Understanding and Testing FinTech Application

The adoption and rapid rise of the smartphones and internet have created huge opportunities for different types of businesses from ride-hailing applications to food ordering, from trading platforms that runs on the cellphones to online shopping stores whether it is Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Consumer (B2C).

With that rapid rise in different areas of business there is a huge potential in FinTech (Financial technology is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. –Investopedia.com) area within Pakistan. There has been significant number of FinTech companies have generated millions of dollars of funding from different venture capitals.

Our point of discussion here is understanding the different compliance standard required for smooth FinTech operations and why should the software testing teams should know about it so that can better understand the risk and develop the test strategy that is well suited for the product.

Since FinTech (Financial Technology) has brought huge opportunity for Open Banking and Financial firms, there are inherent challenges that FinTech firms have long been fighting. Most of the FinTech failures are belonging to at least some or all of the following issues.

1.???Lack of understanding of the security threats

2.???Failure to be in compliance with regulatory standards (e.g. PCI DSS)

3.???Sophisticated integrations with large organization processes

4.???Dealing with forever changing device hardware and software

5.???Making Complex Transaction as easy as possible

6.???Managing and addressing risk involving financial information

7.???Understanding and dealing with local bureaucracy

Why FinTech Application Testing Needed

When there are potential business liabilities like lack of trust, low sales, legal fines and penalties, fraud or even going out of business knocking at the door the need of dedicated Testing team is inevitable. The testing team will be helpful in bringing the information about the product if it is fit-for-purpose and fit-for-use which is the crux of the Application / Product Quality.

Following are the few top priorities to consider while designing the Test Strategy for the financial technology applications

Compliance

Right from the beginning it has to be ensured that company adheres to local regulations in the country where they are doing business.

Usability

With life becoming more and faster everyday people want the applications they use to follow the same. They want that they have to press less to achieve more on their portable devices. Usability among other things is the most critical success factor of any software let alone FinTech application. If there are complex workflows to achieve simple tasks e.g. send-money transactions the market penetrations will be very difficult for the organization.

Data Protection

Data protection is about ensuring that significant effort and controls are put in place within the technology in order to avoid corruption, loss and misuse of the customers’ data. European Union Countries has strict penalties for the organizations if they failed to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Security

Taking the in-depth approach to assess the needs of security testing is critical for the success of the product and consumers’ confidence. Take a look at the article where we discuss Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA Triad).

Testing Process with Development Process

Integrating the testing process in the development life cycle process is critical for overall delivery and budget. There is nothing like one-size-fits-all in testing FinTech application by adopting V-model or W-model or Waterfall. The overall testing process should be closely coupled with every development activity within the life cycle.