Case Study
Building the future of banking flutter-powered mobile transformation in Doha
Discover we transformed a corporate mobile banking platform from Kony to Flutter in Doha, enhancing performance, scalability, and user experience while eliminating licensing dependencies and accelerating innovation in digital banking.
Output Achieved
About the project
Our client, a leading corporate bank in Doha, aimed to redefine its mobile banking experience by transitioning from a legacy Kony-based system to a modern, high-performance platform built with Flutter.
With growing digital expectations and the need for faster innovation, the bank sought a future-ready solution that offered flexibility, seamless cross-platform performance, and complete independence from proprietary licensing.
The Challenge
As digital banking demands evolved, the existing Kony-based mobile application began showing limitations that hindered innovation and customer satisfaction.
Key challenges included:
- Performance Inefficiencies: Reliance on runtime abstraction layers caused slow load times and responsiveness issues.
- Limited UI/UX Flexibility: Restricted widget customisation prevented modern, intuitive design implementations.
- Integration Barriers: Difficulty integrating APIs, SDKs, and advanced features like biometrics or analytics.
- Vendor Lock-In: High licensing costs and proprietary dependencies limited scalability and control.
- Scalability Constraints: Adding new modules or features required major rework, delaying releases.
To stay ahead in the competitive digital banking landscape, a complete architectural overhaul became essential.
Our Approach
We adopted a Clean Architecture framework, ensuring modularity, scalability, and ease of maintenance, allowing each layer to evolve independently while delivering superior performance and code clarity.
Architecture Overview
The re-engineered corporate mobile banking app was developed using Flutter, chosen for its native rendering capabilities, consistency across devices, and high performance.
Key architectural principles included:
Presentation Layer:
Built using Flutter widgets and the MVVM pattern to maintain separation of state and UI.
Implemented Riverpod for efficient reactivity and testability.Domain Layer:
Encapsulated core business logic through reusable use cases, entities, and repository interfaces.Data Layer:Managed RESTful API integrations using Dio, combined with encrypted local storage and unified data handling.
Technical Stack and Integration
State Management: Riverpod
Networking: Dio with authentication and logging interceptors
CI/CD: Bitbucket Pipelines integrated with Firebase TestLab
Security: SSL pinning, biometric authentication, JWT-based session handling
UI Framework: Material Design 3 (MD3) for modern, responsive layouts
Migration Strategy
The migration from Kony to Flutter was executed in structured, incremental phases to ensure parity, performance, and seamless user transition:
Requirement Analysis & Parity Audit: Mapped all Kony modules and functionalities to Flutter equivalents.
UI Redesign: Revamped the interface for a modern, user-centric experience aligned with the bank’s brand identity.
Backend Alignment: Standardised APIs for smooth communication with existing middleware.
Testing & UAT: Conducted comprehensive QA and regression testing for functionality and performance assurance.
Deployment: Continuous monitoring implemented via Firebase Crashlytics and integrated analytics for post-launch optimisation.
Solution
The new Flutter-powered mobile banking platform offered a unified experience that combined performance, scalability, and modern UI design with advanced security and developer flexibility.
Key Features
Unified Cross-Platform Interface: Seamless experience across Android, iOS, and Web.
Biometric Authentication: Secure access with Face ID, Touch ID, and device-level encryption.
Optimised Performance: Reduced load times from 4 seconds to under 2 seconds.
Modular Architecture: Independent module updates without impacting the entire system.
Enhanced Developer Efficiency: Hot reload and a modular codebase accelerated debugging and iteration.
Advanced Security: SSL pinning, encrypted storage, and token-based authentication ensured compliance-grade protection.
Problem Solved
The transition to Flutter with a Clean Architecture approach addressed critical business and technical bottlenecks:
Performance & Responsiveness: Achieved near-native speed by removing Kony’s runtime abstraction.
Cost Optimisation: Eliminated recurring licensing expenses and proprietary dependencies.
Developer Agility: Empowered internal teams to build, test, and deploy new features faster.
Integration Flexibility: Simplified integration with APIs, analytics, and SDKs.
Future Scalability: Modular design supports future features like AI-based personalisation, digital onboarding, and predictive insights.
The Impact
The modernisation initiative resulted in measurable transformation across performance, cost, and customer experience metrics:
60% Faster Performance: Reduced app load time from 4s to under 2s.
3x Development Velocity: Feature deployment increased from one to three per month.
Cost Efficiency: Major savings achieved through license elimination and streamlined development.
Enhanced User Experience: Improved responsiveness, accessibility, and intuitive design.
Operational Independence: Full in-house management without reliance on external vendors.
This transformation not only improved technical performance but also positioned the bank as a digitally progressive financial institution, ready for the future of mobile banking.
