Paragon Application Systems insights on addressing ePayment testing challenges. http://www.paragonedge.com Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT en-us By March 2012, organizations in the US must comply with ADA regulations from the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, including those requiring voice guidance and voice feedback (for example, text-to-speech [TTS] audio feedback). This article describes what voice guidance is and illustrates options for adding audio to screens-and-states-based Diebold ATMs. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/ada-compliance-voice-guidance-tts-diebold.shtml By March 2012, organizations in the US must comply with ADA regulations from the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, including those requiring voice guidance and voice feedback (for example, text-to-speech [TTS] audio feedback). This article describes what voice guidance is and illustrates options for adding audio to screens-and-states-based NCR ATMs. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/ada-compliance-voice-guidance-tts-ncr.shtml As part of their migration from their BASE24 transaction processing system to an S1 transaction processing system, Alaska Option needed to convert their ATM configuration load files for use with the new system. With their inhouse technical resources already committed to other conversion-related tasks, Alaska Option turned to Paragon Professional Services to take on the load file conversion. In addition to converting the files, Alaska Option wanted to standardize and consolidate their load files, and thus simplify and streamline all future load file maintenance. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/case-studies/atm-file-conversion-alaska-option.shtml Paragon Application Systems, the leading provider of ePayment simulation, configuration and testing to the payment technology industry, announced that Helvetia del Caribe has licensed ATMulator Plus to implement Voice Guidance at the ATM and to test their ATM load files. Helvetia del Caribe is a leading credit union solutions provider in Puerto Rico. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2011news/Helvetia-del-Caribe-Implements-ATM-Voice-Guidance.shtml Global Blue, a leading global service provider of VAT/GST refund and tax free shopping services to international travelers, recently contracted with Paragon Application Systems to develop a financial message simulator for their dynamic currency conversion platform, Currency Choice. When making purchases abroad, Currency Choice offers foreign tourists the opportunity to charge purchases in their home currency and lock in the currency exchange rate at the time of the transaction. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2011news/Global-Blue-Enhances-Testing-of-DCC-with-Paragon-Solutions.shtml Network International, the processing arm of Emirates Bank, licensed software from Paragon Application Systems to automate their system, function, user acceptance, and performance testing. Network International licensed ATMulator Plus for ATM configuration development and testing, multiple versions of FASTest for financial message format simulation and testing, and FASTress for performance and stress testing. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/Network-International-Automates-Testing-with-Paragon-Solutions.shtml CSF International (CSFi), a leading provider of ATM driving and management, electronic payments and transaction switching software worldwide, has relied on ATMulator Plus and ConfigBuilder from Paragon Application Systems to expedite ATM configuration development and testing for over 15 years. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/CSFi-Enhances-ATM-Configuration-Testing-with-Paragon.shtml Today your organization may not be ready to support chip-based payment cards and payment terminals. However, you can begin today to learn more about chip cards, the EMV standards, and what they mean to your organization. This article provides a starting point for your organization as you begin considering your EMV implementation. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/chip-cards-what-and-why-of-emv.shtml SmartSoft, a payments processing software provider, recently utilized FASTress from Paragon Application Systems to determine the improved performance of their Smart Risk Manager (SRM) Credit/Debit Card and Merchant Fraud system. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/SmartSoft-Proves-SRM-Fraud-System-Performance-with-Paragon-FASTress.shtml eCommLink, a leading value-added prepaid debit card processor, recently licensed software from Paragon Application Systems for development and quality assurance testing of their payment products. eCommLink is using Paragon's simulation and testing software FASTest for MasterCard with EMV support and FASTest for PULSE. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/eCommLink-Verifies-Processing-Using-Paragon-FASTest.shtml INTERPRO Technology Inc. (INTERPRO), a leading provider of ATM/EFT processing solutions for the financial and network services industry, has licensed ConfigBuilder from Paragon Application Systems to facilitate their ATM configuration development. INTERPRO required the ability to see the ATM states and screen flow as they developed configuration files. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/INTERPRO-Speeds-ATM-Configuration-Development-with-ConfigBuilder.shtml Evertec, a leading provider of ePayment transaction processing services in Latin America, has licensed software and services from Paragon Application Systems to implement voice guidance in their ATM network. Evertec licensed the text-to-speech add-on module for ATMulator Plus, Paragon’s ATM simulation, configuration and testing tool, as well as Paragon Professional Services to implement text-to-speech. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/Evertec-Implements-Voice-Guidance-At-ATMs-With-Paragon.shtml Paragon Application Systems recently partnered with Quality Kiosk to perform a stress testing engagement using Paragon’s stress testing solution, FASTress and Paragon Professional Services at a leading retail bank in the United Arab Emirates. The bank was migrating their host operating system to Postilion and required stress testing to confirm that their network of 800 ATMs could handle the transaction volume. With the ATM ePayment testing expertise of Paragon and the testing proficiency of Quality Kiosk, the engagement was successfully completed in just one month. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/System-Migration-Paragon-Quality-Kiosk.shtml As organizations look for ways to increase efficiency and lower costs, many are reconsidering their software deployment options and choosing Software as a Service (SaaS). Particularly for organizations with a global presence, SaaS promises to reduce the time and effort spent maintaining multiple copies of desktop software and the systems that support them. But is SaaS a workable solution for ePayments testing? This article investigates how payments system testing via a SaaS offering could save some organizations time, frustration—and money. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/epayments-testing-saas.shtml Even if your organization has been issuing magnetic stripe cards for years, you realize the switch to issuing chip cards (sometimes referred to as EMV cards, ICCs [integrated circuit cards], or smart cards) is much more complicated than simply adding a microchip to your card design specs and choosing a chip card manufacturer to produce the plastics. You realize the move to chip cards will ultimately affect every aspect of your institution, from your branch operations to your payments batch processing. Even so, as a card issuer, focusing first on chip card issuance can be a logical starting point in planning your EMV implementation. This article addresses seven key decisions your organization must make before issuing its first chip card. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/chip-card-implementation-for-issuers.shtml Turkish Economy Bank (TEB), a leading bank in Turkey, recently leased FASTress and professional services from Paragon Application Systems to stress test their new payment system. TEB required confirmation that their new transaction processing platform could reliably handle peak transaction volumes and their growing customer base. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/TEB-confirms-system-capacity-with-Paragon-FASTress.shtml When your institution is planning an EMV implementation (that is the implementation of the Europay, MasterCard, Visa standard for integrated chip cards), it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the project scope. As an EMV transaction-acquiring institution, your organization can expect changes in nearly every division resulting from this fundamental shift in payments processing. When tackling such an imposing project, many experts recommend taking one small step at the time. For acquirers, an obvious first step is evaluating their existing devices and planning for chip-compatible ones. Answering the following device-related questions will help you determine the budget and timeline for your institution’s EMV implementation. These questions must be answered based on your institution’s business plan, network size, card associations, and so forth; and each institution’s answers will likely vary. Despite their differences, however, all acquiring institutions should incorporate these considerations into their EMV implementation planning. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/emv-planning-for-acquirers.shtml To verify their system capacity when moving from a single-node to multi-node system, Bank of Hawaii needed to conduct performance and regression testing. Based on 10 years of positive experience with solutions from Paragon Application Systems, Bank of Hawaii chose Paragon FASTress for stress testing and Paragon FASTest for regression testing. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2010news/Paragon-Bank-of-Hawaii-Stress-Test.shtml What is the common denominator for virtually every change faced by financial institutions today? "Make this change and you’re going to need to test. And test again." Which changes will result in the foremost challenges to your FI? What will you need to test, and how? How do you begin to prepare your testers—and your management—for these challenges? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/top-12-financial-industry-challenges.shtml Dana Blegen, Product Support Manager for Paragon Application Systems has earned the Certified Smart Card Industry Professional Certification (CSCIP) from the Smart Card Alliance, a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology. Blegen joins a select group of industry professionals who have demonstrated expertise in Smart Card technology. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/Paragons-Blegen-earns-CSCIP-Certification.shtml ¿Implementando EMV en cajeros Diebold?. Mientras hacía una nueva carga para el cajero de pruebas Diebold Agilis 91x de Paragon, Dana Blegen, Gerente de soporte para los productos de Paragon, encontró unos cuantos "reductores de velocidad". He aquí sus recomendaciones para una más fácil y rápida implementación de EMV en cajeros Diebold. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/diebold-emv-setup-espanol.shtml Many major corporations are realizing that they can gain efficiencies by accessing software applications in the "cloud" – the popular symbol for the Internet. As a leader in ePayment testing software, Paragon Application Systems developed Web FASTest to offer their customers centralized, unattended, Web-based testing. Motivated by a combination of user interest, advances in technology, and an economy that demands unparalleled efficiency, Paragon has extended Web FASTest to a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, a cloud computing technology. