#banking application testing

One of the reasons why digital transactions using mobile devices have become such a rage is their convenience in handling financial payments. Whether it is the paying of utility bills, doing online shopping, booking movie or airline tickets, or paying for the tickets in a concert, app-driven financial transactions are here to stay. At the core of such services are the financial applications, which manage processes having an interface with money. These applications store, manage, process, or analyze financial data and information. Since so much is underpinned on the successful functioning of these applications, financial application testing becomes critical. And with cybercrime rearing its ugly head every now and then, the stakes are really high. If statistics are to be believed then around 4.1 billion data breaches were reported in 2019 and 71% of them were motivated by financial gains (Source: Varonis). No wonder the global spending on cybersecurity is expected to touch a humongous $133.7 billion by 2022 (Source: Gartner.)

So, with financial applications becoming complex and multi-layered, cybercriminals too have upped their ante. They are using new methodologies and technologies to hack into such systems and steal sensitive data. It appears they are one step ahead of the law enforcers unless, of course, testing financial applications is made an integral part of the development of such software. A multi-tier financial application allows concurrent user sessions to a large number of users. Further, it is integrated with various APIs of third-party applications, regulatory websites, trading accounts, and payment gateways, among others. Since so many integrations generate complex workflows and value chains, they are needed to be tested rigorously. So, when it comes to testing financial applications, factors like performance and security are critical. As a greater number of customers are using financial applications for making transactions on the go, Fintech companies are looking to set up secure platforms to deliver superior customer experiences.

Factors to consider while testing financial apps

Financial services testing should follow an end-to-end methodology to test various aspects such as Business requirements and banking workflows, Functional testing, Security testing, Data accuracy and integrity, Concurrency, Performance testing, & User experience.

·       Business involvement: The test specialists should collaborate with the business analysts and other stakeholders to understand the business requirements of the application. The collaboration or interaction could be with several subject matter experts within the organization as the application might have integrations with other domains. For example, a financial application may have integrations with segments such as bill payments, credit cards, loan payments/disbursal, trading, and transfers, among others. The business requirements and deliverables ought to be analyzed by specialists testing financial applications, development leads, and business analysts to obtain optimal testing results.

·       Domain understanding: Given the various domain interfaces of a financial application, the test specialists should understand and possess adequate knowledge about them. The knowledge could be about the type and scope of testing - UI, security, load, stress, or functionality or aspects like brokerage, working procedures, or banking, among others. The testers by knowing the respective domains can write better test cases and simulate user actions to obtain better test results.

·       Impact analysis: It is about analyzing how the changes made to the application can impact other aspects of the application. This calls for a calibrated regression testing involving automation. This way the team authorized to conduct BFSI testing can identify the affected areas of the application and get them fixed. Here, the application is tested selectively by reusing the already executed test cases.

·       Functional testing: This type of banking application testing exercise requires access to all source codes and architecture to identify and fix glitches and vulnerabilities. The typical test activities comprise preparation and review of test cases and their execution. The testing includes application testing, integration testing, regression testing, and user acceptance testing.

·       Security testing: Usually financial application security testing is conducted at the end of both functional and non-functional testing. However, with cybercrime raising its ugly head every now and then, security testing cannot be left or considered as ‘just another type of testing.’ In fact, according to DevSecOps, it should be the responsibility of every sinew, process, function, or department of an organization. So, apart from looking at the resident vulnerabilities and glitches, the testing should ensure the application adheres to the industry regulations related to security like PCI.

·       Performance testing: As more people are using such applications, they need to be tested for load and stress thresholds. It will help make the application robust, scalable, and resilient thereby ensuring better load management.

Conclusion

The financial sector, especially the banking system has seen tremendous growth in its footprint primarily driven by technology. Although technology has helped the sector to improve efficiency and enhance the scale and speed of delivering services, there is still scope for improvement. The leading banks and financial institutions have leveraged technology to improve their operational models and aim at meeting the growing customer expectations. The technologies enabling the financial sector to address the challenges of the day include Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence driven chatbots, process automation using Robotics, and distributed ledger technology among others.

Even though these technologies help in enhancing the serviceability and customer experience, they are needed as per the new norms mandated by regulatory bodies – BASEL III, GDPR, and FATCA to name a few. As customers are becoming busier and more techno savvy, they want their banking services to follow suit. Importantly, the customers of today, especially the millennials, are no longer limited in their choice of banks. In fact, they are more likely to gravitate towards the ones that put customer satisfaction at their core.

The complexity of banking and financial services needs the application of stringent digital testing in driving quality, integrity and customer satisfaction. The complexity encompasses activities such as auditing and reporting, large scale integration, seamless transactions, robust data storage, and pre-emptive incident management.

To sustain competitive advantage, the banking applications should be consistent in delivering top notch performance, easy access, stringent security, and better user experience. Also, since the financial sector deals with critical business and personal data, it should be secured from the activities of fraudsters and cyber criminals. Thus, to ensure quality across the digital landscape that is part of the financial sector, banking application testing should be performed in right earnest.

In addition to the above deliverables, digital testing can help mitigate glitches, support customer friendly initiatives, comply with stringent data standards, meet industry regulations and roll out market ready software applications

What ails the financial sector?

The  BFSI sector using legacy systems are mostly non-compatible with evolving technologies. Ensuring compatibility would incur huge costs.

Building and adopting customized applications with the right functionality given the plethora of choices available in the market.

Technology often suffers from hiccups when real time applications face latency or  downtime sending the customer experience for a toss.

The implementation of new technology can cause disruptions or witness teething troubles, even if on a temporary basis.

The strict compliance to regulations mandated by industry or government bodies are not comprehensive or focused every time.  

Software testing for the financial sector enabling customer satisfaction

The interconnectedness and complexity of financial applications necessitate the execution of end-to-end digital quality assurance. These involve omni-channel testing, performance testing, security testing, customer experience testing, scalability testing (load and stress), and mobile app testing. It is only by implementing comprehensive digital transformation services that the financial sector can handle operational risks, improve productivity, and enhance customer experience.

Testing digital quality for the financial sector

The digital landscape enveloping the financial sector has become highly complex thanks to the presence of legacy systems and the adoption of the latest technologies. To ensure synergy and compatibility between the two strands – legacy systems and latest technologies, the digital quality of the same should be tested.

To cite an example of the inherent complexities, there is a need to execute around 200 test scripts for every release of a banking application. The releases are warranted due to the frequent changing of regulatory requirements and market dynamics. Also, people developing such applications can be under pressure to reduce the time to market thereby allocating less time for digital QA.

·         The digital quality assurance team should use automated testing to validate the quality of applications across a plethora of device platforms, browsers, operating systems, or networks. Also, the banking applications should be tested on wearable devices such as Apple Watch and Google Glass as well.

·         Conduct robust banking domain testing using an effective test suite and in an enabling environment. The testing should ensure data integrity while masking information.

·         Implement test automation and pre-empt the ingress of bugs or glitches in the early phase of the SDLC.

Conclusion

The financial sector should embrace digitization in a big way to drive innovation, productivity, and quality, besides enhancing the customer experience. It should implement robust digital QA before rolling out new products or services to address the issues around security, serviceability, customer experience and competition.

Bank apps are rapidly turning out to be handy and essential, as customers are becoming better educated regarding their financial options. Therefore, severe testing of the app in numerous stages remains important, for quality assurance via timely bug-fixing.

Keeping this scenario in mind, we are presenting you the list of seven main attributes of bank app testing.

http://www.kaigi.biz/three-difficulties-banks-encounter-when-it-comes-to-unit-testing/

Three Difficulties Banks Encounter When It Comes to Unit Testing