Everything You Need to Know About Testing Banking Domain Applications.pdf

In the banking industry, consumers increasingly demand digital tools to execute transactions and access services that banks and other financial institutions offer. Ease of use, convenience, personalization, and 24*7 services are among the significant factors driving this consumer demand. In line with this surging demand, organizations compete to deliver the best mobile banking applications and websites that facilitate everything from checking account balances and transferring money to availing loans and trading stocks.

1. EverythingYouNeedtoKnowAbout
TestingBankingDomainApplications
Inthebankingindustry,consumersincreasinglydemanddigitaltoolstoexecutetransactions
andaccessservicesthatbanksandotherfinancialinstitutionsoffer.Easeofuse,convenience,
personalization,and24*7servicesareamongthesignificantfactorsdrivingthisconsumer
demand.Inlinewiththissurgingdemand,organizationscompetetodeliverthebestmobile
bankingapplicationsandwebsitesthatfacilitateeverythingfromcheckingaccountbalancesand
transferringmoneytoavailingloansandtradingstocks.
Bankingapplicationshaveacomplexstructure,astheyaccommodatemulti-layeredworkflows
andofferawiderangeoffeatures.Inaddition,astheseappsdealwithsensitivedata,including
customers’financialandpersonalinformation,thelevelofdataprotectionshouldalsobe
flawless.Hence,softwaretestingforbankingapplicationsneedstobedesignedwithutmost
precision,asthelackoftestcoveragecanleadtodatabreaches,lossoffunds,bankingfraud,
andotherfelonies.

2. ‍
BankingDomainApplicationTesting
Bankingapplicationtestingisasoftwaretestingproceduretoexamineabankingapplication's
functionality,performance,andsecurity.Mobilebankingapptestingallowsasoftware
developmentteamtopredictandproactivelymanagethebankingapp’sprotectionand
performanceissues.Theprimaryfocusofbankingapplicationtestingistoguaranteethatthe
bankingsoftware'sactionsandfeaturesaresecureandrunsmoothly.
CharacteristicsofBankingDomainApplications
Inthepost-COVIDera,implementingtechnologyinthebanking,financialservice,andinsurance
(BFSI)sectorisnolongeroptional.Notonlyhasthepandemicexpeditedtherateofdigital
transformationwithinorganizations,butithasalsospedupthedigitalembracementrateamong
consumersglobally.Asusersacrosstheworldhavebecomesignificantlymore
technology-dependent,financialservicescompaniesmustrapidlyadapttonewtrends.

3. ‍
Mobileandonlinebankingserviceshaveopenednewdoorsforfinancialserviceprovidersto
buildalastingbondwithcustomers,reduceoperatingcosts,andcomplywithregulations.
However,ifnotmonitoredeffectively,abankingdomainapplicationcanexposeafinancial
serviceprovidertoamultitudeofrisks,suchassecuritybreaches,faultytransactions,andbad
customerrelationshipsduetoincreasedbouncerates,allofwhichmaynegativelyimpactthe
profit,functioning,andreputationoftheorganization.
Tofollowindustrystandards,afinancialserviceprovider’ssoftwaredevelopmentteamneedsto
beawareofthecriticalcharacteristicsofsuccessfulbankingsoftware.
Someofthecrucialcharacteristicsofabankingapplicationarelistedbelow.Itmust:
●Allowseveralusersessionssupportedwithmulti-tierfunctionalities
●Enablelarge-scaleintegrationofmultipleprograms,includingtradingaccounts
●Handlecomplicatedworkflows
●Enablebulkandreal-timeprocessing
●Facilitatehigh-pacetransactionspersecond
●Allowsafetransactions
●Keeptrackofday-to-daytransactions
●Troubleshootclientdifficulties
●Haveamassivestoragefacility
●Allowforthemanagementofdisastersandrecovery
●Enableusersupportonmultipleplatforms(Mac,Linux,Unix,andWindows)

