The global fintech market is expected to grow from $209.74 billion in 2024 to $1,583.05 billion by 2033. McKinsey predicts that fintech companies will generate nearly three times more revenue than the traditional banking sector between 2023 and 2028.
For players in the financial industry, this presents a major opportunity to innovate and reach new audiences. However, seizing this opportunity requires specialized technical expertise, and the most effective way to access it is through fintech software outsourcing. Fintech firms can build new products and scale their services more efficiently by delegating development to an outsourcing service provider with domain knowledge and industry experience.
This article will explore the key benefits of fintech software outsourcing and provide recommendations on how to find the ideal outsourcing partner. We’ll also share real-life examples of fintech companies that succeeded using this cooperation model, including Neontri’s contributions to the industry.
Key takeaways:
- By outsourcing fintech software development to regions with lower living costs, such as Eastern Europe, companies can reduce expenses by up to three times without compromising quality.
- Fintech engineers are among the most in-demand professionals today. Outsourcing offers fintech firms fast access to qualified tech experts with specialized skills, providing a crucial competitive edge.
- While fintech software outsourcing may come with certain challenges, such as unexpected costs and security concerns, these risks can be mitigated by partnering with a reliable provider.
Why outsource fintech software development?
Fintech software outsourcing involves hiring an external tech team to build and maintain financial solutions. This collaboration often begins as a way to delegate specific project tasks, but it can expand much further than that.
In many cases, outsourcing becomes a strategic partnership where tech experts go beyond building a financial technology solution, providing valuable IT consulting, proactively sharing recommendations throughout the development process, and ensuring ongoing support and product upgrades. This makes outsourcing a valuable option for companies of all sizes, from ambitious startups to global financial institutions.
Cost-efficiency
Sustainable growth in the fintech sector hinges on cost discipline—a key factor separating profitable companies from those lagging behind. This means fintech businesses must maintain the right balance between driving innovation and ensuring every dollar is spent efficiently. Outsourcing software development helps achieve precisely that.
By collaborating with highly skilled developers from regions with lower labor costs, fintech companies can reduce overhead without compromising quality. For example, the average software engineer’s salary in the US is $103,000, while in Poland, developers earn around $36,000. A simple calculation shows that fintech firms can pay almost three times less when outsourcing to Eastern Europe.
Working with remote developers also eliminates the costs associated with employee recruitment, typically incurred with in-house fintech software development. The average cost to recruit an employee is around $4,000 per hire, and building an entire team will quickly drive up expenses.
With fintech software outsourcing, companies can save significantly on employee retention costs as well. According to a recent Gartner report, employees now expect employers to focus on their well-being and engagement rather than just providing the legally required benefits. This approach requires additional investments. When an outsourced team is involved, it’s the provider who manages all these extra responsibilities.
Access to specialized expertise
Recruiting top talent in fintech is a challenge, as experts are typically expected to combine deep industry knowledge with specialized skills in advanced technologies like machine learning and data analytics. According to a 2025 Future of Jobs report, fintech engineers are the second fastest-growing role, which makes competition for these specialists extremely intense.
Outsourcing alleviates the pressure. Instead of spending months searching for niche experts, fintech companies can rely on outsourcing service providers with a readily available pool of pre-vetted candidates who have the right skills and can join the project quickly.
What’s more, outsourced experts often bring unique, cross-project experience. In addition to handling development tasks, they can offer strategic tech and business consulting, adding long-term value beyond code.
Flexibility
Scalable team structures and flexibility are two other benefits of outsourcing software development. A fintech outsourcing company can provide a cross-functional team that includes a project manager, developers, analysts, QA engineers, DevOps specialists, and technical leads. As the client’s needs change, the provider can quickly scale the development unit up or down.
On top of that, outsourcing companies typically offer multiple contract options with flexible pricing models. These include:
- Traditional outsourcing services—where the client delegates the entire project to an external team.
- Staff augmentation services—where the client hires individual developers to fill skill gaps in the in-house team.
- Dedicated team—where the provider assembles a full team that works exclusively on the client’s project, acting as a remote extension of the in-house department.
This flexibility allows fintech firms to navigate dynamic market changes and adapt to shifting project requirements with ease—something that would be costly, time-consuming, and legally complex with an in-house team.
