All in one: choosing QA ALM solutions to get compliant in banking
Agile Auditability
18 mins read
December 11, 2023

All in one: choosing QA ALM solutions to get compliant in banking

As technology is emerging, financial institutions are quickly embracing digital technology and are moving towards digitization. As a result, the banking industry now massively depends on technology and diverse banking applications, serving the customers per Web and Native app solutions. Since bank working involves customersā€™ crucial data, which is needed to perform transactions 24/7, it becomes essential for banking systems to have the right QA strategy.Ā 

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Martin Koch

QA testing ensures the outstanding quality of banking applications before releasing them to the customers. Testing ensures that the product is defect-free, enables seamless transactions, and delivers a great customer experience.

Hence, banking systems need to leverage QA testing to get high-quality and flawless banking applications. Banks have to comply with specific regulations, rules, and regulations. Eventually, all banking systems require QA testing to validate that they are not dropping on open banking API terms and conditions. This process is called software QA compliance in banking. Which, in simple terms, means that software is developed and tested according to the predefined standards.

What steps does a QA team take to succeed in the audit?

Advanced technologies such as AI, cloud services, machine learning, and blockchain are rising with more digitization in banking systems. However, customer experience (CX) and customer data security remain the primary focus for the financial sector. As a result, banking systems are looking to improve their applications, simplify customer journeys, and provide a seamless omnichannel experience. This goal involves a good QA process with expert QA professionals specialized in various testing types. QA team needs to execute all kinds of testing to pass the QA full-fledged verification successfully.

Some necessary testing’s which are mandatory for the QA team to test banking applications are described here:

āœ… Banking applications typically have an N-tier architecture.

The most common 3-tier architecture has three layers, i.e., application, presentation, and data layers. Since the Application interface (API) layers contain the logic of an application so, it requires end-to-end QA testing. New business opportunities are offered at the core of banking services by using Open APIs. Therefore, the back-end and middleware systems should support open APIs to enable such services. This alliance involves complex integrations. Banking servers and applications should be tested and assured thoroughly to avoid server outages and ensure high-performing applications under all load conditions. Consequently, verifying all these underlying layers through API testing with an intense quality assurance process becomes mandatory.Ā 

āœ… Banking systems need large-scale Integration with third-party apps such as eCommerce apps, apps, restaurants, etc.

Therefore, Integration and functional testing of banking systems are essential to ensure that these third-party services are appropriately integrated with Banking applications.

āœ… Data security should be assured through security testing.

Therefore, it is vital to perform vulnerability testing of banking systems to check if there are any security loopholes present in the system that cyber attackers can exploit.

āœ… If the cloud is part of a banking software application, then cloud app testing must be done to ensure the smooth functioning of cloud solutions.

This cloud testing process also ensures that data is transferred successfully without damage during data migration for the banking system.

āœ… Customers access the banking applications on different mobile devices, operating systems, and browsers.

Accordingly, banking systems must ensure their banking apps are compatible with several devices, OS, etc. Compatibility testing must be performed across all possible platforms.

āœ… Seamless application navigation requires usability testing.

Customers can access the app through the link on the mobile or web, so the respective application should be open. This behavior can be ensured through useability testing.

āœ… Banking applications provide services to almost all populations, including older adults, young, educated, less educated, etc.

It becomes essential to design banking applications that follow all accessibility regulations and enable easy access to a differently-abled population to ensure inclusivity and fulfill societal responsibility. This behavior is verified through accessibility testing.

āœ…Ā The banking sector is continually endeavoring to utilize AI to enable high-level data analytics, decrease fraudulent activities and save high costs and time.

As a result, the business value of AI in global banking will be reached to $300 billion by 2030, as per the IHS Markit report from April 2019. Thus, AI testing of the banking system is necessary to help the banking sector verify effective AI implementation to ensure innovation and deliver exceptional customer experience.

If you’re intrigued by the strategic aspect of QA compliance, have a look at our testing strategy template. It covers both meeting regulatory requirements and steps to maximise your testing output.

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testing strategy template

Get a compliant & highly efficient testing strategy template

How to find your best ALM solution to get through QA compliance in banking successfully?

Weā€™ve prepared for you an intuitive chart with the comparisons of the suitable QA ALM solutions to help you with compliance in banking.

FeaturesĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  aquaĀ  Ā  OctaneĀ  Ā Ā  PolarionĀ  Ā  CodebeamerĀ  Ā  PractitestĀ  Ā  TuleapĀ  Ā  XRayĀ  Ā  TestrailĀ  Ā  QMeterĀ  Ā  ZephyrĀ  Ā  QtestĀ  Ā  MicrofocusĀ  Ā 
Project managementĀ  Ā  + + + + + + + + + + + +
Code versioningĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Ā  + + + + ā€“ + + ā€“ ā€“ + + +
Code ReviewĀ  Ā  + + + + + + ā€“ + ā€“ + ā€“ +
Continuous IntegrationĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Ā  + + + + + + + + + + + +
Test managementĀ  Ā  + + + + + + ā€“ + + + + +
Documents and deliveriesĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  + + ā€“ + ā€“ + ā€“ ā€“ ā€“ ā€“ ā€“ ā€“
Requirements baselineĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Ā  + + + + + + ā€“ + + + ā€“ +
Defect trackingĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  + + ā€“ + + + ā€“ + ā€“ + + +
Test reportingĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  + + + + + + + + + + + +
Test resultsĀ  Ā  Ā  + + + + + + + + + + + +
Test execution cyclesĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  + + + + + ā€“ + + + + + +
Test planningĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Ā  + + ā€“ + + + + + + + ā€“ ā€“
Tools integration with JiraĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  + + + + + + + + + + + +
Test automation supportĀ  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā Ā  + + + ā€“ + + + + ā€“ ā€“ + ā€“

 

Wrapping up

To ensure a great quality of banking applications before releasing them to the market, QA teams have to perform financial application testing and get compliant with the requirements of ECB. There are tools to help with that, ALMs which can support the QA team throughout out all the process. It is crucial to pick the fit one, so use our table to do so!

aqua cloud brings more than compliance. It is an AI-powered test management system that allows you to quickly generate tests from requirements and complete test case drafts. aqua has a high-profile client portfolio with banking, insurance, and government agencies among the clients.

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FAQ
What is QA in banking?

QA in banking refers to the process of testing and verifying the quality and accuracy of financial applications and systems to ensure they meet regulatory and compliance requirements and operate as intended.

What is the best QA tool for the banking sector?

The best QA tool for the banking sector would depend on specific requirements such as regulatory compliance. However, some popular choices include aqua ALM, Micro Focus Quality Center, HPE Unified Functional Testing, and Selenium.

What are the criterias of choosing a QA tool for banking?

When choosing a QA tool for the banking sector, it’s important to consider criteria such as compliance and regulatory requirements, functionality, ease of use, scalability, integration with other tools, support and maintenance, and cost.

Ensure the tool meets specific regulatory requirements such as data privacy and security, and has the necessary functionalities such as functional testing, performance testing, and security testing.

The tool should be user-friendly, scalable to handle the size and complexity of the financial application, and easily integrate with other tools and systems.

Verify that the vendor provides ongoing support and maintenance, and consider the cost of the tool and its overall value for your organisation.

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