionized fintech apps. Here we are going to explain how they ensure better security for fintech apps.
DevOps and writing secure code
The first principle of data security begins by writing secure code. It is particularly important for fintech apps. This is one area where DevOps can play an important role. Since the DevOps approach brings the operations staff's opinions within the development project, the developers can get direct feedback from them about the key areas where other software programs falter in terms of data security.
Since a Fintech app keeps crucial personal and financial data on the user's device and the server, any flaw in the code can expose the data to critical vulnerabilities. Thanks to the continuous development (CD), continuous integration (CI) and continuous testing protocols of DevOps, these vulnerabilities can be reduced to the minimum level.
From preventing SQL injections from penetrating your fintech app to enforcing strict access control to enforcing robust multi-factor authentication to preventing exposure of highly sensitive data, developers of a fintech app in several ways can ensure optimum data security. Rapid collaboration and iteration are another key aspect of DevOps. That's why you can hire remote teams of developers while embracing the DevOps approach for fintech app projects.
Thanks to the iterative development approach involving operations employees and due to frequent testing facilitated by the DevOps approach, carrying out these security-sensitive tasks becomes easier in a fintech app project.
DevOps and Role-Based access control
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) strengthens app security by restricting network access on the basis of the user roles or the specific working relationship of the user with the organization. For instance, a fintech app user can accommodate user roles such as administrator, IT expert, support staff, manager, financial advisor and customer.
Depending upon these job roles, access to certain mission-critical information can be made only accessible to certain employees and managers. Thus a fintech app can completely safeguard the core corporate information of the company and reduce security vulnerabilities.
In enforcing such safeguard measures through role-based access control, the DevOps approach plays a really helpful role. As the DevOps approach ensures bringing together the feedback and practical business insights within the app project, creating well-defined roles, responsibilities, and respective access controls can be made a lot easier.
Cloud and the secure and streamlined data backups
In the banking and finance industry, transactions make up the principal data type. After completing the transactions, every transaction data needs to be archived and stored securely to ensure easy retrieval for auditing or reconciliation purposes. To ensure the safety of this data irrespective of natural disaster, adequate redundancy needs to be maintained. This is where cloud storage can play a really helpful role.
To streamline the data storage with adequate redundancy, cloud backups play a truly beneficial role. Thanks to cloud support, data backups and recovery can be assured at a faster pace. Due to cloud support, data can be recovered within a very short span of time.
Today's advanced cloud-based services offer secure and completely fault-tolerant backups and data recovery, and this is why the vast majority of leading fintech apps now rely on cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms.
Cloud and robust performance and scalability
The vast majority of the Fintech apps represent B2C segment startups catering to the financial needs of consumers. Naturally, the ease of use and effortlessness in carrying out tasks through the app plays a major role in their popularity. On the other hand, as the volume of users grows and the app continues to attract more and more users, the app performance cannot slow down. In short, both the performance and scalability of fintech apps are crucial for their long-term success.
Cloud support can ensure smooth and frictionless performance in all instances. Particularly when you opt for robust cloud SaaS platforms for your fintech solution, you can even achieve automatic scaling up of the app performance with user volume growth. The cloud-based SaaS platforms' auto-scaling capability ensures consistent performance despite a sudden surge in demands.
Cloud support and round the clock availability
Since smartphones have democratized access to fintech services and people, have already been accustomed to round-the-clock access to financial solutions, products and advice, your app must offer around-the-clock availability of all services and support. This is where cloud services can help you maintain robust 24x365 support without keeping a gigantic in-house infrastructure and support team.
Apart from offering you the auto-scaling capability to meet surging demands, the leading cloud-based SaaS platforms also maintain the application's availability as per varying usage patterns of the customers.
Conclusion
As we have already explained, both cloud support and DevOps approach to fintech app development offer certain value propositions that stand as irrefutable for the fintech industry. In the upcoming years, both DevOps and cloud-based SaaS software platforms will be part and parcel of fintech apps.
This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author.
Victor Irechukwu Head, Engineering at OnePipe Services Limited
29 November
Nkahiseng Ralepeli VP of Product: Digital Assets at Absa Bank, CIB.
Valeriya Kushchuk Digital Marketing Manager at Narvi Payments
28 November
Alex Kreger Founder & CEO at UXDA
27 November
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