Why Financial Applications Should Upgrade from AngularJS to Angular

Why Financial Applications Should Upgrade from AngularJS to Angular

By Joe Rafanelli | Published on January 21st, 2025 |

Financial organizations are on the hook to keep up with a breakneck ride of technology innovation to ensure their security, scale, and seamless experience. In a competitive market like this, running critical applications on outdated frameworks like AngularJS means more risks, slower performance, and mounting maintenance issues. If you use AngularJS for your financial application, your priority should be migrating from AngularJS to Angular.

As Google officially ends AngularJS support by December 2021, organizations are creating their AngularJS to Angular migration plan to avoid falling behind the curve of technical obsolescence. Angular offers enhanced security, modern features, and long-term support, making it the ideal choice for financial applications in today’s dynamic digital landscape.

In this blog, we examine why financial applications must migrate from AngularJS to Angular, the impact on the business of not upgrading to the latest frameworks, and how a well-thought-out Angular migration plan can help ensure a smooth and future-ready upgrade.

Case Study: Modernizing a Legacy Payroll Application for a Large Shipping Company

Macrosoft and the client collaborated on multiple demos and discussions to finalize UI design decisions. Despite some differences between the legacy application and the new web UI, Macrosoft ensured the new system remained efficient and user-friendly.

The Risks of Sticking with AngularJS for Financial Applications

In 2010, AngularJS was one of the first open-source JavaScript frameworks to be launched. However, the technology landscape has changed dramatically, and applications built with AngularJS face major hurdles today:

Why Angular is the Future of Financial Applications

  • Security Risks:
    Since AngularJS no longer receives security updates, your financial application is an easy target for cyberattacks. Financial institutions, as data breach and ransomware attack targets, know this. Gartner research reports that 60% of all breach incidents in the financial vertical were due to unpatched vulnerabilities.
  • Scaling Challenges:
    In a field as demanding as finance, high-performance, real-time applications are a must, and AngularJS is struggling to play in this part of the field. Angular comes with the facility to provide strong architecture to deal with the large volumes of transactions, live trading updates and instantly changing customer behavior.
  • Diminished Ecosystem Support:
    Libraries, tools, and community support moved away from AngularJS in the last few years. However, organizations still running on the framework have faced increased development complexity and higher costs because many third-party plugins no longer support AngularJS.
  • Developer Availability and Productivity:
    Angular wins by a long shot, with modern developers preferring it over AngularJS because of TypeScript and all the modern features. McKinsey reports that 85% of developers consider their ability to work with newer technologies a priority, meaning companies stuck to Angular JS can struggle to retain their top developers.

Angular isn’t a new version of AngularJS but a framework reimagined for modern web development. Here’s why financial institutions should consider moving from AngularJS to Angular:

1. Built-In Security for Critical Applications

Robust data protection protocols depend on financial applications. Cross-site scripting (XSS) prevention and content security policy are included here to help with sanitizing input, but there’s more. Second, regulatory compliance and the security of sensitive customer data should be easier to meet and protect against.

2. High Performance and Scalability

Within version 9, Angular has introduced its Ivy renderer, giving you faster application boot times and better runtime performance. Angular is also excellent at dealing with high user demand and large data sets because financial dashboards, trading tools, and transaction-based applications can handle the two well. Further, features such as lazy loading ensure that only the most crucial components are loaded for the first time, and so on.

3. Future-Proof Development

The good news with Angular is that you have the assurance of long-term support from Google, which ensures that your applications will always be updated with new features and problem fixes. In addition, this framework agrees with modern technologies like DevOps pipelines and can adapt to business needs.

4. TypeScript for Cleaner and Safer Code

Incorporating TypeScript by Angular means code quality will be improved, and bugs will be flagged and removed early during development. In financial systems, this is critical, as even a tiny error can cause severe business disturbances.

5. Reusable and Modular Components

Angular allows for easy and convenient division of the application into small modules that are reusable, significantly promoting faster feature development and enhancing the maintainability of complex financial systems.

Creating an Effective Angular Migration Plan

Migrating from AngularJS to Angular is a massive technical project that needs proper planning and deployment. This is why having a good plan is essential if you’re migrating AngularJS to Angular. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Analyze the Current System

Start with analyzing the structure, dependencies, and responsible functionalities of your AngularJS application. Find out which components can be removed, old libraries, and parts that need to be remade.

2. Prioritize Features for Migration

Start by trying to move security-critical modules and customer-facing functionalities first. For example, if the financial app performs transactions or displays the live stock market feed, these should be migrated first.

3. Hybrid Approach to Migration

Angular includes tools that help to migrate within AngularJS and Angular in the same application. This approach enables phased development in hybrid, reducing downtime but also ensuring a less painful transition.

4. Robust Testing and Validation

Error in financial applications is not allowed. Each step migration must be tested completely to check functionality, performance and security. Use Smoky, Selenoid, or their local modules with Protractor or Cypress for end-to-end testing (E2E) to have better chances to be successful in integration.

5. Optimize the Codebase

Technical debt is the perfect thing to clean up when you are migrating. Redesign legacy components, remove no longer supported dependencies, and use Angular’s best practices for better performance.

