INTRODUCTION:
A banking app is a unique product with unique performance and security requirements. The usefulness of mobile banking compared to traditional banking options has made it a feasible and a favorite choice to consumers. Banking involves compromising data. Even little gaps and downtimes are crucial because sensitive data may be compromised. So, it is advised to test banking applications thoroughly before using them. Software testing for banking applications is necessary for the smooth performance of banking apps. Mobile banking app testing involves many processes. When the product is complete, QA engineers begin testing. The team carefully picks the tech stack and creates app architecture to ensure flawless functioning.
CHALLENGES OF BANKING APP TESTING
With the uniqueness and benefits of banking applications comes its own set of drawbacks, which are as follows:
Architecture with Multiple Levels
A financial app often has numerous levels or tiers:
A server on which the application logic is implemented
This database stores user information.
A payment processor is someone who handles financial transactions.
A user interface that takes and redirects the input from users.
The tester’s role is to guarantee that the system operates as a whole. They execute numerous tests via the mobile app and submit defects to the appropriate developers: server, front-end, and database.
Workflows in Complex Business
A banking app manages several business processes, each of which has various phases and sections. Creating a bank account, for example, entails multiple methods, from receiving a client’s request and validating the data to verifying ID and opening an account. The tester must ensure that all phases function correctly and that the workflow goes smoothly.
Batch and real-time processing
A banking app must deal with many users, data, and transactions. It performs hundreds of actions per second. Thus testing under peak loads is critical. Testers must guarantee that the app operates as swiftly as feasible with the current number of customers and processes while leaving enough flexibility to grow the customer base and features.
Integrations with Third Parties
Many external services interact with a banking app. Furthermore, they often manually check each data entry. As a result, API testing is required to guarantee that a third-party connection is operational.
Various Devices
Users may run the software on various smartphones and tablets and expect it to function flawlessly everywhere. Furthermore, they rely on data synchronization while signing in from other devices. QA specialists must inspect each instrument and guarantee that data is updated on time.
STEPS OF BANKING DOMAIN APP TESTING
Banking domain testing is a multi-stage process that involves careful planning and a thorough understanding of the system. The following steps are the most common ways to test banking applications:
- Analyze the requirements:
The business analyst (BA) researches and obtains requirements from documents. They engage with a reliable bank representative to create a clear work plan.
- Examine the requirements:
The BA, PM, and team lead review the requirements and make any required changes. Then, students submit a draft and hand it over to BA to build a final document.
- Preparation of the test plan:
QA researches business needs and develops a test strategy. They consult with the tech lead and begin testing.
- Database evaluation:
It verifies the app’s data correctness, integrity, and loading speed. The tester must be well-versed in database operations, functions, indexes, keys, and excellent practical SQL.
- Unit and integration testing:
The tester inspects each unit individually before testing their interaction with one another. Typically, a tested unit is a single app function or method.
- Functional evaluation:
QA examines each app function to ensure that it functions properly.
- Performance evaluation:
This testing entails putting the app through its paces under typical and harsh conditions. To prepare for any force majeure, the QA must simulate multiple scenarios.
- Security Testing:
Experienced testers use various techniques to ensure that the banking app is sufficiently secure. Vulnerability and security scanning, penetration testing, and risk assessment are the most popular security testing methods.
- Acceptance and usability testing:
It examines the app’s ergonomics and how well it is designed for users with special requirements.
BANKING APP TEST CASES
Database evaluation
- Check to see if the data is structured correctly.
- Check to see if data fields are appropriately formatted.
- Check to see if the values of computed fields are correct.
- Check that each table has all of the necessary constraints, including primary keys, foreign keys, and unique indexes.
- Examine the table for duplicate data.
- Examine whether null values are accepted where they should not be.
- Check if data is correctly written to the table when the user creates or updates it via the app (e.g., creates/updates profile information).
- Examine app behavior when the database server is down.
- If an operation fails, check to see if previous data is saved.
- Examine the frequency of database backups.
Functional evaluation
- Examine whether new accounts/roles/branches are created correctly and with valid data.
