Build or buy a banking app? The honest trade-offs
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
- 1Name it and pick your colours
- 2Choose what it does
- 3Launch when you are ready
If you want to launch your own money app, the first big decision is whether to build it from scratch or start from a white-label platform. Both can work. The right choice depends on your budget, your timeline and how different your product needs to be.
What building from scratch involves
- Hiring or paying developers for the apps, back office and integrations.
- Finding and connecting licensed partners for accounts, cards and payments.
- Building identity checks, security and compliance tools.
- Maintaining and updating everything after launch.
When building makes sense
Building your own gives full control and can be right when your product is truly new, you have strong funding and an experienced technical team, and the way you handle money is itself your advantage.
Try it
Name your platform and watch it come to life
Type a name, tap a colour and pick what it does. The phone changes as you go.
Colour
What it does
Design and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
When buying makes sense
A white-label platform suits founders who want to test an idea, serve a niche or community, and get to market without a large engineering team. You trade some control for speed and a much lower upfront cost.
Building on SendPay
SendPay platforms are free to design and preview, from a Money Transfer Platform up to the full Business Account Platform, and you launch when you are ready. They run on licensed partners, and SendPay tells you in writing what applies before you launch.
How it works
Money on its way- 1Pick who to pay and type the amount
- 2Tap send and it is on its way
- 3It lands in their account
Why sign up
Create your free SendPay account
It's all about creating your own financial platform with ease. Start with a free account today.
- 🪪A free business accountOpen it in about a minute with your business name, email, password and mobile. No card and no documents to start.
- 💳Get paid from day oneTake card payments, and share your own payment link and invoices so customers pay in a click.
- 🌐A free business websiteFree to build, free to publish and free to keep, with unlimited visits.
- 🚀Your own financial platformDesign and preview your whole platform free, then launch when you are ready.
SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank. Accounts, cards and payments are powered by licensed partners.
Questions people ask
Which money app should I launch?
Answer a few questions and get a suggested platform type.
Which money app should I launch? →Banking-as-a-service or white-label?
The two main ways to launch without building everything.
BaaS vs white-label →Read next
Spotted a mistake or something out of date? and we'll fix it. How our guides are made
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. Other companies named in this guide are reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.