Agile Product Ownership Framework Aligned with Regulatory Cycles in Mobile-First Financial Service Design

The convergence of rapid digital innovation and stringent regulatory oversight presents a unique challenge for product development in mobile-first financial services. Agile methodologies, while optimized for speed and adaptability, often operate on a cadence misaligned with the slower, cyclical nature of financial regulation. This temporal disconnect places significant strain on product owners, who are tasked with delivering compliant, secure, and user-friendly solutions in highly dynamic fintech environments. To address this gap, this paper introduces the Agile-Regulatory Alignment Model (ARAM), a structured framework that embeds regulatory foresight and compliance workflows into the agile product development lifecycle. ARAM comprises three interlocking pillars: regulatory backlog integration, compliance readiness sprints, and dynamic stakeholder syncs. These components empower product owners to anticipate regulatory shifts, translate legal requirements into actionable product tasks, and maintain continuous alignment with legal advisors throughout the development process. The framework is further tailored to accommodate mobile-specific challenges such as app store release cycles, secure interface design, and responsive user consent flows. The paper contributes both theoretically and practically by extending agile principles into regulated domains and providing fintech teams with a scalable model to reconcile innovation with compliance. It concludes with future research pathways focused on regulatory forecasting, hybrid role development, and longitudinal validation of compliance-integrated agile practices.