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Industry Expertise | Build vs. Buy: Making the Right Customer Portal Decision

Industry Expertise | Build vs. Buy: Making the Right Customer Portal Decision

“Industry Expertise” is sponsored content produced by AFSA’s Business Partners’ to provide thought leadership and best practices for AFSA member companies. For more information about this sponsored content opportunity, contact Dan Bucherer.

Build vs. Buy: Making the Right Customer Portal Decision
Author: Lawrence Buckley

Digital customer engagement is now a cornerstone of financial services. From auto finance to personal lending, customer portals are how many consumers prefer to interact – whether making payments, accessing account details, or managing communications.

Choosing how to implement or upgrade a customer portal is a decision with far-reaching operational, compliance, and cost implications. Should you build in-house, or partner with a vendor? The answer depends on your goals, resources, and timeline.

What It Really Takes to Build Internally

An in-house portal may offer customization, but it also demands long-term commitment. Development can take 1–3 years and requires significant upfront investment in infrastructure, data security, and regulatory compliance. You’ll need dedicated internal teams for:

  • UX/UI design
  • Back-end development and integrations
  • Compliance monitoring (e.g. PCI, SOC2)
  • Security and ongoing updates

These demands continue well beyond launch. Every regulatory change, security threat, or customer expectation becomes your responsibility to address. Without ongoing investment, portals risk falling behind – both technically and for the user experience.

Partner With a Trusted Vendor as a Strategic Alternative

Partnering with a trusted vendor offers a faster, more cost-effective way to launch and maintain a portal. With built-in compliance, scalability, and regular enhancements, vendor solutions reduce risk while supporting long-term success.

Benefits often include:

  • Quicker deployment (typically within months)
  • Lower and more predictable costs
  • Proven security protocols
  • Seamless integration with loan management and payment systems
  • Support for accessibility and digital inclusivity

In today’s competitive lending landscape, the ability to launch and scale quickly matters. A vendor-supported solution frees your team to focus on your core mission – lending and serving clients – rather than building technology from the ground up.

Key Questions Before You Decide

Before committing to build or buy, consider the following: Do you have the in-house expertise and capacity to build and maintain a secure, compliant portal?

  • What is the opportunity cost of diverting resources from lending operations to software development?
  • How quickly do you need to launch to meet consumer expectations?
  • Can your internally built portal scale and evolve with future regulations and technologies?

Answering these questions can help you make a decision that aligns with both short-term goals and long-term growth.

Learn More in Our Strategic Guide

Your customer portal strategy is more than a technology decision – it’s a business decision. To help your team navigate this process, we’ve created a concise, expert-informed guide:

Build vs. Buy: The Critical Customer Portal Decision That Impacts Your Operations and Bottom Line

Explore a side-by-side comparison of both approaches, hidden cost insights, and key planning questions.

Make your next move a strategic one. (Download the eBook)

May 19th, 2025

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