BENEFITS & USED CASES OF BANKING APPLICATION TESTING

Banking consumers increasingly demand digital tools to execute transactions and access services provided by banks and other financial institutions. Consumer demand is driven by ease of use, convenience, personalization, and 24*7 services. In response to the increased demand, businesses compete to provide the best mobile banking applications and websites that enable everything from checking account balances and transferring money to obtaining loans and trading stocks. This inherently leads to an increase in software testing for banking.

Banking applications have a complex structure because they support multi-layered workflows and provide various features. Furthermore, because these apps deal with sensitive data, such as financial and personal information from customers, the level of data protection should be flawless. As a result, software testing for banking applications must be meticulously planned, as a lack of test coverage can result in data breaches, fund loss, banking fraud, and other felonies.

BANKING APPLICATION TESTING & ASPECTS:

A banking application typically has a complex structure; the development team must manage several functions, guarantee customer security, and provide a pleasant, seamless user experience. The company’s reputation will most likely suffer if a product is released with numerous code faults and performance problems.

Tracking, evaluating, and improving the tool’s performance in light of real-world events is essential. To test banking applications, QA professionals pay particular attention to the following factors: 

• Ensuring that modules function (both individually and collectively) as intended.
• Usability and UX need attention. Not all banking professionals are adept computer users. Not everyone is proficient with the web when it comes to branch customers. Because of this, interfaces for applications must be aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. Testers must ensure that using the product’s graphic features doesn’t take too much time and that all the essential services are accessible from the home page with a few clicks.
• Performance. On mobile devices, there are serious problems that can negatively affect user retention rates, including slow page loading and low responsiveness. That is why mobile banking app testing is essential. A tester must ensure that the product responds quickly and reliably across various browsers and operating systems.
• Security is necessary. The majority of developed nations are tightening their control over web security. Because of this, businesses run the danger of neglecting fundamental security standards. Owners of companies run the threat of facing fines or legal action if they violate security directives. Security testing’s goal is to ensure the program complies with industry standards for security and has extra safeguards to keep users safe from hacker attacks.

THE NEED FOR TESTING MOBILE BANKING APPLICATION

Banking apps are more vulnerable than other projects since they deal with sensitive assets. A business that deals with banking must be vigilant for security concerns because financial software is a popular target for hackers.

A development team can anticipate and handle performance and security issues by testing mobile banking apps. There are further advantages it offers as well, including:

Enhance the support for interconnected, complex systems. Software for banks is frequently complicated in terms of both technology and design. A continuous testing method enables the development team to prepare the product for release as it is being built, preventing the delivery of an unreliable tool and the need for haphazard bug fixes.

Ensure that the system conforms to regulations that are constantly changing. A banking manager must remember that product testing is an ongoing process. One reason is that tech debt frequently increases as new features are added. The performance of a tool becomes unsteady as a result. Developers must develop new methods to safeguard user data as new security rules and regulations are implemented. You may ensure the application is always legal and ready for inspection by testing and repeating.

Enhance customer retention and experience. People often have a low tolerance for poor apps, especially those in the banking industry. The quality of clients’ work and financial management are put at risk by having to cope with bugs and performance problems.

By thoroughly evaluating the product before release, you may win over customers’ trust and forge closer ties with them. Companies should anticipate higher daily active user counts, higher retention rates, and lower marketing campaign expenditures.

One needs to ensure that delicate data is protected. Data loss or leakage can result from poor software performance. A data breach is sad but often not disastrous for most industries. It will jeopardize the clients’ financial assets by disregarding user data protection. Carelessness comes with a significant price that may involve fines, legal issues, or criminal charges.

It is essential to check the app’s performance in all likely situations. A developer can get a hint from an online banking application test about how the application would appear for users with different Internet speeds, on various web browser clients, and on other operating systems (iOS/Android). Additionally, you will learn how much traffic the product can process without slowing down or producing performance issues. In this manner, a company manager can anticipate traffic peaks and make extra efforts as the influx of users approaches.

Hence it is beneficial and advised to test banking applications.

WAYS OF TESTING BANKING APP

Data collection: Research is the initial stage of banking app testing. A QA specialist must gain domain knowledge (be conversant with industry-specific terminology) and a better understanding of industry standards.

Determining test requirements: The testing team determines the requirements for a testing session based on all data obtained. The objectives list must include both business and functional goals.

Gathering banking app test cases: A quality assurance specialist develops an online banking application test suite with topics organized by functionality modules. Finally, it must include all aspects of the program, including functionality, performance, user experience, and security.

Functional evaluation: The team runs tests to ensure that all functionalities are chosen by the development team as expected.

Database evaluation: A QA manager must ensure that data is stored in a structured, manageable manner. In addition, the database must have a means for data repair or migration.

Testing the security of banking applications: Testers must evaluate how the program protects user data. It involves assessing the effectiveness of data encryption and user authentication. A tester should also guarantee that any potential data breaches or leaks are instantly reported. Measures for dealing with unwanted access, such as an automated system shutdown, are required for a banking app.

Testing for usability. A QA manager proposes a solution to help all of the app’s user categories browse. Testers must ensure that those with vision issues or other ailments will not be restricted from utilizing the product. The application must also be completely tailored to match the demands of the elderly.

Performance evaluation: This stage includes checking page loading speeds, testing the app’s performance as traffic load increases, and evaluating the product’s responsiveness for different browsers.

Testing for user acceptance: At this stage, a small group of users (a focus group or beta-testers) are allowed to check out the app for the first time. The development team records and monitors travel and experiences, checks for bugs, and receives feedback from users.

USE CASES & CHALLENGES

Here is a list of banking application testing challenges that QA specialists must be aware of:

• Support for several devices and browsers: Because a banking app meets people’s basic needs, the developer must make it simple and user-friendly. As a result, the product should work consistently across browsers and operating systems, including older versions. In terms of hardware support, a user should be able to open and utilize the app on both new and old iOS and Android devices.
• Data transfer during system migrations: All procedures and routines must be retested during migration. In addition, the development team must comprehensively understand how to acquire, upload, and store data in a new system.
• Data collection for testing: Banking application development teams must confirm that automated or manual testing is legal before proceeding. Data should be protected with procedures such as masking throughout the testing period.

Some use cases are needed to test banking applications.

• Check to see if a user can log in using valid credentials. The application must provide a recovery mechanism if users fail to provide data for one or both mandatory fields.
• Ascertain that a user can complete basic transactions. A banking app must handle transactions between the user’s credit cards and between the user and another account. The program must include a way for establishing regular payments to improve transaction convenience.
• The user can change password: A tester must guarantee that app users can securely change their login credentials. The development team must build a secure method for editing personal data so that the database records are as up-to-date as possible.
• Transactions can be sent to several users by a single user. They should only be permitted to do so if their account balance is sufficient. After several failed login attempts, the account is disabled. It is a safe method of preventing brute force attacks. 

CONCLUSION:

For financial institutions to efficiently communicate with customers and establish lasting customer relationships that aid in customer retention, web, and mobile banking apps are quickly becoming the most critical platforms. Customers now want their online banking transactions to be as quick and straightforward as in-person transactions. As a result, a website or app with lax security or a below-standard user experience may result in lousy customer satisfaction ratings, a lowered perception of the brand, litigation, low customer retention rates, or even client loss. Through functional, performance, and regression testing, software testing for banking apps, and ensuring the security, compliance, and global consistency of mobile banking app testing, HeadSpin solutions assist the testing teams in meeting the standards for testing your app.