Since we need to do a lot of EFTPOS Terminal testing, we decided to build an automated EFTPOS Terminal Testing Robot. Yes, it was that simple: We just got tired and had enough of inserting the cards and entering PIN codes by hand. Therefore we built that robot. And we can now lean back and watch the robot doing our job. Smile. watch the video:

Seriously, in our company we are writing a lot of payment terminal software. Software that has to be tested with every software release, which is quite a complex issue. Since our application supports more than 26 payment functions (debit, credit, reversal, currency conversion, TaxFree, etc.) in more than 20 languages and almost all currencies on earth, several cash register integrations (ECR) and multiple communication protocols, it is quite a task to test the terminal on its proper functionality. Especially if the payment application runs on many different terminals from several manufactures like ATOS, Ingenico, Verifone, etc.

Therefore, we have put a lot of effort in designing and creating a test environment that allows us to fully automate most of the testing. Testing in the EFTPOS environment is very fragmented. There are several ECR manufacturers with different drivers which interact with the terminal. On the other hand you have to test with different host-systems (Acquirers) as well as with different configurations (EMV Parameter Set, payment functionality, etc.). In our case we even have different hardware platforms (Terminals) with different Security-Environments. Bearing all this in mind we have created many simulators to facilitate testing. Currently, we use the following simulators:

Simulators we use

• Host simulator to simulate the acquirer with several protocols (ep2, ISO8583, IFSF)
• ECR Simulators for Retail- and Petrol-Environment
• Card simulator

The only thing we were missing to fully automate the testing was the possibility to enter the PIN. Now, we have built the PIN entry robot. And it facilitates our testing massively. We can test almost everything fully automated.

If you are interested in our testing environment, please contact us. We sell all components, simulators, the test case repository, logging facility and of course also the robot. We have several robots in stock. We can also tailor the components to your needs if required, of course. And yes, we also have a solution for contactless card testing.

We also offer our testing services. If you need to test a terminal, our experienced testers can help you. We can also design test cases on your behalf. Just let us know how we can help you.

We use our test environment for the following tasks:

• EMV Level 2 Kernel certification (contact and contactless)
• Hardware layer (HAL) verification
• Payment application testing
• Regression testing of existing applications
• TIP/ADV certification
• Massive, parallel transaction simulation for Host testing
• ECR Integration testing

I hope that gives you an overview on how you can use the test robot and its test environment. Please feel free to leave a comment or watch our video.

Here you will find all our videos about the robot: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQTUInecjJOD9oYJJtFJ9RM5f60rt_vNd