How to choose a niche for your own digital bank app
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
- 1Name it and pick your colours
- 2Choose what it does
- 3Launch when you are ready
Every big bank and money app is built for everyone, which means it is built for nobody in particular. That is the gap a new brand walks into. You don't need millions of users. You need one group of people who feel the app was made for them.
Start with people you already know
The best niche is one you belong to or serve already: your community, your trade, your city, your church or mosque, your diaspora group, your customers. You know their problems, you speak their language, and they already trust you.
A stranger with a slick app loses to a familiar name with a good one.
Five kinds of niche that work
Most successful challengers start in one of these.
Tap to explore
Tap each one to see what it means.
A community
people who share a language, faith, culture or home country.
A corridor
people who send money between two places, like the UK and Nigeria, and are tired of the fees.
A trade
hairdressers, drivers, market traders, tutors, builders. Each has its own way of getting paid.
A city or town
a local app with local support, local offers and a name people recognise.
An existing group
a club, an association, a school, a union or a membership you already run.
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.
Test it before you build it
Ask ten people in your niche three questions: how they pay and get paid today, what annoys them about it, and what they would switch for. If the same complaint comes up again and again, that complaint is your pitch.
If nobody cares, try the next niche. It costs you a few conversations, not a launch.
Name the giant you are taking on
Your niche already uses somebody: a big bank, a mobile money app or a transfer company. Write down what they do badly for your people. That list becomes your homepage, your fees and your first message to users.
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
Isn't a small niche too small?
It is the right size to start. Every big money app began with one group of users before it grew. A niche is a first step, not a ceiling.
Which famous apps started in a niche?
The "build an app like" guides tell the story of well-known money apps, how they started and what a new brand can learn from them.
Build an app like the famous ones →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you launch. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →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.