4. BankingDomainApplicationTestingWorkflow
1.GatherandIdentifyRequirements:Atesterdocumentstherequirementsandsortsthose
underthespecifiedusecaseorfunctionalspecification.IntheBFSIsector,testersshouldhave
sufficientdomainknowledge,asbankinghasmultiplesub-domains,andonefull-fledged
bankingapplicationmayintegrateallthesedomains.Theyshouldbeabletothinkfromboththe
stakeholder’sandtheenduser’spointsofview.Foreveryaspectofanapplication,suchas
moneytransfers,billpayments,mortgages,loans,anddeposits,thereexistsamodule,andthe
testermustcategorizetherequirementintoaspecificmodule.
2.BuildaBusinessScenarioandReviewRequirements:Oncetheapplicationrequirements
listissetup,itmustbereviewedfurther.QAengineersbuildbusinessscenarioscoveringall
businessrequirementsbasedontherequirementdocuments(includingfunctionspecifications
orusecases).Thesearehigh-levelscenariosandmaynotincludeanydetailedsteps.This
reviewinvolvesallstakeholders-businessandtechnical-includingQAengineers,development
leads,andpeerbusinessanalysts.Theycross-checktoensurethattheexistingandnew
businessworkflowsarenotviolated.Onceallrequirementsareverifiedandvalidated,follow-up
actionsandrequirementdocumentrevisionsaredonebasedonthesame.
3.BuildaTestCaseSuite:Postreview,automationengineersselecttestcasestodetermine
whichofthesetestcasescanbeautomatedandcreatecustomscripts.Insoftwaretestingin
financialservices,aQAspecialistcanalsooptformanualtesting,whereintheyassemblea
teamoftestersandallocateresponsibilitiestoeachone.
Thisstageinvolves:
TestCasePreparation:Testcasesarederivedfrombusinessscenarios.Onebusiness
scenarioleadstoseveralpositiveandnegativetestcases.Generally,thetoolsusedduringthis
stagearetestmanagementtoolssuchasALM/QualityCenter,qTest,TestRail,andTestDirector.
TestCaseReview:ReviewsbypeerQAengineers.
TestCaseExecution:Testcaseexecutionmaybemanualorautomatic,involvingtoolslike
QualityCenter(QC)andUnifiedFunctionalTesting(UFT).
4.FunctionalTesting:TheQAteamconductsfunctionaltestingaftertestcasecreation.This
processensuresthatmainuserworkflowsarecarriedoutwithoutanybugsorerrorsandthat
thefeaturesareimplementedperrequirements.
FunctionalTestingChecklist:
●Verifyifkeepingmandatoryfieldsemptyshowserrormessages.Forexample,while
transferringthemoneymanually,the‘Amount’shouldbeenteredandcannotbekept
empty

5. ●Verifywhetherallthefieldsacceptvalidvaluesandshowerrormessagesafterentering
aninvalidvalue.Forexample,the'AccountNumber'fieldshouldnotacceptspecial
characters
●Verifywhetherallthefieldshaveavalidcharacterlimit.Forexample,the‘Account
Number’fieldshouldacceptvaluesbetween9and18characters
●Makesurethatallthelinksintheapplicationareclickableandlandonthedesiredpage
●Verifywhetherallthebuttonsareclickableandworkinthedesiredmanner
●Verifywhetherallthecalculationsareperformedinthedesiredmanner
●Checkthescrollingfunctionalityoftheapplication
●Verifywhethertheapplicationisworkinginflightmode
●Makesurethattheapplicationworksduringtheongoingtransactionwhenaphonecall,
SMS,oranyothernotificationsarereceived
●Verifytheapplicationinstallation,uninstallation,andupdateprocesses
5.DatabaseTesting:Duringdatabasetestinginthebankingdomain,atesterensuresthatthe
apphasdataintegrity,whileQAspecialistsassessthedatabaseschemaanddatatypes,stored
functionsandprocedures,anddataloadingspeed.Theprocessinvolvestestingdatabase
objectslikeschemas,tables,views,triggers,andaccesscontrols.
Themajorfocusofdatabasetestingistoensurethatthebankingdomainapplicationcanstore
andretrievedatafromthedatabasewithoutdataloss.Italsoensuresthatthecompleted
transactionsarecommitted,andabortedtransactionsarerevertedtoavoidanymismatchinthe
storeddata.Yetanothercrucialaspectthatdatabasetestingverifiesisthatonlyauthorized
applicationsandusersaregivenaccesstothedatabaseandtheunderlyingtables.
BankingsoftwareandapplicationsinvolvecomplextransactionsthatareperformedbothatUI
anddatabaselevels.Thecomplicateddatabaseisanentirelyseparatelayerintheapplication.
Hence,thiscrucialtestingiscarriedoutbydatabasespecialists.
Databasetestinginvolvestechniqueslike:
●DataLoading
●DatabaseMigration
●TestingDBSchemaandDatatypes
●RulesTesting
●TestingStoredProceduresandFunctions
●TestingTriggers
●DataIntegrity
6.SecurityTesting:Securitytestingensuresthatthesoftwarehasnosecurityflaws.Security
testingishighlycriticalforbankingapplicationsandsoftware,astheyarehighlysensitivein
nature.Also,developersmustputinextraefforttoprotectuserdatafromhackerattacksor
fraudulentactivities.Duringsecuritytesting,theQAteamensuresthattheapplicationcomplies
withthesecurityregulationsandstandards,likeOpenWebApplicationSecurityProject,and
exposesnosensitivedataforpublicdisplay.Duringtestpreparation,testingteamsneedto