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/Paragon_Develops_ePayment_Testing_in_the_Cloud.shtml Paragon Application Systems, a leading global ePayment simulation, configuration and testing software provider, announces the appointment of Mark Simerly as Director of Managed Services. Simerly has over 20 years of experience in financial services at ACI Worldwide in development, technical sales support and global sales. Most recently, Simerly was the Solutions Architect for ACI On Demand. Simerly is in charge of developing and deploying Paragon's SaaS testing solution. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/Paragon_Director_Managed_Services.shtml Paragon Application Systems, a leading global provider of ePayment simulation, configuration and testing software, today announced that ChamsSwitch, an electronic payment switch in Nigeria recently licensed Paragon's ATMulator Plus. ChamsSwitch is using ATMulator Plus to create ATM screens and states and test transaction sets that they implement for their customers. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/ChamsSwitch_Licenses_ATMulator_Plus.shtml Setting up Diebold EMV? While building a new operation download for Paragon's Diebold Agilis 91x ATM test machine, Dana Blegen, Paragon's Product Support Manager, encountered a few "speed bumps." Here are his tips for faster, easier Diebold EMV setup. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/diebold_emv_setup.shtml Banelco, a leading ATM network in Argentina, recently licensed software from Paragon Application Systems to simulate and test their ATMs and interfaces with their member organizations. Banelco licensed Paragon’s ATMulator for Diebold and NCR simulation, configuration and testing and FASTest for quality assurance and regression testing. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/banelco_optimizes_testing_w_paragon.shtml While EMV (chip) cards offer increased security and significant reduction of fraud, chip-and-PIN technology cannot eliminate EMV card fraud entirely. As an EMV card issuer, you must test your fraud detection system to ensure that when suspicious chip card transactions occur, they are promptly identified. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/emv_card_fraud_testing.shtml What were the top 10 takeaways? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/tisqa_conference_agile_testing.shtml Harold Pruitt, Solutions Engineer from Paragon Application Systems, will present "Staying Ahead of EMV Card Fraud." This discussion examines possible EMV card fraud scenarios and ways to test them. Paragon will also exhibit at the conference. "Card fraud is an ongoing challenge for financial institutions and merchants," says Pruitt. "Migrating from magnetic stripe cards to EMV smart cards has reduced fraud, but not completely eliminated it. Since it is difficult to test EMV fraud using physical devices, financial institutions need ways to simulate and test fraud scenarios. The challenge for issuers is making sure that their fraud detection system is accurately flagging EMV card fraud scenarios like invalid chip data, bad offline PIN’s, damaged chip cards with rewritten magnetic stripes and multiple transactions from diverse geographies." http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/paragon_emv_card_fraud_cards_middle_east.shtml Paragon’s Wynn Lam is appointed managing director for growing Asia-Pacific operation. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/paragon_establishes_ap_office.shtml What were the top 10 takeaways? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/tisqa_conference_agile_testing.shtml Paragon experiences continued growth fueled by increased demand for their products and professional services, new markets and international expansion. http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/paragon_2008_year_end_financial_results.shtml You know testing is more than clicking. What comprises the bulk of test activity? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/epayments_testing_timeline.shtml There are many components of EMV testing. What lies beyond testing cards and terminals? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/emv_host_testing_considerations.shtml John Chozas joins Paragon as Regional Sales Director; Karen Lemke joins as Global Account Manager http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/2009news/paragon_expands_sales_force_chozas_lemke.shtml End-to-end testing includes verifying system performance. How can you include this 'last mile' of testing? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/stress_testing_payment_systems.shtml Testing terms vary from one industry to another. What terms are used in electronic payments testing? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/electronic_payments_testing_primer.shtml Network mandates are inevitable. How do you make testing easier? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/financial_network_mandate_testing.shtml No organization can test everything. How do you decide what to test? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/prioritizing_EFT_testing.shtml Proving that code "works" isn't enough. How do you change your testing perspective? http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/black_box_financial_transaction_testing.shtml If you are a financial institution, merchant, or processor in Canada, you participate in a complex and sophisticated online payment system. In fact, this premiere electronic payments system successfully supports the largest number of PIN-based debit transactions worldwide (with a reported 3.1 billion debit transactions in 2005). Now you will become the first in North America to make what many define as a paradigm shift in payment processing: implementation of the EMV (Europay MasterCard Visa) standard for the Integrated Chip Card (ICC). http://www.paragonedge.com/Paragonweb/news/industry_insights/implementing-emv-in-canada.shtml