Weyay success story: A top-tier mobile banking app built from scratch

The way people bank is undergoing a significant transformation. Recognizing this shift, the National Bank of Kuwait launched Weyay Bank, a youth-oriented banking platform that caters to the digitally-savvy generation.

Weyay offers a banking experience designed to delight. Every detail, from the visual design to the user journey and exceptional UX, is crafted to amaze. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies and a unique mobile banking app development approach, we helped NBK achieve its goal: setting a new standard for excellence in banking.

The Weyay banking app development process: Basic assumptions

Key non-functional requirements for the Weyay app included:

• Launching the application into production within a tight 12-month timeframe, making it available by the end of 2021.
• Ensuring robust security and data integrity.
• Incorporating innovative design trends with numerous animations to enhance the user experience.

Thanks to Finanteq’s high-performing team, we met all these requirements, helping NBK achieve their vision.

Finanteq’s unique mobile app development process approach

Project background

The development of the Weyay app was a collaborative effort among four entities, overcoming logistical, cultural, temporal (different time zones in the UK, Poland, Kuwait), and communicative challenges. Through professionalism, we worked as one united group.

Scaling with Finanteq’s prowess

This venture marked Finanteq’s debut into projects of such magnitude. Over two years, the team expanded from one to seven interdisciplinary teams, all collaborating on a single source code, necessitating the adaptation of frameworks for a larger number of teams.

Development challenges

Maximum automation of UI tests (code coverage with automated tests above 90%)

The Weyay app caters to an incredibly demanding audience, and keeping up with their expectations can be demanding. To stay ahead, we’ve embraced a rhythm of constant evolution, rolling out fresh, feature-packed versions of the app roughly every month. Our mission? To deliver functionalities that are not just practical but innovative and to maintain the highest level of app quality.

To achieve this, we have used our own custom solutions, allowing us to test every nuance of the app’s performance, from seamless biometric logins to intricate details.

Ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data while simultaneously enabling fraud detection

The bank sought security measures for its application that went significantly beyond standard solutions. Our team ensured above-average security for the application, making it an exemplary case of best practices in this aspect.

Bidirectional UI Adaptation (Adaptation of the user interface for bidirectional writing – RTL)

The application, from its inception, aimed to utilize two languages available to customers: English and Arabic. Typically, language settings are handled by the phone’s operating system. Still, in this case, we had to implement non-standard solutions again, such as considering the right-to-left reading order in the Arabic language.

Implementation of interactive animations

One of the main highlights of the Weyay app is its animations. In this regard, it is the number one in the category of financial mobile applications worldwide. The application stands out with very high interactivity on every screen. Implementing even the most advanced UI/UX solutions is not challenging for Finanteq teams.

Parallelization of the development of different system components (mobile, backend, banking services)

Due to the innovative nature of the project and the mobile-only approach, many banking services required implementation in parallel with the mobile applications that utilized them. This is in contrast to traditional business cases where there is already an established backend and web frontend.

Transition to new UI creation technologies during the project (coexistence of Jetpack Compose and XML Views on Android, and UIKit + SwiftUI on iOS)

During the development of the application, stable versions of new UI creation technologies and tools emerged for Android and iOS. Since the application was already in an advanced stage of development and had a substantial number of UI tests, the change in technology posed a significant challenge, which we successfully addressed thanks to our experience.

Maintaining code quality at the highest level of technical excellence with a team of over 50 developers

To ensure above-average code quality, all team members, including tech leads, conduct code review processes. They are the guarantors that the code quality created by all team members is consistently high.

Additionally, to detect even the most minor declines in application quality, we employ automated tests run dozens of times a day on a farm of several dozen smartphones.

From the idea to implementation – main features

The project scope in the first phase of development included:

• Onboarding process (with Civil ID scanning). Opening an account itself is super safe, easy and paper-free – all the user’s needs is a selfie and verification of documents. The onboarding is done 100% remotely in the app and consists only of 3 milestones.
• Managing accounts. The Weyay app is a true gem in terms of usability and design. Not only are the notifications well-designed and the transaction list user-friendly, but the profile and settings panels are also highly thought out and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the ability to customize app preferences is the icing on the cake, making it the perfect tool for young users.
• Managing payment cards. The user can track their spending, check or change PIN, and freeze the card if it goes missing. The top card management standard.
• Budgeting and tracking. Classic functionalities, thanks to well-designed UI, take the user to another level of satisfaction. In order to better control in-app spending, the users can track limitsand fees in the app. They can easily and quickly check what the account balance limits are or what does the fee table look like from within the app.
• Digital Store. The Value added services are a must for Gen Z. The store offers various subscriptions to platforms such as Xbox, GooglePlay or Steam. Wow!
• Peer-to-Peer (P2P). Send or request money. Through the app, the user can make a quick transfer to a friend’s phone number with a Weyay account, or can request money from a friend. Moreover, when ordering or requesting a transfer, it is possible to add a message, a voice recording, or a picture. We love these instant payments!
• Saving pots. Young people save money, too. The app allows users to create up to 5 saving pots and reach any financial goal. All it takes is to select the target’s name and image. Saving for vacations or other pleasures has never been easier.
• Rewards. Bank introduced this functionality to encourage people to use the app, reach for it as often as possible and access the partners’ services. These privileges improve the attractiveness of the app and distinguish Weyay from competitors. Moreover, the rewards feature within the app stands out as one of the most sought-after aspects that people now anticipate from mobile banking applications. Is there anyone who does not like special offers and discounts? We do not think so!
• Eidiya. Weyay combines traditions with technology. Eidiya (Eid) is a custom of giving money to children. With the app, it’s possible to generate a link and send it to any family member. They decide how much they will transfer – the best part? Money is available on the Weyay account immediately.
• Domestic transfers. A swift and hassle-free way to transfer funds.
• International transfers. Users can expand their financial reach beyond borders with the Weyay’s app. It’s a must-have.

Do you want to learn more about Weyay app features? Look here.

Tools and technologies:

Scrum framework

Spring Boot

Jetpack Compose

SwiftUI

Azure DevOps

Figma

Adobe After Effects

Lottie

Cucumber

Microsoft Azure

Redmine

Microsoft Teams

Finanteq’s high-performing teams

Thanks to our exclusive experience in the financial industry, our highly skilled teams have a strong grasp of banking processes and take a proactive approach to suggest improvements and provide optimal solutions. How are the teams structured in the Weyay project?

In this project, we had 2 to 6 teams working concurrently, with each team comprising 9 to 11 members, including a scrum master, business analyst, tester, and developers (iOS, Android, backend).

What indicates the success of the application?

Weyay app delivers everything or even more than its target audience wants. 

Using the app is very pleasant and intuitive. It is designed in the spirit of superb customer experience and minimal customer effort. 

Through personalization and great user experience, Weyay Bank gains customer loyalty. 

The app’s success is evident in its swift ascent to the number 1 spot in the finance category in Kuwait, securing top rankings across various app stores. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the top-notch quality of development.

To wrap up

At FINANTEQ, we specialize in delivering a complete solution from consulting through UX Design to ready product in App Store and Google Play.

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