Payment Gateway Testing with Example Test Cases


Payment Gateway Testing

Payment Gateway Testing is the process of evaluating a Payment Gateway in a system that allows users to make online purchases and transactions. Payment gateway testing ensures a payment gateway's security, dependability, and performance by encrypting and safeguarding payment credentials between the user and the merchant while offering a smooth payment experience.

A payment gateway system is an e-commerce application service that allows customers to pay with credit cards for online purchases. Payment gateways protect credit card information by encrypting sensitive data such as credit card numbers, account holder information, and so on.

This information is securely exchanged between the customer and the merchant, as well as the other way around.

Debit cards, electronic bank transfers, cash cards, reward points, and other payment methods are all securely approved by modern payment gateways.

Terminology for Payment Gateways

Let's go over some of the terms we'll be utilizing in this article −

  • Merchant − A merchant is an individual or business that sells goods or services. Merchants include Flipkart, Amazon, and eBay, to name a few.

  • Credit Card − A credit card is a plastic card that can be used to purchase goods or services using a credit account. Credit Card has a Sixteen digit card number, expiration date, a hologram, a magnetic strip, a signature panel, and a CVV (Card Verification Value) number on the backside of the card.

  • Acquiring bank − An acquiring bank is a financial organization that manages a merchant's bank account and allows them to accept and process debit and credit card transactions at their location.

  • Issuing Bank − An issuing bank is a financial organization that issues a debit or credit card to a customer. When a customer uses a credit or debit card to make a purchase, the issuing bank approves or refuses the transaction based on the cardholder's account status and this information which is required by the acquiring bank is passed. For example, if the card's expiration date is inaccurate, or if the purchase amount exceeds the card's credit limit, the transaction will be refused.

  • Transaction − The end-to-end procedure by which a merchant obtains funds from a customer for a transaction.

  • Authorization − When a consumer makes a purchase, authorization is asked. The customer's issuing bank provides this authorization, which verifies the cardholder's authenticity, ability to pay, and possession of sufficient funds, among other things. Funds are held and the balance is reduced from the customer's credit limit, but not yet transferred to the merchant account, once this is done.

  • Capture − In this step, the merchant collects all the necessary payment information from the client's end and submits a settlement/capture appeal to the processor. This information is used by the processor to initiate funds transfers from the customer's card account to the merchant's bank account.

Payment Gateway System Types

Hosted Payment Gateway − During the payment process, a hosted payment gateway system redirects customers away from an e-commerce site to a gateway link. The customer will be directed back to an e-commerce site once the payment has been completed. A merchant id is not required for this sort of payment; examples of hosted payment gateways include PayPal, Noche, and WorldPay

Shared Payment Gateway − In a shared payment gateway, the customer is led to the page where payment has to be done and remains on the e-commerce site during the payment is processed. The payment process will begin after the payment information has been entered. This approach is simple and preferable because it does not require leaving the e-commerce site while processing payment. Examples of a shared payment gateway are Stripe, eWay.

Information about Payment gateways and payment processors.

There is a lot of information online about whether a payment gateway and a payment processor are separate modules with different functions

Throughout my projects, I've noticed that the words Payment Processor and Payment Gateway are used interchangeably with no visible difference. Payment gateways are sometimes known as payment processors by merchants because they handle all payments.

Payment Gateways are referred to as 'Payment Processors' since they operate as a means of processing and completing secure payment transactions. Examples of payment processors are eBay, Paypal, etc.

Importance of Testing Payment Gateways

If we were shopping at a physical store, we would pay cash or swipe our credit or debit card through the machine at the register to complete the transaction.

If you use debit or credit cards, the POS (Point of Sale testing) equipment will tell you whether the transaction will be permitted or declined. Similarly, while doing online transactions, we must have a mechanism in place that promptly accepts or disapproves the transaction

The online payment processing on the e-Commerce website should be seamless from the customer's standpoint.

After the customer clicks the "Pay Now" button, he or she should see a notification indicating whether the payment was successful or not in the next few seconds.

From the standpoint of the e-Commerce store, the merchant must guarantee that the entire payment cycle (receiving transactions from the online store, capture and authorization, refund, and voiding) is functioning properly. If any of these subcomponents fail to perform as planned, the merchant may have difficulties.

The testing step helps merchants to become familiar with the chosen payment processor flow and determine if the chosen alternative is the best fit for their application and business.

Types of Testing Needed

You may be required to undertake the following types of testing depending on the payment processor you choose and the product/application requirements.

  • Functional Testing - For newer, less established payment gateways, functional testing is essential to guarantee that the program behaves as it should, that is, that it handles orders,calculations, taxes, and so on. This type of testing may not be necessary for more established payment processors.

  • Integration Testing - When integrating with a payment gateway, integration testing is essential. As a tester, you'll need to make sure that your website's/online store's/payment application's gateway integration is working properly. You must check the full transaction flow as a tester −

  • Make a purchase

  • Verify that money has been received in the merchant account.

  • Check to see if the transaction can be refunded or voided.

  • Performance Testing - It is critical to test the performance of the website/online-store/application. If numerous users are attempting to complete transactions at the same time, the payment processor should not fail.

  • Security Testing - During a transaction, a consumer will provide sensitive information such as their credit card number, CVV number, and other similar information. It is critical to verify that any sensitive data is encrypted before transmission and that the channel is safe.

How to Test a Payment Gateway: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you start testing, make sure you have the following information.

  • Collect appropriate test data for dummy credit card numbers such as maestro, visa, and master.

  • Gather information on payment gateways such as Google Wallet, Paypal, and others.

  • Obtain a payment gateway document that includes error codes.

  • The session and parameters passed through the application and payment gateway should be understood.

  • Understand and test the amount-related information passed through the query string, variable, or session, as well as the language of the payment gateway.

  • Subscriber data is collected under the various parameters of the payment gateway, such as currency format.

Test Cases examples for Payment Gateway Testing

  • Attempt to change the payment gateway language during the payment process.

  • After a successful payment, test all essential components to see if they are obtained.

  • Determine what happens if the payment gateway stops responding throughout the payment process.

  • Check what happens if the session closes during the payment procedure.

  • Check what happens in the backend throughout the payment process.

  • Check what happens if the payment process fails.

  • Check the database entries to see if they store credit card information.

  • Check the error pages and security pages during the payment process.

  • Check your pop-up blocker settings and observe what happens when you turn it on and off.

  • Check buffer pages between the payment gateway and the application.

  • Verify if the transaction processes immediately or is handed over to your bank, as a success number is supplied to the application and a confirmation page is shown to the user.

  • Verify whether the transaction processes immediately or is handed over to your bank.

  • Check if the payment gateway returns to your application after a successful transaction.

  • After a successful payment transaction, double-check all formats and messages.

  • Goods should not be dispatched unless you obtain an authorization receipt from the payment gateway.

  • Any transaction completed via e-mail should be reported to the owner. Encrypt the mail's content

  • Make sure the amount format matches the currency format.

  • Verify that each payment option is selectable.

  • Verify that each payment option provided in the table opens the specified payment option.

  • Check to see if the payment gateway defaults to the debit/credit card option you choose.

  • Verify that the default choice for debit cards displays a drop-down menu for selecting a card.

Updated on: 19-Aug-2021

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