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Free CT-FT practice test: 30 questions with answers

30 original questions for Certified Tester Finance Testing (CT-FT), drawn from every topic area. Answer each one to see whether you got it right and why. No sign-up.

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CT-FT exam guide: topics, cost and format

All 30 CT-FT questions with answers

The same questions as the test above, grouped by exam topic. Open any question to see the answer and explanation.

Introduction to the Financial Services Industry (5 questions)

  1. Question 1

    A tester who is new to a retail banking project must design tests for a monthly account fee rule. She knows test design techniques well but has never worked with fee rules. What is the most effective first step?

    1. AWrite test cases from the technical specification alone and refine them after the first test run
    2. BAsk developers to automate the fee calculations so that testing can start before the rules are clear
    3. CMeet business analysts and product owners to learn the fee rules and their known exceptions
    4. DReuse the test cases from an earlier banking project without checking them against the current rules
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    Domain knowledge lets testers understand the business rules and exceptions that a meaningful test must cover. Writing from the specification alone can miss business exceptions, automating before the rules are understood wastes effort, and reusing old cases without checking them against current rules gives false confidence.

  2. Question 2

    Which statement best describes the role of domain knowledge in testing a financial system?

    1. AIt replaces the need for systematic test design techniques such as boundary value analysis
    2. BIt helps testers judge whether expected results reflect how the business actually behaves
    3. CIt is mainly needed for performance testing of trading platforms and payment gateways
    4. DIt is the responsibility of the developers who write the code, not the testing team
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Domain knowledge allows testers to check whether expected results match real business behaviour, which matters most when the specification is incomplete. It does not replace test design techniques, it is not limited to performance testing, and it is not solely a developer responsibility.

  3. Question 3

    A bank's core system calculates a customer's available balance for a current account with an agreed overdraft. Which formula should the tester use as the expected result?

    1. ALedger balance minus the overdraft limit, ignoring pending debits and holds on the account
    2. BLedger balance plus the overdraft limit, minus pending debits and holds on the account
    3. CLedger balance only, because the overdraft limit never affects the available amount
    4. DOverdraft limit only, because the ledger balance is not relevant to the available amount
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Available balance is normally the ledger balance plus any agreed overdraft limit, less pending debits and holds. Ignoring the limit, ignoring holds or using the limit alone gives a wrong expected result. Testers need this domain rule to set the oracle.

  4. Question 4

    A payments team is planning tests for a system that moves money between institutions. The team lead asks testers to learn the settlement timing and daily cut-off times before designing tests. Why does this matter?

    1. ASettlement timing decides which programming language the payment module must be written in for the bank
    2. BCut-off times only affect how the user interface lays out the transaction history screen
    3. CEnd-of-day tests depend on when a payment becomes final, so expected results need correct cut-offs
    4. DSettlement rules remove the need to define expected results for each individual payment transaction tested
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    Whether a payment is settled before or after a cut-off changes its end-of-day status, so the expected results depend on that timing. Programming language choice and screen layout are unrelated to settlement, and settlement rules never remove the need for expected results.

  5. Question 5

    In financial services testing, what is the main value of a well-defined test oracle for an interest accrual calculation?

    1. AIt removes the need for boundary value analysis on the input balances
    2. BIt records how long each calculation test takes to run during the nightly build
    3. CIt supplies the expected result against which the actual output is compared
    4. DIt generates test input data automatically from a copy of production records
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    A test oracle is the source of expected results, so the tester can decide whether the actual output is correct. Boundary value analysis is still needed, timing records are unrelated to correctness, and generating input data is a separate task from judging outputs.

Compliance Testing (5 questions)

  1. Question 6

    A bank must show auditors that every change to its loan approval rules was tested against the regulation the rule supports. Which practice best provides this evidence?

    1. AA traceability matrix linking each regulation to rules, test cases and results
    2. BStoring the final approved code in a shared folder without any linked test records
    3. CRunning the full regression suite once a year just before the external audit takes place
    4. DRelying on developers' verbal confirmation that the rules were checked against the law
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    A traceability matrix links each regulatory requirement to the rule, the test cases and the results, which is the evidence auditors look for. Keeping code without linked test records, an annual regression run, or verbal assurance does not show that each rule was tested against its requirement.

  2. Question 7

    Which statement about compliance testing is correct?

    1. AIt checks only that the system responds quickly when many transactions are processed at once
    2. BIt is a one-time activity carried out only when the system is first released to production
    3. CIt is complete once business users have signed off the user acceptance test results
    4. DIt verifies that system behaviour conforms to applicable laws, regulations and internal policies
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: D

    Compliance testing checks that the system conforms to laws, regulations and internal policies, and it is repeated as the system changes. Speed under load, user sign-off and a single release check are each only part of the picture.