6. includenegativeandpositivetestscenariostobreakintothesystemandreportthembeforeany
unauthorizedindividualaccessit.However,topreventhacking,thebankinginstitutionor
financialserviceprovidershouldalsoimplementamulti-layeraccessvalidation,likeaone-time
password.
7.UserAcceptanceTesting:Thistestingisthefinalstageofalltestingdonetoensurethe
application'scompliancewithreal-worldscenarios.Asoftwaredevelopmentteammustbe
confidentthatreal-worlduserswillbesatisfiedwiththeapplication'sfunctionalities.Hence,QA
specialistsassesstheuseracceptanceoftheapplicationbyaskingafocusgrouptotestit.
Bankingdomainapplicationshavemultipleusersintherangeofmillions.Simulatingsuchahigh
numberofusersmaycreateachallengeforthetestingteam.Duetothepresenceofmultiple
users,itcanbeexpectedthattheyusedifferenttypesofdevices,connections,oreven
operatingsystems.Testingeachcombinationofdevices,OS,andconnectionsisacomplexand
tediousprocess.Moreover,additionaltimeandcarearerequiredtotestbankapplications,as
theydealwithmoneyandsensitiveinformation.
SampleTestCasesforBankingApplication
1.TestCasesforNewBranch
●Generateanewbranchwithdatafromthevalidandinvalidtests
●Generateanewbranchwithoutdata
●Generateanewbranchwithexistingdata
●Double-checktheresetandcanceloptions
●Addbranchdetailswithvalidandinvalidtestdata
●Updatebranchdetailswithexistingtestdata
●Verifywhetherthenewbranchhasbeenadded
●Checkifthecancelationoptionisworking
●Checkthebranchdeletionwithandwithoutdependencies
●Checkifthebranchsearchoptionisworking
2.TestCasesforNewRole
●Generateanewrolewithdatafromthevalidandinvalidtests
●Generateanewrolewithoutdata
●Checkifanewrolecanbecreatedwithexistingtestdata
●Checktheroledescriptionandroletype
●Checkwhetherthecancelationandresetoptionisworking
●Checktheroledeletionprocesswithandwithoutdependency
●Double-checkthelinksontheroledetailpage
●Checktheadminloginwithouttestdata
●Double-checkallhomelinksfortheadminrole
●Checkiftheadmincanchangethepasswordwithvalidandinvalidtestdata

7. ●Checkiftheadmincanlogoutsuccessfully
3.TestCasesforCustomersandBankers
●Checkifallvisitorandcustomerlinksareworkingproperly
●Double-checkthecustomer’sloginwithvalidandinvalidtestdata
●Checkthecustomer’sloginwithoutanydata
●Checkthebankerloginwithoutanydata
●Checkthebanker’sloginwithvalidorinvalidtestdata
●Checkwhetherthecustomerorbankerwasabletologoutsuccessfully
4.TestCasesforNewUsers
●Checkifthenewusercanbecreatedwithvalidandinvalidtestdata
●Generateanewuserwithexistingbranchtestdata
●Checkwhetherthecancelandresetoptionisworkingproperly
●Adduserdetailswithvalidandinvalidtestdata
●Checkthedeletionofthenewuser
●Checkwhetherthenewusercanbeverified
●Checkmandatoryinputparameters
●Checkoptionalinputparameters
●Checkwhetherausercanbecreatedwithoutoptionalparameters
5.TestCasesforNetBankingApplication
●Checkwhethertheuserisabletoopenthebankwebsite
●Double-checkifallthelinksonthewebsiteareworking
●Checkwhethertheuserisabletocreateanewaccount
●Verifywhethertheuserisabletologinwithavalidorinvalidusernameandpassword
●Checkiftheuserisallowedtochangethepassword
●Checkwhetherapropererrormessageisshownifaninvalidusernameorpasswordis
entered
●Makesurethatafterrepeatedattemptstologinwithanincorrectpassword,theuser
shouldbeshownanerrormessageandblocked
●Verifywhethertheuserisabletoperformsomebasictransactions
●Makesurethattheuserisabletoaddabeneficiarywithvalidandinvaliddetails
●Checkwhethertheusercandeletethebeneficiary
●Makesurethattheuserisabletomaketransactionstothenewlyaddedbeneficiary
●Verifywhethertheuserisabletoentertheamountinadecimalnumber
●Checkwhethertheuserisnotabletoenternegativenumbersintheamountfield
●Checkwhethertheuserisallowedtomaketransactionswithorwithoutaminimum
balance
●CheckwhethertheusercanaddanewRD

