In this article, we will dive deep into reviewing React, React Native, and Node.js as technologies.

After we learn what each one is and why they are used, we will elaborate on how they can be applied in fintech, their product types, and their pros and cons.

Review of React

React aka ReactJS is an open-source JavaScript library that focuses on front-end development in order to create UI (User Interface).

By using react you can implement a virtual DOM by writing code that enables you the manipulation of the current look of the DOM.

React brought a new way of rendering sites to the tech industry using the speed of JavaScript which results in the dynamics and responsiveness of user’s input.

The Story Behind the Libraries of React

Right before react was introduced, Facebook had prioritized a huge task.

This was to build a dynamic UI that delivers a high-performance user experience.

One of their changes included the ability for the news feed to update while you are chatting using the messenger.

The initial idea to develop this feature was to use JavaScript and Facebook’s programming syntax(XHP).

Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it work at that time.

In 2011 the team of Facebook introduced the ReactJS library which was based on XHP and JavaScript.

When Facebook noticed that ReactJS was the fastest in its implementation compared to other solutions, two years later they decided to release ReactJS to the world as an open-source javascript tool.

Leading products in the industry have been developed with the help of React.

These are apps that we use daily such as Instagram, Netflix, Airbnb, KhanAcademy, etc.

Pros of ReactJS

The usage of Virtual DOM in React contributes to the time efficiency of developers and enriches the user experience.

While other frameworks work with Real DOM and suffer in speed, React makes use of its copy which is the virtual DOM and updates faster, even when applying minimalistic changes.

Additionally, React’s advantages continue making life way easier for designers and saving them time in the long run.

Since designers use the same assets continually, it is vital for them to be possible to reuse their assets while not worrying that a change will affect another stable element.

This is where React components come into play and offer isolation so that headaches don’t occur.

Cons of ReactJS

While React has plenty of advantages, it also has its drawbacks.

The main problem is with the learning pace that developers have to follow in order to stay updated with constant updates of React’s library.

Another problem with React is its poor documentation because of continual releases of new tools.

As a result, developers have issues integrating tools with React, so they create their own documentation to use in future projects.

Furthermore, React is not recommended if you want to do SEO for your site.

Google announced in 2014 that their crawlers are struggling to index properly dynamic content, and some users are experiencing the same issue also today.

Application of React.js in Fintech Apps

React’s component-based library offers a great solution to banking apps which, for instance, have components such as:

• Account,
• Profile,
• Money Transfer,
• Loan Products,
• Contact.

Typically banks set up these components to offer e-banking services to their clients.

Review of React Native

After Facebook released ReactJS into the world, they went ahead and developed React Native which is a hybrid framework focused on IOS and Android app development.

The cool thing about this hybrid framework is the ability to reuse 95% of code which eases development time and effort.

You might wonder what’s the difference between React and React Native?

Their technical differences rely on the following:

React Native makes use of native API’s in order to render components on mobile, rather than using Virtual DOM like ReactJS.

React native also doesn’t use HTML, and in this case, you need to get a hang with the syntax of React Native.
Since React Native is not dependable on CSS, features on CSS such as animation are applicable because of React native’s API’s.

React Native brought to life some popular products such as Uber Eats, SoundCloud Puls, Bloomberg, etc.

Pros of React Native

As I am writing this React Native is the most efficient environment for the industry of app development on mobile today.

React Native’s popularity has come down to portability and ease of use. It’s quick and easy to get started building your first React Native app.

Additionally, React Native opened support to Flipper, which is a debugging tool for devs, which finds execution in both IOS and Android developers.

Now app developers are able to check network requests, crash reports, databases, and so on.

Cons of React Native

One of the issues that you might have guessed already with React Native is the lack of documentation just like in ReactJS’s case.

While third party components are available with React Native to some extent, it still falls flat in its native modules for both Android and IOS.

Since this is the case developers might struggle when they want to add features in their implementation of apps.

Another disadvantage of React Native is its issues with synchronization between React Native and new SDK’s that come out.

Even though the team of React Native do a great job in updating API’s it’s hard to get every single one updated.

There are also a number of problems that developers stumble upon while working with React Native such as reloading failures, the need to reinstalling packages, issues with emulators, issues with React navigation, incompatibility of libraries, and various versions of React Native.

Application of React Native in Fintech Apps

React Native apps have proven reliability in the financial industry because of their great features that make the life of financial institutions easier.

The ability to process real-time data, its security which offers peace of mind, the ease of integrating with other applications has contributed to the mass adoption of React Native in the finance sector.

Mobile devices are now being used to trade stocks, completing bank transfers, managing personal wealth, insurance, etc.

Review of Node.js

Let’s now go back to 2009 when Node.js had its introduction, being a runtime environment whose roots rely on V8 JavaScript engine.

Being an open-source sensation Node.js was backed by a hosting and cloud computing provider called Joyent.

This company also expanded in the creation of Ruby on Rails and had a hosting partnership with giants such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

These two also started using Node.js in their backend for their mobile app development.

Node.js started to get the real buzz when the likes of Netflix, Uber, Walmart, and eBay started implementing it.

Pros of Node.js

Javascript has been a leader for a long time now among the programming languages out there, however, Node.js stands on its own throne having a widespread adoption with over 350 million downloads.

Node.js gives you the advantages of full-stack development with JavaScript which constitute efficiency and productivity for devs, re-usage and sharing of code, speed, free tools at disposal, etc.

Due to the speed of Node.js development in this setting is more time efficient and you get reliable software in a short period of time with less effort.

Node.js is also a great choice for microservices developing applications to run each in its own process.

This way it is easier to integrate other microservices on the existing ones.

The mass adoption of Node.js started when corporations such as IBM, PayPal, and Microsoft started using it.

Cons of Node.js

One of Node.js’s main disadvantages is the inability of processing CPU bound tasks, which means that Node.js is not your preferred choice for heavy computation.
This indicates that requests sent to the event loop would force Node.js to make use of all of the available CPU in order to process it which results in delay and slow processing.

An additional issue with Node.js is the difficulty of maintaining code after the usage of two many callbacks which developers heavily rely on while coding.

Having too many queued tasks sitting in the background each having their callback could result in callback hell.

Additionally, since Node.js is open source and its core technology is still under the supervision of Joyent and other contributors, other tools miss out on quality and coding standards which can become a hassle for developers.

Application of Node.js in Fintech Apps

When it comes to the financial giants despite functionality and speed, what matters to them the most is the confidentiality of data.

This questionable reliability in fintech apps is not an issue when Node.js comes in, offering safety and privacy.

Since Node.js is open source even if loopholes appear and errors happen the community of developers goes ahead and fixes them all.

Don’t forget that one of the biggest financial giants which is PayPal is built upon this technology.

Final Verdict

For a long time React, React Native and Node.js have been implemented in a lot of financial apps, due to their undeniable strengths of offering speed, security, functionality ease, etc.

Corporates that operate worldwide have used these technologies to build a strong foundation of their products, websites, services, apps, and the same thing is true even today where these three find their way into worldwide implementation as fintech apps.