  3. Question 8

    An auditor asks how the firm knows that a new anti-money-laundering rule is enforced by the transaction monitoring system. Which testing approach answers this best?

    1. AReviewing how many defects were logged against the monitoring module during the last quarter
    2. BRunning suspicious transaction patterns through the system and checking that alerts fire
    3. CMeasuring the average response time of the monitoring dashboard while it is under load
    4. DAsking the monitoring team to confirm that the rule is written correctly in the design document
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Running suspicious transaction patterns through the system and checking that alerts are raised gives direct evidence that the rule is enforced. Defect counts, dashboard response times and a written confirmation in a design document do not prove that the rule works in operation.

  4. Question 9

    Which two activities are part of compliance testing for a financial application? (Choose two.)

    1. AConfirming that audit logs record who changed a customer credit limit and when
    2. BMeasuring the maximum number of concurrent users that the customer portal supports
    3. CChecking that required disclosures appear on every account statement that is produced
    4. DComparing the colour palette of the mobile app with the approved brand guidelines
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A, C

    Audit log content and required disclosures are both controls that compliance testing must verify against regulation or policy. Concurrent user capacity is a performance concern and colour palettes are a branding concern, so neither is compliance testing.

  5. Question 10

    A payment service is deployed several times a week through a continuous delivery pipeline. Compliance officers need assurance that each release still meets the control requirements. What is the most suitable approach?

    1. AAdd automated compliance checks to every pipeline build that report results
    2. BSchedule one full manual compliance review each year and accept all releases until then
    3. CRemove the compliance checks from the pipeline so that releases are not delayed by reviews
    4. DAsk each developer to sign a statement that their change is compliant, without running any tests
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    Automated compliance checks in the pipeline give evidence for each release continuously rather than once a year. An annual review, removing the checks, or unverified developer statements leave releases without evidence.

Risk-Based Testing (5 questions)

  1. Question 11

    In risk-based testing, how is the level of a product risk usually determined?

    1. ABy the seniority of the developer who built the feature and reviewed the code
    2. BBy the number of automated and manual test cases written for the feature
    3. CBy likelihood of failure combined with the impact that the failure would have
    4. DBy the total number of lines of code in the module that contains the feature
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    Product risk level is usually based on the likelihood that a failure occurs and the impact if it does. The number of test cases, the developer's seniority and the code size may influence effort but do not define the risk level itself.

  2. Question 12

    A bank must release a change to its interest calculation engine together with a cosmetic redesign of the statement page. Test time is limited. How should the test manager prioritise?

    1. ATest modules in alphabetical order by name so that coverage can be reported in a clear sequence
    2. BTest the statement layout first, because customers see that page every day and notice changes
    3. CTest both areas with equal effort so that no stakeholder feels their request was overlooked
    4. DTest the interest engine first, since a calculation error would have high financial impact
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: D

    Risk-based prioritisation puts the highest financial-impact area first. Visible but cosmetic changes carry lower risk, equal effort ignores risk, and alphabetical ordering has no connection to risk.

  3. Question 13

    Which statement best describes the principle of risk-based testing?

    1. AEvery requirement receives exactly the same number of test cases, regardless of its business purpose
    2. BTesting is limited to features that have never failed in any earlier release of the product
    3. CRisks are identified only after testing is complete, so that the results can guide future planning
    4. DTesting effort and focus are assigned according to the level of risk that each item presents
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: D

    Risk-based testing directs effort toward the areas with the highest risk, so the amount and depth of testing follow the risk level. Equal allocation, limiting tests to features that have never failed, and identifying risks after testing all contradict this principle.

  4. Question 14

    A risk workshop for a new digital lending platform lists several risks. Which two are product risks rather than project risks? (Choose two.)

    1. AThe loan scoring engine may calculate incorrect repayment schedules for some loan types
    2. BTwo experienced testers may leave the project before the system test phase begins
    3. CCredit decisions may fail to respect the configured affordability limits for applicants
    4. DThe external vendor may deliver the test environment several weeks later than planned
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A, C

    Product risks concern the quality of the delivered system, so incorrect repayment schedules and credit decisions that break affordability limits are product risks. Staff departures and late environments are project risks because they affect schedule and resources.

  5. Question 15

    Which test activity turns the assessed risk level of each item into decisions about test depth and test order?

    1. ARisk-based test planning and prioritisation
    2. BProvisioning of the shared test environment for the team
    3. CTriage of defects found after the system goes live
    4. DArchiving of final test results at the end of the project
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    Risk-based test planning uses the assessed risk of each item to decide how deeply it is tested and in what order. Post-release triage, environment provisioning and archiving are activities that do not set test depth or priority.

