Posted on 19th April, 2023

How To Test A Payment Gateway System?

No matter what kind of products you sell online, you need to integrate a secured payment gateway before you can start accepting online payments. This is because when a customer purchases products from an online store, they look for a payment system that not only facilitates the payment but will also hold other essential banking data of the customers.

According to a survey, the value of the payment gateway market in India was INR 73 million in 2021. In fact, furthermore, it is expected to grow by 20.11% CAGR between 2022 – 2027 period.

Even though there are many payment gateway companies in India, it is crucial to pick the appropriate one to confirm that the combined payment gateway system is operating as intended.

With the aid of a web application development company, you can integrate a seamless payment gateway system for your business. Let’s delve deeply into various aspects to learn how to test the functionality of a payment gateway.

Payment Gateway System: What is it?

A payment gateway is a system that your customers use to give you money, according to one definition. The point-of-sale terminals used at most physical stores are identical to payment gateways. Customers and companies must collaborate when using a payment gateway to complete a transaction.

The payment gateway verifies the customer’s card information after making an order and determines whether they have enough money to pay you.

Different Types of Payment Gateway Systems 

An essential component of online business is the payment gateway. It comes in two different varieties, as described below.

Self-Hosted Payment Gateway

Hosted Payment Gateway System instantly directs customers away from the checkout page of e-commerce websites. The application directs the user to the page of the payment service provider when they select the payment button. The client can enter all of their information on this page, and once the payment has been made, it will return them to the website page. 

However, this type of payment doesn’t require a vendor ID. PayPal Standard, Payza, and 2Checkout are a few examples.

Non-Hosted/Shared Payment Gateway

The customer is taken to the payment screen, which is located inside the e-commerce websites. The entire purchasing customization process is straightforward. The only issue with non-hosted payment gateways is that dealers must adhere to all security measures to maintain security and protect client information.

Crucial Terminology for Payment Gateways

There are various payment gateway terminologies that you must know. Some of them are described below. 

Merchant

A merchant is a person or business that offers products or services. To mention a few merchants include Amazon, Flipkart, and eBay.

Credit Card 

A plastic card, or credit card, can be used to make purchases. The back of a credit card contains the card’s 16-digit number, expiry date, signature panel, hologram, magnetic strip, signature panel, and CVV (Card Verification Value) number.

Acquiring Bank

A financial institution is an “acquiring bank” that oversees a merchant’s bank account and grants them permission to process debit and credit card payments on-site.

Issuing Bank

A financial institution providing a customer with a debit or credit card is an issuing bank. When a customer uses a credit or debit card to buy something, the issuing bank either approves or rejects the transaction depending on the account state of the cardholder, and this information is passed to the acquiring bank. For instance, the transaction will be declined if the card’s expiration date is incorrect or the buy total exceeds the card’s credit limit.

Transaction

The complete process a merchant uses to get money from a customer for a purchase is known as a transaction.

Authorization

When a customer makes a transaction an authorization request is made. It is given by the customer’s issuing bank to confirm the cardholder’s identity, availability of adequate funds, and creditworthiness. Once this is completed, funds are held, and the remaining amount is deducted from the customer’s credit limit for transfer to the merchant account.

Capture

In this stage, the merchant obtains all the required payment data from the client before submitting a settlement/capture appeal to the processor. The processor uses this data to start money transactions from the cardholder’s account to the business’s bank account.

Payment Gateway Testing: What is It?

Payment Gateway Testing tests a system’s payment gateway for user transactions and internet purchases. By encrypting and securing the payment information exchanged between the user and the merchant and delivering a seamless payment experience, payment gateway testing aims to guarantee a payment gateway’s security, dependability, and performance. You need to hire professionals who provide web application development services to do this job. 

An e-commerce application service, a payment gateway system, authorizes credit card payments for online transactions. Payment gateways enable you to protect credit card information by encrypting private data such as card numbers, account user information, etc. The exchange of this information between the client and the business and vice versa is secure. Modern payment gateways safely approve payments made with debit cards, electronic bank transfers, cash cards, reward points, and other methods.

Why Payment Gateway System Testing is Important?

If we were to purchase in a physical store, we would pay with cash or complete the deal by swiping our credit or debit card through the reader at the register. The POS (Point of Sale testing) device will show if using credit or debit cards would result in a successful or unsuccessful payment transaction. We also need a similar mechanism for online transactions that instantly approves or disapproves a transaction.

The online payment handling on the e-Commerce website should be seamless from the customer’s point of view. A successful or declined payment message should appear shortly after the customer hits the “Pay now” button.

From the standpoint of the e-Commerce store, the seller must make sure that the entire payment cycle (obtaining transactions from the online store, capture and authorization, refund, and voiding) is functioning correctly. The seller may experience difficulties if one or more supporting elements perform differently than intended.

From the merchant’s point of view, the testing phase enables them to familiarize themselves with the payment processor flow and determine whether the selected option is the best match for their application and company.