Faster time-to-market
Fintechs are the industry’s innovation drivers, with an average time to market of just two months. Faster time to market means fintech companies must stay up to date with emerging technologies and respond quickly to evolving market demands; otherwise, they’ll just lag behind. The faster the product is released, the sooner the company can collect feedback, fine-tune its features, and match user expectations.
By offering easy access to specialized expertise, outsourcing speeds up the product launch without compromising its quality. This gives fintech firms a competitive edge, allows them to stay on top of industry trends, and increases their chances of capturing a larger market share.
Focus on strategic business objectives
The fintech industry is evolving rapidly. To stay ahead, companies must focus on core business strategies, marketing, customer engagement, and compliance. By outsourcing software development, fintech managers can free up internal resources to concentrate on these high-priority activities. This approach to resource allocation drives business growth, where fintech leaders shape the strategic vision and experts with specialized skills execute it.
How to choose the right fintech development outsourcing partner
With thousands of fintech outsourcing companies available, how can firms choose the right one to meet their business needs? We’ve grouped the selection criteria into “critical” and “nice-to-have” categories to make it easier to weigh the pros and cons before committing.
Critical criteria
The critical criteria focus on ensuring that the outsourcing company meets your budget requirements, is trustworthy, and has experience with similar projects.
1. Location. In fintech software outsourcing, the team’s location impacts the development cost. Budget-wise, it makes sense to work with programmers from regions with lower living costs and strong IT infrastructure, like Eastern Europe. This way, customers can tap into the necessary expertise while saving significant costs.
2. Technical expertise. When selecting a fintech outsourcing partner, prioritize vendors with relevant experience and technical capabilities. Review their website to assess their technology stack and service offerings. For example, Neontri focuses on fintech software development with a client portfolio that includes major organizations like Visa, PKO Bank Polski, and KIR.
3. Proven track record. Since the fintech industry is highly regulated, with many constraints and legacy integrations, choosing a vendor with niche experience is a smart move. A recent study has found that as many as 73% of fintech startups fail due to regulatory compliance issues.
Look at the vendor’s list of past projects to see if it highlights their experience in fintech. Then, check verified reviews on Clutch, GoodFirms, G2, and Capterra to get a clearer picture of what to expect from the partnership.
4. Clear work process. A fintech software development company should have a well-established project management process and be transparent about communicating with clients, monitoring progress, reporting updates, and handling documentation. They should clearly outline how the project will unfold and how they will manage changes and address unforeseen issues.
5. The company’s talent pool. A company with a large talent pool can quickly provide programmers with the necessary expertise without delays in hiring or training. Plus, with many pre-vetted tech specialists, any team member who leaves can be easily replaced, ensuring the development process stays on track. For example, Neontri can boast access to a talent pool of 350,000 tech experts.
6. Security standards. The fintech industry deals with sensitive financial data, which makes security a top priority. Confirm that an outsourcing company adheres to high-security standards, including GDPR, PCI-DSS, HMDA, and ISO 27001:2013, as well as robust data protection protocols.
7. Intellectual property. Safeguarding intellectual property is crucial when developing innovative fintech solutions. Ensure that an outsourcing partner is ready to include clear IP ownership clauses in the agreement to protect your rights.
Nice-to-have criteria
While nice-to-have factors may not directly impact the project, they can shape how the outsourced team works and what it can deliver, potentially making a big difference in the long run.
1. Add-on services. If you are just entering the market, consider fintech outsourcing companies that provide product discovery or consultancy in addition to technical expertise. They can help determine a clear product scope, conduct user research, and outline business requirements before development begins.
2. Cultural fit. While it might not affect the project’s immediate success, cultural fit matters for smooth long-term collaboration. Shared cultural values foster working relationships, reduce misunderstandings, and support goal alignment between the outsourcing partner and the fintech company.
3. Workforce stability. A high employee retention rate indicates a stable, experienced team. For clients, this means a lower risk of turnover during the project. At Neontri, we maintain an employee retention rate of 98%.
Main pitfalls of fintech development outsourcing and how to overcome them
Outsourcing fintech software development is a highly beneficial strategy, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. Relying on an external partner, fintech companies can face pitfalls that, if not managed, may impact the product quality and the project’s timeline.
Loss of control
Companies often rely on asynchronous communication when working with outsourced teams, and things sometimes fall through the cracks. To prevent misunderstandings about scope, timelines, and deliverables, it’s critical to establish clear communication channels and agree on how urgent tasks will be handled. Regular feedback sessions—daily or weekly—where the development team can share progress, address questions, and clarify concerns is also a must.