- Examine how an app reacts when accounts/roles/branches are created/modified with incorrect data.
- Valid and invalid data should be used to test login functionality.
- Examine how the app works from the user’s perspective (whether the balance is updated after withdrawal or crediting, whether regular payments are saved and performed at a specific time.)
- Examine the app’s functionality from the administrator’s standpoint (whether bulk messaging can be sent and analyzed, whether support requests are correctly handled.)
Performance evaluation
- Examine app performance when many users use the same or different functionalities.
- Check the app’s performance when the battery is low, medium, high, or charging.
- Examine the app’s performance at various times.
- When the Internet is slow, check the app’s performance.
- Check the app’s performance when the Internet goes down during the transaction.
- Check the app’s performance when the Internet connection goes from low to high.
Security Testing
- Examine how the app reacts to multiple invalid logins.
- Check if the “Forgot password” option allows for easy account recovery.
- Check to see if the password requirements are stringent enough.
- Examine the encryption of the user credentials.
- Check if the application utilizes a secure protocol, such as HTTPS.
- Check to see if the password is hidden behind dots or other symbols when the user enters the app.
- Check if the person is logged out after a certain amount of inactivity.
- Examine how the app reacts to cache clearing.
Testing for usability
- Check to see if the navigation is simple.
- Examine whether all visual elements are designed in the same style.
- Examine whether all terms are named the same on all app pages (for example, “recurring charges” or “regular payments”).
- Examine the titles of all pages, links, and buttons.
- Examine whether error and warning messages are self-explanatory.
- Check to see if any required fields have placeholders or tips.
STEPS FOR IMPROVING THE TESTING RESULTS
Regular testing is recommended: Especially after app upgrades. This helps to resolve any issues that arise swiftly.
Take charge: Participate in all testing team tasks, such as gathering requirements, reviewing them, and creating a testing scenario.
Involve actual users: They will assist you in obtaining the most trustworthy outcomes, so aim to accomplish them.
Use both manual and automated testing: Although automation can save you time, manual testing is required to check the UI/UX design and other features outlined in our post.
Use of actual gadgets: Emulators cannot wholly replace testing on real mobile devices.
Collect feedback: The feedback from your target audience will help you enhance your app.
HOW HEADSPIN HELPS TO TEST BANKING APPS
Mobile banking is a popular trend among customers due to its simplicity and frictionless convenience. Mobile banking seeks to provide the speed and mobility that current consumers demand, from depositing money by taking a photo of a check to moving cash from one account to another with a few easy clicks on your device. The HeadSpin software runs locally within the device tray, and automated tests run on the target devices with minimal to no delay. You may manually touch around on gadgets in real time using our remote control workbench. HeadSpin’s comprehensive performance analysis can identify these impacts and provide AI-powered advice on the relative importance of the issues found and how to overcome them. With HeadSpin’s unique user experience KPIs and page content analysis, you can test translated versions of your apps for functional and performance concerns. Our cutting-edge computer vision and machine learning algorithms can automatically detect localization difficulties and assist you in determining whether you are fulfilling international compliance standards (e.g., if the correct version of an ad is being displayed in-product). HeadSpin distinguishes itself from most device farm suppliers with its Digital Experience AI Platform, which provides detailed performance visibility and quality of experience testing for mobile and browser-based apps. However, unlike other mobile performance monitoring tools, HeadSpin does not need the installation of a proprietary SDK or any other changes to the app code. We work directly with you at HeadSpin to ensure that your testing needs are satisfied, from functional, performance, and regression testing to guaranteeing the security, accessibility, compliance, and worldwide consistency of your mobile banking app testing. Our experts help you invest your resources intelligently and provide your consumers with the best digital experiences possible.
CONCLUSION:
Testing is crucial. It assures that when the program enters the actual world, it operates smoothly or almost so. Mobile banking app testing encompasses a variety of approaches and test cases that examine the app’s usability, performance, and security. It is critical to smooth out all the kinks and guarantee that essential data is not lost if the server fails or the Internet goes down. Furthermore, ensuring that the app is highly intuitive for all user groups is vital.