Data Testing and Data Management (5 questions)

  1. Question 16

    A daily reconciliation shows that the total of ledger postings differs from the total of settled payments by a small amount. What should the tester do first?

    1. ARemove the day's transactions from the report so that no discrepancy appears in the output
    2. BAdjust the ledger total by hand so that the two totals agree before the report is issued
    3. CFind the individual records behind the difference and trace them across both systems
    4. DAccept the difference as normal rounding and close the reconciliation without investigation
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    Tracing the individual records behind a reconciliation difference is how the cause, such as a missing posting or a timing gap, is found. Hiding transactions, editing totals by hand or accepting the gap without investigation would conceal a real data defect.

  2. Question 17

    Which technique best confirms that data moved from a source system to a target system is complete?

    1. AComparing record counts and control totals such as amount sums between source and target
    2. BDisplaying one sample record in the target system and confirming that it looks correct
    3. CChecking that the target screens use the same fonts and colours as the source application
    4. DMeasuring how long the overnight extract job takes to complete compared with the last run
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    Record counts and control totals such as amount sums show whether all records arrived, which a single sample record cannot prove. Fonts and colours are presentation concerns, and job duration says nothing about completeness.

  3. Question 18

    A test team needs production-like customer data in a system test environment, and the data includes personal information. Which approach best meets data privacy expectations while keeping the data realistic?

    1. ACopy the production data unchanged into the test environment and limit access to the test team
    2. BMask or anonymise personal fields before the data is loaded into the test environment
    3. CKeep the production extract but rename the environment so that it is clearly not the live system
    4. DEmail an extract of production records to each tester so that they can work on it offline
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Masking or anonymising personal fields protects customers while preserving realistic values and relationships for testing. Unchanged copies, renaming an environment and emailing extracts all expose personal data and do not remove the privacy risk.

  4. Question 19

    Which two practices help keep data accurate and consistent across the systems of a financial institution? (Choose two.)

    1. AEnforcing referential integrity between related tables and shared reference data
    2. BStoring monetary amounts as approximate binary floating-point values for faster processing
    3. CApplying validation rules at data entry and again at each system integration point
    4. DLetting each department keep its own copy of customer master data without any synchronisation
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A, C

    Referential integrity and validation at entry and at integration points stop invalid or orphaned data from spreading between systems. Approximate floating-point storage of money can produce rounding errors, and unsynchronised copies of master data cause inconsistency.

  5. Question 20

    A data migration moves two million customer accounts from a legacy platform to a new one. Record counts and control totals match after migration, but some balances are held in the wrong currency. What does this result show?

    1. AThe migration is fully verified, since record counts and totals are the only measures of correctness
    2. BCount and total checks confirm completeness but do not prove that each value is correct in meaning
    3. CThe legacy platform must have stored currency codes incorrectly, so no further testing is needed
    4. DThe problem is only cosmetic, because the currency is displayed and not used in calculations
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Matching counts and totals show that records arrived, but a wrong currency shows that the meaning of the values was not checked. Claiming full verification, blaming the legacy data without retesting, or calling it cosmetic ignores a real calculation and reporting risk.

Functional and Non-Functional Testing (5 questions)

  1. Question 21

    A tester verifies a monthly interest calculation for a savings product. The rule uses balance tiers and rounds the final amount. Which test design approach gives the most value for this rule?

    1. AEquivalence partitioning and boundary values around the balance tiers and the rounding points
    2. BLoad testing of the login page to measure its response times under a peak demand profile
    3. CRandom exploratory clicking through the user interface with no expected results recorded
    4. DExploratory testing of the logout function, because every customer uses it at least once
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    Equivalence partitioning and boundary values target the balance tiers and rounding points, where interest rules most often fail. Random clicking without expected results, logout checks and login load tests do not exercise the calculation logic.

  2. Question 22

    Before a large payment run, the operations team asks whether the platform can keep processing transactions for a full business day at steady high volume without memory growth. Which test type fits best?

    1. ASpike testing, which applies a sudden short burst of very high load for a few minutes
    2. BUsability testing, which asks operators to rate how clearly the payment run screens are laid out
    3. CEndurance testing, which applies a sustained load over a long period while monitoring resources
    4. DLocalisation testing, which checks currency symbols and date formats for each target country
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: C

    Endurance testing applies a sustained load for an extended period and watches for memory growth or resource leaks, which matches the scenario. Spike testing uses a short burst, while usability and localisation testing address different quality characteristics.

  3. Question 23

    Which statement about security testing of a financial application is most accurate?

