In this digital world, it has made investing convenient for investors, brokers, and traders with the development and launch of stock trading apps. They don’t have to show up physically at major stock exchanges while investing in the bull share or bear share in the market. Real-time data access, predictive analysis reports, and market updates are a small part of the stock market. These solutions will help you in providing great assistance to modern traders/investors. You cannot deny that stock market apps provide predictive solutions only and there is no such app or software that can give you an accurate stock market picture. It is not possible as the stock market is never predictable.
The demand for building a trading app has drastically risen due to increased users between 2020 and 2022. We can take an example of the Robinhood application which had half a million users in 2014 and has increased to 22 million by 2022. Building a stock trading app with a skilled stock trading software development company can be a great decision if you have the potential to change the entire trading world.
The demand to build a stock trading app has increased rapidly in the financial sector. It is because stock trading apps have seen a rise in users between 2020-2022 due to increased FinTech tools and software. The algorithmic trading market has seen rapid growth ever since Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) have been introduced.
According to Polaris Market Research, the value of the global online trading app was $9 billion in 2021 and the analysis of Mordor Intelligence states that the algorithmic trading market will reach a CAGR of 10.5% between 2022 and 2027.
Top Stock Trading Apps in the USA
Now we will learn about the top most 4 stock trading apps that are in competition with each other in all areas of online stock trading and we will also look into the factors that have made them successful in this competitive market of stock trading apps.
Fidelity
Fidelity is the most used and fast-growing stock trading app that provides commission-free stock trading, options trading, and exchange-traded funds (ETF). You can also open a brokerage account on Fidelity for free. Fidelity had 83.4 million user accounts in 2021 and the count has rapidly increased since then till date and it is growing still.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade trading app platform offers low-cost funds and a better list of investment products like stocks, mutual funds, bonds, option contracts, forex futures, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). TD Ameritrade has 11 million user accounts and it has been increasing since then.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab offers 3 platforms for online trading and it does not charge any registration fees. It provides commission-free stock, extensive fund selections, options, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The total count of Charles Schwab’s domestic and international customer accounts comes down to 33.6 million and it is still increasing.
Ally Invest
Ally Invest is an app where no-minimum user accounts and trading in options, mutual funds, US-listed equities, and ETFs are provided. Ally Invest has over 250,000 customer accounts with $4.7 billion in assets and it has shown rapid growth.
Operating Systems for Online Trading Apps
You have to build a trading app based on the demands of your target audience. However, the recommended action is to use multiple operating systems to reach a wider audience.
Your user must be able to use your trading app on operating systems:
- Windows
- Android
- iOS
- macOS
- Linux
Essential Features for Electronic Trading Platforms
User Registration
Registering a user account is the first step. Users must be able to sign up and sign in to the stock trading platform with a few easy steps. Your stock trading app must provide the feature to sign up with email details, mobile numbers, and social media accounts if needed.
User Profile
Users should be able to create a detailed profile on the app and update it whenever they want to. It helps users manage and track their activity on your online stock trading app.
Company Registration
You must build a brokerage app/website that provides registration and profiles for companies as well. It helps investor companies to create a professional profile and present their IPOs in the market.
Live Updates
Users must get live updates about the latest changes and news on the e-trading app that has happened to keep updated. For instance, a user should get a real-time update if a company is about to run its IPO soon and any other live update.
Multiple Payment Gateways
Provide users with multiple payment modes like Stripe, PayPal, Google Pay, etc within the trading app. Multiple payment gateway will help the user to choose and use the preferred payment gateway and this makes them comfortable and happy and feel safe.
Watchlists
Watchlisting is a feature that will help users create different watchlists of stocks they wish to monitor and buy later.
Search & Filter
Search and filter options can help the user by making it easy to find the stocks they are looking for within the e-trading app.
Push Notifications
The push notification feature sends notifications or popups to users about important e-trading market news, changes in owned stocks, pending payments, and many more updates.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio management features help users check and manage their portfolios with live updates.
Payment Management
Payment management can help users in checking information about past or current transactions and deposits. Users can also download a document that provides information about all payment details of payment activity.
Analytics
The analytics feature will help users analyze key financial data from recent and historical trades. Financial reports of all trading activities will help users/investors make better investment decisions in the future.
Real-Time Risk Analysis
The real-time analysis will help users to analyze any risks of company stocks they are about to invest/buy. It will help in showing real-time analysis to the users
How to Create an Online Trading App?
You can create an application for Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS on the online trading app and you can also select and use one app and grow the business with a specific target audience you desire.
Below are a few steps you can follow for stock trading app development:
1. Hire a development team
Hire a team of experienced developers to develop your trading applications. It’s an advisable and right choice to go with dedicated developers who already know how to create an investment app and invest your money and time with a well-versed developer.
