What is an utility payment app?
A utility payment application is a web or mobile application that enables users to view and pay for their utilities. Utility payment apps typically include interfaces for viewing bills, paying bills via online banking, scheduling recurring payments, and managing account details.
Utility payment apps are often similar to other bill tracking apps. They also share characteristics with financial management apps, such as banking apps and budgeting apps. Popular utility payment applications include Mint.com, Adobe Pay, and Dzamba.
Examples of utility payment apps built with Crowdbotics:
- Clickable prototype for a utility payment app.
What is the typical cost to build an utility payment app?
An utility payment app usually costs about $37,500 to build. However, the total cost can be as low as $25,000 or as high as $50,000. An utility payment app with a low number of features (also known as a minimum viable product, or MVP) will be more affordable than an app that includes all intended functionality.
For example, here are some previous utility payment app price quotes from Crowdbotics:
How long does it take to build an utility payment app?
An utility payment app usually takes 133 hours to build. However, an utility payment app can be built in as few as 133 hours, or in as many as 133 hours. The exact timeline mostly depends on how complicated your specific app is. As a general rule, it will take longer if you require highly custom designs, niche features, complex logic, or non-standard release platforms.
For example, some previous utility payment apps build with Crowdbotics received the following hourly estimates:
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Crowdbotics has quoted and built hundreds of applications for teams of all sizes. Browse our historical estimates by industry and app type to understand possible costs and considerations.
How to successfully grow your utility payment application
A utility payment app can grow by establishing a new, unique identity in the market. For example, an energy pricing app like WegoWise is designed to help users save money on their utility bills. It functions as a personal finance manager that helps users find ways to reduce their energy consumption. By creating incentives for user referrals and providing proactive user engagement, an app like WegoWise can drive rapid growth.
Risks and challenges of building an utility payment application
A utility payment app faces risks related to under-capitalization, the handling of personal financial information, and the violation of SEC and FINRA compliance requirements. It is advisable to seek legal counsel to determine whether your application is subject to standard brokerage regulation. You will likely need to build logic within your app to ensure that it meets capitalization standards regardless of user behavior, and it is often recommended to leverage secure third-party payment processing APIs for transferring money.