8. ●Makesurethatthecorrectmessageisshowingincaseofatransactiondonewithan
insufficientbalance
●Checkwhethertheuserisaskedforconfirmationbeforeanytransactionismade
●Checkwhetheracknowledgmentreceiptsareprovidedoneachsuccessfultransaction
●Checkiftheuserisabletotransfermoneytomultipleaccounts
●Checkwhethertheusercancancelthetransaction
●Makesurethattheaccountdetailsreflectthefinancialtransactionsdone
●Checkwhetherthetimeoutfeaturehasbeenimplemented
●Makesurethatincaseofsessiontimeout,ausershouldloginagain
●Makesurethatthepropersessiontimeoutisdoneincaseofanyinactivity
●Makesurethatwhiledoingthetransaction,theuseristakentosecuremode
●Checkwhethertheuserwasabletologoutsuccessfully
●Double-checkthesearchandresetoptions
WhataretheEssentialStepstoImprovetheBanking
ApplicationTestResults?
●Testthebankingdomainapplicationsregularly
●Takecontrolandparticipateinalltestingteamactivities,suchascollectingrequirements,
reviewingthem,andcomposingatestingscenario
●Involverealuserstohelpyougetthemostreliableresults
●Useacombinationofmanualandautomatedtesting
●Userealdevicesfortesting,asemulatorscannotreplacetestingonrealmobiledevices
●Collectfeedbacktoimproveyourapp’sperformance
Conclusion
Webandmobilebankingappsarebecomingthemostcrucialplatformsforfinancialinstitutions
tointeractwithconsumerseffectivelyandbuildstrongcustomerrelationshipsthathelpretain
them.Today,customersexpecttheironlinebankingexperiencestobejustassmoothandeasy
astheirin-personbankingexperiences.Thus,awebsiteorappwithweaksecurityora
lacklusteruserexperiencecanleadtopoorcustomersatisfactionratings,lowerbrand
reputation,litigation,poorcustomerretentionrates,andevenlossofcustomers.Around46%of
thecustomersbelowtheageof55yearswouldswitchbanksforabetterdigitalexperience,
accordingtotheMobiquityDigitalBankingReport.
Asof2023,theglobalaveragecostofadatabreachhasrisentoUSD4.45million,reflectinga
15%increaseoverthepastthreeyears.Recentfindingsindicatethat51%oforganizationsare
planningtoboosttheirsecurityinvestmentsinresponsetodatabreaches,directingresources
towardincidentresponse(IR)planningandtesting,employeetraining,andtheadoptionof
advancedthreatdetectionandresponsetools.Notably,astudybyIBMunderscoresthe
significanceofswiftincidentresponse,revealingthatorganizationscontainingabreachinless

9. than200daysexperienceacostsavingsofnearly30%.Thisemphasizesthecriticalroleof
proactivemeasuresinmitigatingandminimizingthefinancialimpactofdatabreaches.
Therefore,assomanyfactorsremainatstakefortheBFSIindustry,bankingdomainapplication
testingnotonlyplaysacrucialroleinthebankingsoftwaredevelopmentlifecyclebutalso
becomescrucialtomaintainingpositivecustomerrelationshipsandupholdingtheinstitution's
reputation.
HeadSpinsolutionshelpyourtestingteamsensureyourapp'stestingrequirementsaremet,
fromfunctional,performance,andregressiontestingtoguaranteeingmobilebankingsolutions'
security,accessibility,compliance,andglobalconsistency.Ourteamsareavailabletohelpyou
getthemostoutofyourinvestmentandassureoptimaldigitalexperiencesforyourcustomers
ArticleSource:
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https://www.headspin.io/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-testing-banking-domain-applic
ations