Unifits Test Engine: The first industry-specific solution to automate payment transaction testing.

Both are possible, but most of our customers opt for the on-premises variant of the Test Engine. One reason is that there are multiple and sometimes easier ways to connect the systems on site. Another reason is usually that banks prefer to keep their data on-site, despite Unifits’ extremely high security standards, because it is almost impossible to avoid working with production-related or personal data at least in part during testing.

The Unifits Test Portal and the Unifits Test Engine are complementary solutions. While the portal solution offers unbeatably simple ad-hoc validation and creation for test messages, the test engine is aimed in particular at the permanent automation of end-to-end tests relating to payment transactions. Both solutions have their justification, even in parallel operation. It is quite common for banks to use the Test Portal first, where essential pain points are solved immediately – and this really means “immediately”, and to introduce the Test Engine in a second step. For further details and recommendations based on your specific requirements, please feel free to contact us – we are happy to support you!

Unifits offers all industry standard connectivity options. The most frequently requested options are File Share, MQ Series and Active MQ and, at the customer/bank interface, additionally File Transfer and EBICS (Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard). Connection via web services / APIs is also increasingly in demand due to the open banking trend. Of course, APIs are not an issue either, since the architecture of the test engine itself is also service-oriented and the internal communication of these services is realized on the basis of APIs. This means that if required, even any internal Test Engine service can also be exposed as an API for external use.

The Unifits Test Engine is complementary to such DevOps and ALM tools and not a replacement for them. Of course, this also applies vice versa. The Test Engine can interact with these solutions via APIs, e.g. test cases can be triggered and test results can be queried. Entire test cycle reports can also be transferred so that, for example, compliance with internal documentation obligations is ensured. Again, such DevOps and ALM tools are in no way substitutes for the Test Engine, because the Test Engine contains an enormous amount of business logic, making it a specialized tool for effortless automation of end-to-end testing in payments processing. Feel free to contact us for details, we are happy to support you!

The diversity and complexity of IT landscapes has become too great, far too great, so there is no one-fits-all solution to automate software testing! A more generic solution like Selenium or Tricentis might work for almost everything. But considering only functionality does not tell the whole story on costs and benefits. The Unifits Test Engine is a powerful industry-specific solution tailored to the challenges in a particular area: payment processing and its global transition to ISO. The simulators of test counterparties such as corporate customers and clearing infrastructures available with the Unifits Test Engine are not only extremely useful, but impossible to implement at a reasonable cost with a generic solution. Generic and specific solutions have their respective strengths and thus both have their justification.

The solution has its origins in the first ISO 20022-based projects in Europe and therefore has a special focus on this standard. Over the years, however, it has become apparent that many banks would also like to take advantage of this unique solution for other standards that are currently still in use. Therefore, the Test Engine now supports not only ISO 20022, but also all SWIFT MT message types and, of course, individual proprietary formats that may persist for many years, especially at the customer/bank interface.