​Building on its robust library of interface simulations, Ascert makes available a cloud-based version of its UK Link LIS5 simulator.

LIS5 is the standard followed by the national UK Switch, maintained by Vocalink, for transactions originating at ATMs. Ascert has supported the LIS5 standard with a pre-packaged VersaTest driver and scripts built on Ascert's Driver Framework Standard (DFS) since its release, and it is a standard component of the larger Ascert VersaTest Automator solution.

By following the VersaTest Automator model, the LIS5 Driver provides very fine-grained test definition, and a high level of test automation and validation. The exact format and contents of messages to be exchanged and verified can be defined and modified entirely through data and configuration files. The LIS5 Driver allows banks to have confidence that their applications will conform to message protocol specifications and provides an environment in which revised versions of their applications can be regression tested to ensure that any changes have not adversely impacted the interoperability of the application.

In a new option for its customers the LIS5 Driver is now available to be accessed by banks for pre-certification and functional testing via Ascertified, Ascert’s cloud-based testing platform. The Ascertified Portal provides a flexible cloud-based testing solution for QA, development, and certification testing. Based on VersaTest technology, this service offers affordable cost of user-ship and rapid start-up for new testing environments.

Mike Wainwright, Ascert’s Business Development Director in EMEA said, “The addition of support for the LIS5 standard within the Ascertified platform is a further demonstration of the flexibility of VersaTest, and our commitment to expand the breadth of our cloud-based solutions, and ‘testing as a service’. The Ascertified based LIS5 Driver and its associated test packs for both issuer and acquirer transactions are already in use and proving very successful. We will continue to add new driver support within Ascertified as our customers demand these.”

Ascert expands new cloud based API testing services for financial transactions

Mobile commerce continues to expand rapidly into a variety of arenas; both cloud based as well as new hardware areas. With over 1.3 billion debit and credit card accounts globally, opportunities for new payment mechanisms are unlimited.

In this fast growth environment, the ability to quickly test new API’s and onboard payment partners is a serious challenge. Accelerating time-to-market for new applications and services is a priority and having the right test and certification strategies can be a major advantage. To meet this growing need, Ascert has expanded test capabilities via its Ascertified Portal, which provides a flexible cloud based testing environment for QA, development, and certification testing.

“The last thing you need is an API failure or data breach to bring your project to a halt, and your company to its knees,” says Paul Springston, Ascert’s Director of Professional Services. “With Ascert's Ascertified testing technology, you can put your APIs through all the paces by checking the security of your REST and SOAP transactions, without incurring risk of failure and costly delays.”

Based on our popular VersaTest technology, Ascertified is a subscription fee service that offers affordability and rapid start-up for new testing environments. API testing, EMV test certification, automatic error identification, and a fully functional testing sandbox, are just a few of the services available through Ascertified.

Ascert's VersaTest family of testing and certification products can assist any organization looking to add increased value to their operations. To find out more about Ascert products and standard test interfaces visit the Ascert web site or contact a local Ascert office.

​Having access to an open testing environment is critical in today's complex market. Unfortunately there are testing products that are good for a standard, off-the-shelf shop, and others favoring custom environments.

Why choose a testing tool that limits your options?

VersaTest, from Ascert, gives you virtually unlimited choices.

Ascert can provide standard drivers, or users can create their own....or we can do a mix of both. Openness is the key, and Ascert can give you the flexibility you need for all of your testing needs.

Ascert builds advanced automated testing solutions that help with virtually all testing scenarios by allowing users the widest range of testing functionality, thus reducing the number of individual products that must be licensed and implemented.

Contact us to see how VersaTest can be YOUR TOTAL SOLUTION.

Building on Ascert’s growing suite of automated testing tools, the company releases its Virtual Terminal Simulation Module for VersaTest Automator 
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As an innovator in test automation, Ascert has launched a new version of its Virtual Terminal Simulation Module (VTERM) to operate natively in its newest generation of testing products, VersaTest Automator. The VTERM product, which was originaly created within Ascert’s VersaTest Classic product, has been used successfully by customers for many years to automate the test process for green screen applications.However that version required an HP NonStop (formerly Tandem) server, in order to operate – that is no longer the case.  

This latest version leverages the end-to-end testing environment provided by VersaTest Automator, enabling the coordinated testing of green screen applications alongside other headless interfaces, such as payments networks and back-end hosts. Adoption of this latest version has occurred with companies in various sectors including financial services and retail.  

“Many of today's server-based applications are developed to utilize the sophisticated graphical capabilities of PC's or workstations for user input and display. But, in many instances, the ‘behind the scenes’ applications in very large companies are legacy green screen applications based on older terminal technology, such as the Tandem 6530 or IBM 3270", said Paul Springston, Ascert’s Director of Professional Services. “VTERM eliminates the manually intensive process of testing these interfaces and automates the process. Our customers who have implemented VTERM have been able to recognize significant reductions in testing time almost immediately. This latest version, operating natively within a VersaTest Automator environment, provides them with even greater orchestration capabilities for their complex testing environments."

​VTERM Terminal Simulator, and add-on module to VersaTest Automator, provides yet another solution to the problem of expensive, time consuming and error-prone testing practices. It is joined by the VersaTest Jenkins Plug-in for Continuous Testing which Ascert recently released to the marketplace.

​To find out more about VTERM or other Ascert testing technologies, contact us.  

Ascert continues to expand its testing capabilities with the release of the VersaTest Jenkins Plug-in for Continuous Testing

Ascert continues to increase the usability of its testing technology by officially launching the VersaTest Jenkins Plug-in for Continuous Testing. “We’re about making our technology more accessible to testing professionals that need to take advantage of the latest capabilities in the rapidly changing development landscape,” says Simon Miles, Ascert’s Chief Architect. “Several years ago, we saw the increasing trend for the implementation of continuous integration. Companies were effectively using it to get product to market faster, with more efficiencies, and less cost. The problem was that no FinTech company had come up with the right tool to enable automated testing to be integrated into the process using Jenkins. Until now. That’s what the VersaTest Jenkins Plug-in for Continuous Testing  does.”  

In the process of introducing an efficient means of testing into the development flow, Ascert worked with a major financial institution who is at the forefront of rapid product development using continuous integration to better serve their customers. The result was an elegant solution that fits nicely into continuous integrated development. 

The VersaTest Jenkins Plug-in for Continuous Testing represents another major product expansion for Ascert in 2016; joining the latest addition, VTERM for Automator, which automates legacy green screen applications. ​