Payment testing – are you a superhero or a dinosaur?

The need for financial institutions to maintain robust, efficient, and cost-effective payment testing is crucial, right? It’s not rocket science, it’s just something we all know needs to be done. No one wants a payment failure on their watch.

If you’re already using a highly automated, first-rate digital testing programme ensuring payments are executed without issue, then you can rest easy. If not or have doubts, maybe you should read on!

Your IT people have two choices as I see it. They can be a superhero in your organisation testing payments systems using best practices, utilising the latest technology, and facilitating infinite, seamless payment possibilities protecting your customers and your business. Or on the other hand, they can be a dinosaur using clunky, outdated payment testing solutions which will inevitably lead to disaster. We all know how it ended for the dinosaurs!

Payment testing needs to keep up to date adapting to changing regulations, technologies, security threats, customer expectations, and the evolving business environment. Failing to do so can result in a whole range of problems, lost opportunities for growth, and reduced competitiveness.

Payment testing – what you should be looking out for

Payment testing needs to be kept current for a number of important reasons. Listed here are some key considerations as I see them.

One certainty we see on a daily basis is constantly evolving payment methods and technologies. New payment gateways, mobile payment options, and digital wallets are introduced regularly. Payment testing needs to adapt to these changes to ensure that systems can handle new payment methods without issue. The use of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for instance play a crucial role in effective payment testing by enabling communication and data exchange between different components of payment systems, such as payment gateways, merchant platforms, financial institutions, and more. IT teams need to be up to speed with the latest API technologies.

So what else? Payment processing is quite rightly subject to thorough regulations and standards. Testing must stay current to ensure compliance with these regulations – it’s the law!

One of the most common fears within business is the threat of cyberattacks. As security threats become more sophisticated, payment testing must also evolve to address these new threats. Keeping up to date with security best practices is crucial to protect sensitive payment data.

Efficient payment testing will ensure a seamless and user-friendly experience for your customers. As their needs change, payment testing must adapt to reflect new expectations. If your customers experience a poor payment service you will potentially lose them and the revenue they generate.

Many businesses rely on third-party services for payment processing, such as payment gateways and merchant services. These services will inevitably change their APIs and requirements, payment testing needs to keep pace to maintain smooth integrations.

As businesses grow and customer volumes increase, payment systems need to be able handle a larger number of transactions. Does your current testing system manage this requirement adequately?

Payment processing systems are typically part of larger software applications. As these applications receive updates and improvements, testing needs to ensure that the payment components function correctly within the updated software environment.

The list continues. Data Privacy remains a hot topic. Data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), affect payment processing. Testing needs to stay current with requirements to ensure personal and financial data is handled in a compliant manner.

What about competitive advantage? Businesses that offer the latest and most convenient payment options are more likely to attract and retain customers.

And finally in my list, outdated payment systems and testing procedures become unreliable and prone to failure. We’ve all seen examples reported in the press. Keeping payment testing current helps ensure uninterrupted operation and prevents potential disruptions and the associated consequences

These are the key points that have come first to mind, no doubt you’ve thought of more. It just goes to show the scale of the problem if financial institutions don’t test payment systems appropriately.

Action needed

So to conclude. Days are numbered for the dinosaurs using short-term, people-dominated or dated payment testing solutions. The future is a highly automated option allowing banks to test compliantly with precision, speed, cost-effectiveness, risk reduction, and expandability. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be a superhero saving the day!

Effective payment testing remains key to the future health of all banks and financial institutions  – partnering with a progressive, specialist provider will provide peace of mind in a rapidly changing, financial services environment.

Kevin Emery – Chief Commercial Officer, Iliad Solutions