9 Challenges You Face While Testing Online Banking Applications

Banking is today an omni-channel service. A test strategy for the banking sector needs to cover mobile, internet, cloud or social while keeping compliance requirements in mind. Reliability, scalability and correctness of data are of acute importance as these involve monetary transactions. Below we examine some of the challenges associated with testing of internet and mobile banking.

Challenges in testing Internet Banking:

• Variety in internet connections and browsers – Users may login to the webpage from a variety of browsers (Firefox, IE, Chrome etc) using different internet connections (broadband, dial-up etc). Testing should consider the performance of the page across all connections and prominent browsers to provide an optimal banking experience.

• Usage paths – Internet banking is rich in functionality. It can have a huge number of usage paths unlike most other websites. Different users may access different link sequences. Testing should ensure each link connects to the next link seamlessly.

• Usability testing – A bank caters to a wide strata of people some of whom may lack necessary technical skills or financial awareness required to easily perform their banking tasks. The website should be tested for simple and efficient design to make it usable across various groups of customers.

• Security testing – Banking portals, due to their very nature, are prime targets for hacking and fraudulent activities. Using vulnerability scanners and performing penetration testing can reveal propagation of errors and consequent system vulnerabilities. Compliance to international security standards should also be ensured.

• Performance testing – Certain time periods like payday or festival seasons bring a spike in traffic. Unlike other websites, performance failures in banking portals can have a personal effect on the customers. An example in this case is the Cyber Monday IT failure in RBS and NatWest banks that showed incorrect balances and left customers stranded, unable to pay bills at restaurants or check-out in stores.

Challenges in Testing Mobile Banking Apps

• Broad range of devices – Mobile testing in any sector is challenging due to the multitude of devices, platforms and networks a tester needs to consider. Often automation is not well-planned. Adequate attention needs to be given to ensure the app provides an optimal user experience across devices and networks.

• Configuration and design vulnerabilities – In a test survey of 275 apple iOS and Android banking apps, 8 out of 10 apps were found to be in deviation of best practices of software development and were also improperly configured. Testing should uncover such deficiencies so that customer accounts are not compromised.

• Security Testing – The variation in OS and networks across mobile devices makes security testing challenging. Banking apps are sensitive due to the nature of data. Testing should ensure it adheres to security standards across platforms, networks and OS.

• Time to Market – Banks are frequently in a rush to attract customers with new features. Rush to market causes testing teams to cut short on testing. This can have serious consequences on safety of accounts, not to mention the loss of credibility and customer trust.

Cigniti, world’s 3^rd largest independent testing services company specializes in providing testing solutions to the banking and financial services sector. Register for an informative and thought provoking webinar on Jan 28, 09:30 AM GMT to learn how Cigniti & Experitest can help you assure software quality and succeed in the digital age to provide world class experience to Mobile Banking customers.