Testing Methods for Payment Gateways

There are different ways of payment gateway testing. For additional issues, you need to test the gateway from various aspects. Below are some major payment gateway testing methods :

Functional Assessment 

Modernized, less established payment platforms must undergo functional testing to ensure they function as intended. This testing ensures that the gateway is fully effective and that each component is operating as intended. This aids in verifying that the application website and the gateway are both functioning properly. This kind of checking is not necessary for more experienced instalment processors. 

For instance, it manages orders, computations, charges, and other items exactly as it should.

Checking Integration

When connecting with a payment gateway, integration testing is crucial. The mentioned payment gateways must be well integrated with the online store. Testers must verify the entire transaction stream by:

  • Checking the submitted order.
  • Verifying if the transaction money is received.
  • Confirming if the purchased products need to be refunded or cancelled.

Performance Evaluation

Performance testing of the website is crucial. The payment process mustn’t fail when multiple clients try to complete transactions simultaneously. It is anticipated that as testing progresses, more customers will pass a particular barrier and check out the payment gateway’s functionality.

Security Checks

Any payment gateway that requires the protection of private data should undergo security testing. Customers will provide sensitive information during purchases, including their CVV number, credit card number, and other details. To ensure a safe payment gateway all sensitive data is encrypted and then communicated.

Best Testing Techniques for Payment Gateways 

The finest online payment platforms are routinely tested for flaws. When setting up a payment portal, take into account the following best practices: 

Combine Manual and Automated Testing

A payment gateway’s thorough testing combines manual and automated testing.

Automated testing is useful for analyzing factors like place names, postage, tax calculations, and exchange rates to ensure accuracy. Additionally, automation simplifies reporting, which developers can use to understand and correct.

The best way to report on real user experiences when utilizing an e-commerce platform and attempting to make online purchases is through manual testing carried out by individuals. Manual testing on actual devices enables careful examination of the website’s responsiveness, speed of use, compatibility of the O/S and device, and the experiential challenges that can assist in problem-solving for e-commerce platforms with perceived errors.

Conduct Numerous Interoperability Tests

Before launching an e-commerce site, it is always preferable to perform several tests. It would be best to retest whenever you make changes affecting usability and core functionality.

The gateway must not only be bug-free, but links must also always be dependable. Adjustments to the payment page, updates to any region-specific data (like tax rates or delivery information), and data changes that could affect transaction records are all updates that should always prompt a retest.

Adopt a Scalable Testing Tool 

Teams must act quickly for new testing each time. Platform testing needs a combination of software, testers, and services. Since most small- to medium-sized e-commerce companies don’t require routine maintenance, using a scalable testing platform can be advantageous as your company expands.

There may be differences in the length and complexity of different test rounds. The ability to scale your team and make necessary adjustments helps you overcome growing pains. It enables you to confer with experts who can help you develop and adapt more quickly.

Implement a Pre-test Prototype

A pre-test prototype can slower the delaying time. An e-commerce site can test parameters and evaluate design using a pilot test method. (and even re-designed if necessary). Early testing can help to spot issues and give time to the team time to make corrections if there is a significant problem with the payment gateway. 

Evaluate the Customer Experience

Consider the customer’s perspective at every process stage to ensure the final user has the best, most seamless experience possible.

Prioritizing user interface usability and user experience can help identify navigational problems, identify roadblocks in a convoluted process, and solve issues like invalid error codes and shopping basket timeouts. Unfortunately, frustrations like these cause many online shoppers to forsake their carts.

Steps for Testing a Payment Gateway

Now you can follow the below-written testing process to test your payment gateway. You can use this process as a reference and customize your testing process according to your payment gateway.

Step 1: Set up a sandbox for the payment provider.

Step 2: Obtain test credit card information that will be used to compare various credit cards. Such details may be obtained differently from different service providers.

Step 3: Find the application’s actions after a successful transaction by checking if the payment gateway returns to your application to display a successful transaction. If not, check the reason for the payment decline or why the payment process is unresponsive.

Step 4: Turn the pop-up filter on and off in your browser to check the application’s behaviour. If any confirmation notifications appear in the pop-up, this might be useful.

Step 5: Check the various security and fraud protection settings. For instance, a transaction will be declined if the customer’s billing information does not match the address given to the issuing bank.

Step 6: Testers can check the transaction records in the Application database. They can examine the consequences of a client session expiring and submit any console errors if noticed.

Step 7: Check to see if the transaction was completed on a safe route. For instance, the checkout pages might be HTTPS instead of the remainder of the website’s HTTP pages.

Step 8: Make sure the currency setting for the payment processor is accurate. For instance, if the application or website is for a Canadian company or retailer, ensure CAD  currency dollar is configured.

Step 9: Even if the applications support multiple payment methods, like PayPal and credit cards, the preferences must be thoroughly tested separately

Step 10: Check to see if the refund or void amount (found in the admin interface of the payment processor) matches the transaction amount. The reimbursement or void amount must never be greater than the transaction amount.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, now you are familiar with the payment gateway system and how to test it. However, the testing process requires experienced professionals. For that, you must hire a web app development company like Futuristic Bug and keep a check on it. After all, with an expert hand, you will be at ease. 

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