    1. AIt is replaced by ordinary functional testing once the login screens have passed all of their test cases
    2. BIt is the sole responsibility of the network team, and testers do not take part in it at all
    3. CIt only checks that the application encrypts the colours of its buttons and the headers of its pages
    4. DIt can include penetration testing and vulnerability scanning to find exploitable weaknesses
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: D

    Security testing covers activities such as penetration testing and vulnerability scanning that look for weaknesses an attacker could exploit. Passing functional tests does not establish security, encrypting button colours is not a security control, and testers can take part in security testing.

  4. Question 24

    A team is preparing non-functional tests for a trading platform that must stay available during market hours. Which two activities address availability? (Choose two.)

    1. ATesting failover to a standby node and measuring how long service takes to resume
    2. BChecking that the order entry screen wraps text correctly on narrow mobile displays
    3. CSimulating the loss of a data centre and confirming that recovery meets the agreed targets
    4. DVerifying that the currency conversion table displays the correct decimal separator
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A, C

    Failover testing and data centre loss simulation both test whether the service stays available or recovers within agreed targets. Text wrapping and decimal separator display are usability and localisation checks, not availability checks.

  5. Question 25

    A team uses a generative AI assistant to draft functional test cases for a new payment feature. Which control matters most before the cases are used?

    1. AGenerated cases are accepted automatically whenever the assistant reports a high confidence score
    2. BA tester reviews each generated case against the approved requirements and the business rules
    3. CThe assistant is given full production customer records so that the examples look realistic
    4. DThe test cases are published directly to the test management tool as the final approved set
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Human review against approved requirements catches hallucinated or incorrect expected results before they become test assets. Confidence scores are not a reliable quality measure, production records should not be given to an assistant, and publishing without review skips the check.

Test Automation (5 questions)

  1. Question 26

    Which statement describes the main role of test automation in a regulated financial environment?

    1. AIt provides repeatable regression evidence that can be rerun and traced to each release
    2. BIt guarantees that the system contains no defects once the automated scripts all pass
    3. CIt removes the requirement to keep records of test execution for the auditors to review
    4. DIt replaces the need for test design, so testers no longer have to define expected results
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A

    Automated regression suites produce repeatable evidence that can be rerun and linked to specific releases, which supports audit needs. Automation does not replace test design, passing scripts never guarantees zero defects, and execution records remain required.

  2. Question 27

    An automation team has a suite of 3,000 browser scripts that fail intermittently because of timing problems. The suite is needed as evidence for a compliance release. What is the best strategy?

    1. AIncrease the number of automatic retries until every script passes so that the release evidence looks clean
    2. BRun the suite only at weekends so that intermittent failures do not affect the release decision
    3. CDelete the failing scripts and report the remaining passing scripts as complete coverage of the requirements
    4. DStabilise flaky scripts by fixing waits and test data, and investigate the causes of failure
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: D

    Stabilising flaky scripts and investigating their failures keeps the evidence trustworthy. Retrying until green hides defects, deleting failing scripts creates false coverage, and weekend-only runs avoid the problem rather than resolve it.

  3. Question 28

    Which two challenges are typical when automating tests in a regulated financial environment? (Choose two.)

    1. AShowing that automated scripts were validated and placed under change control like other test assets
    2. BAutomation scripts that never need maintenance once the first version has passed
    3. CKeeping automation logs and results traceable to specific releases and their approvals
    4. DAutomated tests can replace all human review of test results in regulated projects
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: A, C

    Automation assets must be validated and controlled, and their results must be traceable to releases and approvals, which regulated environments require. Scripts always need maintenance, and automation cannot fully replace exploratory testing, so those two statements are wrong.

  4. Question 29

    Which automation strategy suits a rule that every interest calculation must follow across thousands of account combinations?

    1. AManual-only testing where one tester checks a single account each working day
    2. BData-driven automation, running one script against many input and expected-result sets
    3. CAutomating screen layout checks only, using pixel comparison of every page in the application
    4. DRecording one exploratory session and replaying it without any parameters or variation
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    Data-driven automation runs one script over many input and expected-result sets, which suits a rule applied across many combinations. Manual single-account checks, layout-only pixel comparisons and replaying one unparameterised session do not cover the rule's combinations.

  5. Question 30

    Why do many automation strategies prefer API-level checks for business rules rather than full user-interface scripts?

    1. AAPI checks replace the need for user acceptance testing of the screens that customers see
    2. BAPI checks are usually faster and less fragile than UI scripts for the same business logic
    3. CUser interface scripts cannot be used at all in a bank because of internal security policies
    4. DAPI checks remove the need for expected results, because the responses are always correct
    Show answer and explanation
    Correct answer: B

    API checks exercise the same business logic faster and with less fragility than UI scripts, which makes them suited to rule checking. They do not replace acceptance testing of screens, UI scripts are not banned by default, and responses still need expected results.