Payments Testing - July 15, 2025
The payment industry is under immense pressure to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, bolster fraud prevention, and combat escalating cybersecurity threats. Despite these pressing demands and a substantial body of industry research supporting the business value of automation, many organizations remain hesitant about making the investments necessary to automate their testing and quality assurance (QA) processes.
Automated payment testing offers transformative advantages, from slashing defect-related costs to accelerating delivery timelines, making it a strategic necessity for financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs).
This blog explores the significant and robust body of evidence that supports the value of payment testing automation, drawing on insights from leading organizations like the Consortium for Information & Software Quality (CISQ), Project Management Institute (PMI), Capgemini, Gartner, and Number Analytics, while uncovering additional current data to reinforce why investing in tools like Paragon’s payment testing solutions is a smart choice.
The Business Case for Automation
Manual testing, while still important and relevant, struggles to keep pace with the complexity and speed required in modern payment testing environments. Digital transactions are surging. Capgemini’s World Payments Report 2025 projects non-cash transaction volumes to reach 2,838 billion by 2028, growing at a 15% CAGR from 2023’s 1,411 billion.
This explosive growth underscores the need for reliable, scalable, and secure payment testing systems, as any processing error can lead to lost sales, customer dissatisfaction, or reputational damage. Payment testing automation addresses these challenges by streamlining processes, enhancing accuracy, and reducing costs.
The Numbers Speak Volumes
Out of respect for client privacy and confidentiality, Paragon Application Systems does not publish any customer-specific data on the efficiency gains or cost savings generated by using the flexible automation capabilities of our payment testing tools. It must also be recognized that every organization measures efficiency gains and financial benefits differently. However, there is a wealth of research documenting the tangible benefits of test automation, particularly in the payment industry:
CISQ reports that automated testing can reduce defect-related costs by up to 50% by identifying issues early in the development cycle. Early detection is critical in payment systems, where errors in transaction processing can lead to costly post-deployment fixes or financial losses.
By automating repetitive and complex test scenarios, organizations ensure reliability and compliance with existing and future industry standards, mitigating the risk of financial and reputational damage.
PMI’s research shows that organizations adopting agile methodologies, including automated testing within DevOps frameworks, achieve 20–30% improvements in project efficiency and delivery speed.
Paragon’s testing solutions, designed to integrate seamlessly into agile and DevOps pipelines, enable financial institutions to accelerate release cycles while maintaining quality, aligning with PMI’s findings on enhanced project outcomes.
Capgemini’s World Quality Report and client case studies demonstrate that aggressive use of test automation can reduce test cycle times by up to 80% and cut costs by 35%. For the payment industry, where regulatory compliance and frequent software updates are a fact of life, the enhanced speed that automation provides can be a true competitive differentiator.
Capgemini’s findings highlight how automation streamlines regression testing and ensures compliance with frequent network mandates and other industry standards.
Gartner emphasizes how a well-executed test automation strategy can reduce testing costs by up to 30% while increasing test coverage by 85%.
For payment processors, expanded test coverage helps ensure that all transaction scenarios—such as cross-border payments or mobile app integrations—are thoroughly validated, reducing the risk of failures in production.
Number Analytics reports that automation in financial services yields a 70% reduction in processing costs, a 90% decrease in processing time, and 99.5% accuracy in automated processes.
These metrics underscore the potential for Paragon’s solutions to deliver high-quality, cost-effective testing for payment systems, ensuring flawless transaction processing.
A study on open-source projects using continuous integration found that higher test automation maturity is associated with improved product quality and shorter release cycles.
For payment systems, this translates to faster deployment of secure, high-quality updates.
The Benefits of Test Automation
It is clear that investing in test automation solutions, such as Paragon’s Web FASTest and VirtualATM applications, delivers measurable benefits tailored to the payment industry’s challenges:
- Faster Testing Cycles
Automation significantly reduces testing time. Capgemini’s 80% reduction in test cycle times illustrates how tools like Paragon’s can accelerate regression testing cycles for payment systems, ensuring rapid deployment of updates to meet regulatory or market demands.
- Increased Operational Efficiency
By automating repetitive tasks, organizations free up QA teams to focus on higher-value activities like exploratory testing or fraud detection. PMI’s 20–30% efficiency gains highlight how Paragon’s testing solutions optimize resource allocation in agile environments.
- Improved Accuracy and Quality
Number Analytics’ 99.5% accuracy rate demonstrates automation’s precision in validating complex payment scenarios, such as multi-currency transactions or compliance with ISO 20022. Automated tests minimize human error, ensuring robust system performance.
- Enhanced Resource Productivity
Paragon’s solutions provide 24/7 access to centralized testing environments, boosting team productivity across geographies. This aligns with Capgemini’s findings on streamlined testing operations, enabling staff to work efficiently in distributed teams.
- Annual Cost Savings
Gartner’s 30% cost reduction and CISQ’s 50% savings in defect-related costs underscore the financial benefits of automation. By reducing manual testing efforts and hardware requirements (e.g., through cloud-based testing), organizations achieve significant savings.
Resistance is Futile
Despite the evidence, resistance to test automation often stems from perceived high initial costs or skill gaps. However, modern tools like Paragon’s solutions are designed for ease of use, reducing the need for specialized programming knowledge. Additionally, the long-term ROI for test automation—evidenced by Number Analytics’ 70% cost reduction and Capgemini’s 35% savings—far outweighs upfront investments. Every organization can start its automation journey by targeting high-reward areas, such as remediating compliance gaps or improving fraud detection, and scale as benefits start to accrue.
The evidence is clear: test automation is not just a luxury but a necessity for the payments industry. Research from a wide variety of independent sources demonstrates that automation speeds up testing cycles, enhances quality, and reduces costs.
As the digital payment industry grows toward a $15 trillion market by 2027, organizations that invest in tools like Paragon’s testing solutions will gain a competitive edge with faster, more reliable, and cost-effective payment systems. Don’t let hesitation hold you back—embrace test automation to secure your place in the future of payments.
Transforming Payment Testing
Paragon’s Web FASTest and VirtualATM solutions are tailored to address the payment industry’s unique needs. These tools support end-to-end testing of payment flows, integrate with CI/CD pipelines, and provide detailed analytics to ensure compliance and performance. By leveraging Paragon’s software solutions and industry experience, organizations can achieve the significant benefits provided by automation, positioning themselves to thrive in a competitive, digital-first landscape.
Interested in learning more about how Paragon can help update and optimize your payment testing strategy? Request a consultation today. Our industry experts are ready to help.
Free Guide to Payment Testing
Read our free guide to explore a number of key concepts, issues and challenges specifically related to payment testing.