Business Benefits of Upgrading from AngularJS to Angular

Investing in a robust AngularJS to Angular migration plan yields significant business benefits, particularly for the financial sector:

  • Stronger Security:
    Security is paramount for financial applications. Angular’s advanced security features, such as built-in protections against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF), safeguard sensitive financial data. Regular updates and long-term support from Google ensure vulnerabilities are promptly addressed. Compliance with critical regulations like GDPR, PCI DSS, and SOC 2 becomes more manageable, reducing the risk of hefty fines and reputational damage.
  • Reduced Maintenance Costs:
    Legacy frameworks like AngularJS demand constant patching and workarounds to address performance or security gaps. Angular’s modern architecture streamlines maintenance, lowering costs and freeing up resources for innovation. By eliminating reliance on outdated plugins and unsupported libraries, organizations can significantly cut technical debt and simplify long-term upkeep.
  • Improved User Experience:
    Angular’s high-performance architecture and advanced features, such as faster load times and smoother navigation, elevate user experience. Dynamic UI capabilities allow financial applications to deliver personalized, responsive interfaces, catering to the high expectations of today’s digital-savvy customers. Research by Bain & Company shows that improved performance can boost customer satisfaction by up to 25%, directly impacting client retention and loyalty.
  • Scalability for Future Growth:
    Angular is built to handle high traffic, large data volumes, and real-time interactions, making it ideal for financial institutions looking to scale. Its modular design supports the development of feature-rich applications without compromising performance. Whether expanding to new markets or introducing innovative services, Angular provides the flexibility and scalability required to adapt to growing demands.
  • Competitive Edge:
    Adopting Angular positions financial institutions as leaders in innovation. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, organizations can outpace competitors stuck on legacy systems. Deloitte research highlights that companies adopting advanced digital frameworks often achieve ROI twice that of their peers. Angular’s compatibility with modern development pipelines, such as DevOps, further accelerates time-to-market for new features and services.

Real-World Success Stories

  • HSBC: Revolutionizing Online Banking

    HSBC successfully transitioned its online banking portal from AngularJS to Angular, achieving remarkable results. The migration led to a 40% improvement in overall performance, significantly enhancing the speed and responsiveness of the portal. Additionally, development time was dramatically reduced, allowing HSBC to deliver new features and updates faster, improving customer satisfaction and maintaining its competitive edge in the digital banking space.

    • PayPal: Boosting Platform Reliability

    PayPal, a global leader in online payments, embraced Angular to modernize its transaction platform. This migration improved platform reliability by 35%, ensuring smoother and more secure payment processing for millions of users worldwide. The enhanced stability also enabled PayPal to scale its operations effectively, handling higher transaction volumes without compromising performance.

    • Standard Chartered Bank: Enabling Real-Time Decision-Making

    Standard Chartered leveraged Angular to create its next-generation customer portfolio dashboard. The migration significantly improved data rendering speeds by 50%, empowering clients to make informed, real-time decisions about their investments. This upgrade not only elevated the user experience but also solidified the bank’s reputation as a leader in delivering cutting-edge financial solutions.

    Conclusion

    For financial institutions, moving to Angular isn’t just a move to a modern framework; it’s a move to futureproof their business. Angular’s robust security features, exceptional performance capabilities, and reliable long-term support make it the ideal framework for building future-ready financial applications.

    Migrating from AngularJS to Angular ensures your organization is well-equipped to handle the challenges of an industry that demands seamless user experiences, scalability, and airtight data protection. By adopting Angular, financial institutions can:

    • Strengthen their security posture to safeguard sensitive customer data.
    • Reduce technical debt and maintenance costs associated with legacy systems.
    • Enhance user satisfaction through dynamic and responsive application design.
    • Scale effortlessly to accommodate growing customer bases and transaction volumes.

    Creating a well-thought-through Angular migration plan will ensure a clean move and let your business scale long-term. If your organization is ready to take this leap, Macrosoft brings decades of expertise in creating a tailored AngularJS to Angular migration plan. Our proven approach minimizes risks, reduces downtime, and maximizes the value of your investment in modernization.

    To learn more or to schedule a consultation, visit Macrosoft today. Don’t let outdated technology hold you back from achieving innovation—upgrade to Angular and lead the charge in financial application success.

    Case Study: Modernizing a Legacy Payroll Application for a Large Shipping Company

    Macrosoft and the client collaborated on multiple demos and discussions to finalize UI design decisions. Despite some differences between the legacy application and the new web UI, Macrosoft ensured the new system remained efficient and user-friendly.

    Joe Rafanelli on Linkedin
    Joe Rafanelli
    Director of Migration Services at Macrosoft Inc
    Joe Rafanelli is the Director of Migration Services at Macrosoft. In this capacity, Joe acts as the single point of contact for Macrosoft’s migration solutions. Additionally, he collaborates with internal technology analysts to understand requirements, work scope, and maintain client relationships ensuring their satisfaction .

    Prior to joining Macrosoft in May 2017, Joe had a resplendent career in the Banking Industry spanning 25 years. He focused on Account Management, Project Management, Implementation Management, and Product Development for companies like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Brown Brother Harriman.

    Joe is excellent at improving the client experience by driving change management projects to completion. Joe has B.S. Finance, MBA Investment Finance, Project Management certificate & Database Management certificate.
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