Here is a list of professionals you will need for your trading app development:
- Project Manager
- UX/UI Designer
- Backend Developer
- Frontend Developer
- JavaScript Developers (Web Development)
- Android Developers
- Swift Developers (iOS development)
- DevOps Engineers
- Testers & Maintenance Team
- Security & Marketing Analyst
The economical way to create an app development team is by hiring a developer from a mobile app development company, an experienced software trading development company can manage the design as you desire, development of the application, testing, launching the application on request platforms, application marketing on the internet, and post-launch support/maintenance of the application.
Plan Your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The minimum viable product (MVP) is the basic version of your app with the core features. Professionals advise that it’s best, to begin with, an MVP product whenever you try to create a web app or mobile app for any business or you can consult to hire dedicated developers.
Plan the Security of Your App
Trading apps contain and exchange sensitive information about millions of individuals on their trading app. app security must be your number one priority during stock trading application development. Hire a dedicated professional who is an experienced security analyst with a background in stock trading app development company. This analyst can better manage the security challenges associated with stock trading apps in a professional and well-mannered way.
Monitor the Development Process
You can deal with many mistakes when you monitor the stock market app development while it works because it will save you from the additional effort when the final product is ready. Make sure the features like Buy/sell, News Feed, Search, Risk Analysis, Payments, and Withdrawal are all performing perfectly on the application. Because these features will either improve or worsen the user experience for all your customers on the app.
All features that your target audience needs must be easy to find and use on the user interface. Figuring out whether hybrid or native apps are suitable for your target audience and choosing from the options you have to make your application successful. The user interface of your application must be easy to use and pleasant to the eye if you hope to capture and maintain user attention on your developed trading app.
Choose Technology Stacks
Choosing trading app technology stacks is essential for the smooth functioning of your app and making it user-friendly by letting users adopt the application easily.
Hire dedicated developers of web, Android, and IOS for yourself with web/app developers who know how to select the best tech stacks for your app.
Below are some trading app technology tech stacks needed for trading app development:
- G-Suite
- Figma
- AWS
- Laravel
- React.Js & Angular
- Jenkins & Docker
- Java & .NET
- Amazon SageMaker
Conduct Frequent Testing
Your stock trading apps will demonstrate their true potential and errors during the testing time and you can rectify any error with them before the launch date. Testing will help in making sure that your web/mobile trading app runs smoothly and without any errors for a long time.
Discuss Your Goal with the Marketing professional
A good marketing strategy is the last step to your online brokerage app needs to stand tall. Get into detailed view of your goals with the trading app to your marketing expert and it will help you create a marketing strategy that can attract a large number of targeted audiences to your trading app. A well-developed online trading app does even better if you professionally do its marketing strategy.
Launch and Post-Launch Support
Plan the trading app launch with the skills of an experienced business professional. Then you will have to focus on post-launch support and maintenance.m You must hire an app development team that knows how to build trading applications and maintain them. Your trading app whether it be web or mobile will need updates and solutions for any existing bugs. You can hire Android app developers and IOS developers. The post-launch support team will deal with such problems and keep your app functional for users.
How To Build a FinTech App
Consider the right Trading application development company. You have to acknowledge every legal aspect associated with a trading business and its various applications.
Below are a few legal requirements to consider and keep a note of while making stock market app development:
1. US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC protects investors from fraudulent activities and ensures the right outcomes for all. The SEC enforces US securities laws regularly and your trading app must go parallely with it.
2. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) protects American investors by regulating Broker-Dealers, Funding Portals, and Capital Acquisition Brokers. Make sure your trading business conforms to FINRA also.
3. Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)
Keeping your electronic trading app in compliance with the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is the largest options exchange in the world and it provides US and European equities, options, futures, multi-asset volatility products, exchange-traded products (ETPs), and global foreign exchange (FX).
4. National Futures Association (NFA)
The National Futures Association protects investors and markets by regulating brokers, commodity pool operators, dealers, futures merchants, exchanges, and commodity trading advisors. It’s important to keep your trading app by the rules and regulations of the NFA.
Cost Structure for Building a Stock Trading App
Certain common factors like the features of the trading application, app design, or the location of the app developer affect the development of your cost of stock trading the app.
| Stock Trading App Type | Estimated Cost | Time Frame |
| Simple App | $40,000 to $75,000 | 3 to 6 months |
| Moderately Complex App | $75,000 to $135,000 | 6 to 9 months |
| Highly Complex App | $135,000 to $200,000+ | 9+ months |
Some additional services would cost additional charges as well for any customization you add to your application development.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide has helped understand the process of creating a trading app and choosing the right software development company. Developing such tools is a complex process that involves a range of technical, design, and compliance. It is important to carefully plan and design the app to ensure that it meets the needs of the target audience and provides a reliable and user-friendly experience to the customers. We are aware that trading stock market has big players in the online trading market it’s always worth building your solution.
If you are interested in developing your trading app, contact Nevina Infotech is leading software and web development company, today so we can discuss your ideas and help you achieve your goals. We ensure to provide you with the best team of skilled developers and professionals to make your dream stock trading app successful.
