Similar to other industries, the digitalisation of the banking industry has brought a significant shift in the way financial services are provided. Millions of individuals with bank accounts now consider mobile banking applications as indispensable companions, relying on them for a diverse array of services.
However, as banking apps handle the most sensitive human data, which comprises financial information, testing scenarios for them must be meticulously designed. Nothing can be left to chance, and inadequate test coverage could result in potential risks and vulnerabilities.
In this article, we will explore the various aspects of banking domain application testing, including a comprehensive checklist and sample test cases to ensure the robustness and security of these applications.
A banking domain encompasses all the essential elements required to execute a financial service end-to-end. This includes the entire transaction and distribution process, the various methods through which customers interact with the business's system, products, and services, as well as the technology involved.
In simple words, the bank domain is a single system that comprises internal processes designed for staff members and external services dedicated to the end users. Typically, a banking system includes the following elements:
#PRO TIP: To ensure the app runs smoothly, you will need to understand the entire banking ecosystem and collect enough information about each service you check.
The banking domain encompasses a wide range of functions and services that financial institutions provide to individuals and businesses. There are two main functions of the banking domain:
The Primary Function involves facilitating transactions between depositors and borrowers. This core function can be categorized into savings and lending, which maintain the cash flow in the economy and market.
The non-banking functions in the banking sector, often referred to as secondary functions, involve additional services that contribute to profit generation. These functions encompass tasks such as overseeing payables, collecting checks, and managing portfolios.
Testing applications in the banking industry presents its fair share of challenges. Assessing the performance of such complex apps demands a high level of financial expertise and a robust understanding of QA tools. Here are some of the key obstacles faced during the testing process:
Typically, banking apps have several tiers to organise their functionalities and services:
It’s crucial to ensure that all these components work seamlessly together to provide a unified banking experience. Therefore, testers will need to run different tests through the mobile app and report bugs to the responsible developers: server, front-end, database, etc.
The banking industry is highly regulated, with various laws and regulations in place to protect customers' interests and ensure fair practices. Testing banking apps for compliance with these regulations is a complex task because testers need to have a thorough understanding of the regulatory framework and ensure that the app adheres to all relevant guidelines. This comprises testing for anti-money laundering (AML) measures, electronic know your customer (e-KYC) protocols, and data protection regulations, among others.
Most banking institutions have a legacy IT infrastructure that has been built over the years. Testing new banking apps for seamless integration with these legacy systems is a significant challenge. Hence, QA experts need to ensure that the app can communicate effectively with the existing infrastructure, including core banking systems, payment gateways, and CRM tools.
Additionally, banking apps often require to interact with external systems, such as payment gateways, third-party APIs, and core banking systems. Thus, testers need to consider API testing to verify the seamless functioning of third-party connections and perform manual checks on individual data entries.
For one thing, a testing team needs to possess a diverse account pool to effectively test a banking domain app. Moreover, QA specialists should utilise automation testing tools to verify database connectivity and manage its logical functions. Since the security of user data is of utmost importance, testers commonly employ VPNs to ensure secure testing practices.
To ensure thorough testing of banking applications, it’s essential to follow this checklist of important phases:
Testers need to record each detailed requirement and categorise them as use cases or functional specifications. These requirements are typically divided into modules, each focusing on specific aspects of the app, including money transfers, bill payments, mortgages, loans, and deposits.
Once the requirements documents are gathered, it’s crucial to review the listed requirements to ensure testing cases don’t compromise with each other.
For finance-related and banking projects, testers must possess sufficient domain knowledge. They should be capable of adopting perspectives from both stakeholders and end-users. During this phase, analysts collect and understand the requirements, conducting reviews with relevant stakeholders such as Business Analysts, Development leaders, and QA experts as necessary.
As the banking app requires a broad spectrum of test cases, it’s important to clarify which should be tested manually and automatically.
#PRO TIP: There should be an automation tester in a software development team to create custom scripts, run automation test generation and apply automated testing framework effectively.
In this stage, test scenarios and test cases are developed based on the requirements document. The testing team must be meticulous in encompassing all relevant scenarios, consisting of functional, security, performance, and other nonfunctional aspects.
Here’re some test cases that you can consider implementing at different testing stages:
In a banking app, intricate transactions occur at both the UI and Database levels, making database testing essential. The database represents a complex and distinct layer within the software. To run database testing effectively, banks will need to build a high-functioning testing team that has in-depth knowledge of the database procedures, functions, indexes, keys, and sound practical SQL.
As digital user experience is the top priority of the banking app, this type of testing is performed to ensure all the internal and external operations within the banking chain are effectively developed, incorporated, updated, and deleted.
Due to the sensitive nature of the banking app, developers must make additional efforts to safeguard user data against cyber attacks and fraudulent activities. A QA team conducting security testing must ensure that the application complies with security regulations and standards such as OWASP.
During specific time frames, such as payday, the end of the financial year, and festive seasons, there may be fluctuations or surges in-app traffic. To ensure customers do not experience performance failures during these periods, comprehensive performance testing should be conducted.
Usability testing is essential for any banking app, as it caters to a diverse range of users, from tech-savvy individuals to those less familiar with technology. The objective of this kind of testing is to check the level of app ergonomics and assess how well it is prepared for users with particular needs.
Read more: Banking Domain Application Testing
UAT ensures that the developed banking system meets the specified business requirements. Moreoevr, as banking systems often deal with sensitive financial data, and any flaws or errors in the system can pose significant risks, UAT helps identify and mitigate these risks before the system is deployed.
It's essential to assess each individual unit in isolation to verify its proper functionality. Besdies, we need to integrate these units and evaluate how they interact with one another. Integration testing verifies the interfaces between modules, ensuring that the system works as a whole.
Banks typically contend with intricate regulations governing their banking applications. These regulations are in place to prevent errors within the application, as any identified mistakes may result in substantial fines for the bank, potentially impacting both profits and reputation.
Compliance testing ensures that the banking application adheres to all relevant regulatory requirements.
To ensure comprehensive testing of banking domain apps, it’s crucial to generate test cases that cover all key functionalities.
Read more: Automation Testing Requirements for Banking App
App testing is an essential aspect of the development lifecycle as it guarantees that software operates smoothly or almost flawlessly when deployed in the real world. In the case of banking applications, testing involves a range of techniques and test cases to assess usability, performance, and security. It is crucial to refine all intricacies, ensuring that vital data remains intact even if server disruptions or internet outages occur. Additionally, the application's intuitiveness for all user groups needs to be verified.
In KMS Solutions, our specialisation lies in the development and testing of fintech and banking apps. We’ve worked with many businesses in the BFSI sector, such as Discovermarket, TPBank, ACB, Axi, and more, to deliver fir-for-purpose banking domain application testing strategies. Contact us now for your special requests!