Hidden costs
Fintech projects can be complex, so the scope may change, leading to budget overruns. Managing these expenses effectively depends on the engagement and the chosen pricing model.
To minimize surprises, clearly define the project scope and confirm the deliverables with the outsourcing provider. Establish a procedure for managing and approving any changes to the scope. Additionally, using project management tools to track progress and budget can help keep things on track.
Security concerns
Data security is the number one concern for financial organizations working with outsourcing service providers. As mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to choose a partner who understands financial regulations and adheres to strict security standards. To ensure the outsourced team follows these standards in your fintech project, formalize specific measures in the agreement, laying down data processing, access, and management rules.
Lack of post-launch support
Post-launch issues are common in fintech projects; handling them alone or delegating them to a third-party team is not ideal. To avoid this situation, include the relevant clauses in the agreement with an outsourcing provider. Set the terms for handling future updates, bug fixes, and upgrades to ensure smooth operation after the project goes live. A reliable outsourcing partner will help navigate these and other obstacles and provide the expertise needed to keep your fintech project on track.
Examples of financial organizations that outsource software development
An increasing number of financial organizations collaborate with external teams to cover their development needs. In 2024, banks have increased their outsourcing budget for ICT services by 2.1% compared with the previous year.
While financial companies are often cautious about disclosing details of their contracts with third parties due to security concerns, some information has surfaced in the media. These are a few big industry players that have successfully leveraged outsourcing to drive innovation.
PKO Bank Polski
PKO Bank Polski turned to outsourcing to develop a mobile app for corporate clients. Its goal was to simplify access to banking services and enhance the customer experience. As their outsourcing partner, Neontri, built an application that allows users to easily access key account information, such as card details, available funds, daily limits, transaction history, and payment status.
The app balances sophisticated enterprise features like multiple banking contexts, secure authorization, and comprehensive account information with an intuitive UI. It received a customer satisfaction rating of 4.5.
Bank of the Philippine Islands
The Bank of the Philippines outsources software development tasks to provide a digital banking experience for its clients and modernize its IT infrastructure. This partnership has covered developing the central dashboard for all financial operations, integrating the open API economy, and building new online products, including chatbots.
NatWest Group
NatWest Group is a British financial organization specializing in banking and insurance. While the company maintains an in-house software engineering team focused on developing innovative solutions and APIs, it also partners with several outsourcing firms to drive its digital transformation. The exact scope of these contracts remains undisclosed, but NatWest has publicly shared some details about its collaborations for IT outsourcing and systems integration.
Expensify
Expensify is a California-based fintech company that offers innovative expense management software to customers worldwide. The company has reportedly outsourced some of its development tasks to a technology consulting firm in Eastern Europe. While specific details about the project have not been made public, given the typical scope of services provided by the outsourcing partner, the work likely involved enhancing or expanding Expensify’s core product.
Atom Bank
Atom Bank is a UK-based, digital-only bank designed exclusively for smartphones and tablets. Having struggled with hiring qualified tech specialists, the bank partnered with a Poland-based outsourcing provider. This collaboration resulted in a successful remote team for Atom Bank, bringing together over 30 skilled programmers with expertise in .NET, React, Golang, Java, iOS, Android, SRE/DevOps, and more.
Start your outsourcing journey with Neontri
At Neontri, we specialize in delivering tailored fintech software solutions that meet the highest standards of innovation, security, and performance. Whether launching a new product, scaling an existing platform, or navigating complex regulatory requirements, our experienced team is ready to support your goals.
From product strategy to full-cycle development, we bring deep industry knowledge, agile methodologies, and a results-driven approach to every partnership. Let’s discuss your product roadmap, explore growth opportunities, and show you how Neontri’s expertise can help your company thrive in a competitive fintech landscape.
Final thoughts
By working with outsourced teams, fintech firms gain access to specialized expertise that helps them tackle complex engineering challenges and drive innovation to stay ahead in the market.
However, finding a reliable outsourcing partner requires careful evaluation. You should consider key factors like technical skills, niche experience, clear work processes, and strong security standards. Plus, to save money without losing quality, hire financial software developers from a region with lower living costs and a strong tech market—like Eastern Europe.
Resources
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