How to Test Banking Applications and Websites

Since banking applications and websites are an important component for remote use of services, their quality must meet high standards. To ensure this, it is necessary to carry out testing even though testing the software of banking applications and websites is a rather labor-intensive process.

General information

It is recommended to conduct testing at all stages of development and upon completion of software creation for a given product. This will allow you to timely identify errors and correct the problem before the product is used. If low-quality products enter the market, then during use the software’s shortcomings will immediately be revealed, which will entail a decrease in the company’s trust and significant financial costs for adjusting the banking application or website.

Next, we will look at what should be emphasized when conducting testing to obtain an effective test result and high-quality products before putting them into operation.

How to test correctly?

For software to be of high quality, it is not the fact of testing itself that is important, but the correct approach and focusing on certain aspects during testing.

It is necessary to check not only new but also existing functionality

Because banks prefer to create software using the latest functionality, functional and other types of web testing should be performed not only for newly introduced functions (regression testing) but also for existing ones, which create the basis for new functionality.

Testing each function separately is considered a proven method, but it is better to concentrate on the performance of the main functionality. This will ensure the quality of the created software and will not cause user dissatisfaction.

Use both manual and automated testing

The success of released products depends on timely release and quality, which is important for banking applications. By using automated testing, many tests are completed faster and more efficiently by eliminating human errors. Such checks will be needed in recurring scenarios. However, not all test scripts are checked in an automated way. Manual checks are in addition to automatic checks and may include the following:

  • usability testing;
  • research checks;
  • specialized tests, and other things that can significantly improve the quality of the developed software.

Although this combination can be quite expensive, you get higher-quality software.

Increase inspection coverage for electronic devices

During testing, it is important to consider which electronic gadgets users can use to access the application. Testers face the difficult task of testing combinations of mobile device usage:

  • manufacturer;
  • screen diagonal;
  • browser type;
  • type of operating system;
  • hardware components, and other aspects.

Increasing test coverage allows the QA team to find near-bottlenecks.

Provide maximum user accessibility

Since banking applications are used by millions of people located in various conditions (remoteness, poor infrastructure, people with disabilities), maximum general accessibility of the created products should be provided. Therefore, performing accessibility testing is important to the distribution and use of an application or website. Don’t know all the requirements for testing banking and fintech applications? Find experienced QA specialists and ask your questions on this page.

For example, websites are checked for compliance with WCAG (Accessibility Guidelines), which includes the need to check operating system compatibility.

Test security to identify weaknesses

Because banking applications are subject to the greatest number of cyber attacks, it is important to provide a high level of security in the software, eliminating the possibility of unauthorized entry into the system. Thus, there will be reliable protection of confidential information and financial resources of users.

In the created program, it is necessary to provide for various negative scenarios that the system can reflect and prevent the possibility of disrupting the usefulness and correct functionality of the system. For example, the login channel is considered an important security consideration. Checking it will provide an opportunity to detect weaknesses that prevent users from logging into their accounts and using the services of the service. Two-step personal identification should be provided and it should not be possible to create simple passwords for logging into the system.

For more reliable protection, you need to conduct penetration testing, which will improve the security of your banking application software. By finding weak places, it is possible to provide them with stronger protection from hacker penetrations. Therefore, it is so important to provide for all hacking scenarios and protect weak points in the program.

Check performance

One of the advantages of banking apps and websites is their 24/7 availability. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the continuous operation of the software around the clock, regardless of the user load. To do this, load testing and performance testing are carried out. Stress testing makes it possible to find out the behavior of the program and its performance during periods of increased load and stressful scenarios (sharp increase in traffic). Therefore, it is important to ensure uninterrupted operation of the program to ensure stable operation.

Check the program for ease of use

Since banking applications are used by a huge number of people of different ages and with different experiences, it is necessary to take into account the convenience and ease of use of the created products. Usability testing allows you to detect various inconveniences and incomprehensibility in using an application or website. For example, the interface should be as clear and unconfusing as possible, so that the user can easily find the desired function. You also need to check the loading speed of the application and its content.

If all of the above aspects of testing are taken into account, the finished software will be of high quality and productive, which means it will have a large user audience.