With the GICC NSP Test Suite, German Network Service Providers can test a correct data exchange of their GICC[1] connection to acquirers such as First Data, Citibank, American Express and B+S. Acquirers accept or refuse credit card transactions at stores and point-of-sales and it is therefore imperative that connections between the different players are running faultless. To guarantee optimal functioning, acquirers have defined host type approval test cases to which network operators should comply.

CETECOM will use the PC-based tool in their test laboratory to certify German network service providers prior to connection to an acquiring host. The Network Service providers can use the tool's acquirer host simulator to prepare for official approval tests in laboratories such as CETECOM. Zentraler Kreditausschuss (ZKA), the German Bank Association, which is responsible for regulating electronic payment applications in Germany, qualified the test bench.

The solution, onto which CETECOM ICT Services built the respective test suite for the GICC NSP Testing, is based on Integri's open INQ platform and thus customizable and future-proof. The simulator is adaptable and can be configured to any specific requirements. Besides, more than 1000 possible test scenarios, covering all possible circumstances, are readily available and included. Additionally, it is easy to run a test environment in automated mode ensuring a considerable gain of time. Integri has developed the simulator whilst CETECOM built the different host type approval test cases.

"This collaboration answers an existing need of the Network Service Providers on the German market" says Jan De Meester, CEO at Integri. "They can now use a flexible, qualitative test solution for pre-certification guaranteeing official certification, thus preventing costly modifications"

"CETECOM and Integri are both strong players in the testing market," confirms Gerhard Schirra, Member of the Executive Board at CETECOM. " "Combining field-proven testing technology and local knowledge has amounted to a value-added and unique service facility adapted to the German market."

[1] GICC is the protocol based on ISO8583 used in Germany to exchange messages between the Network Service Provider host and the acquirer host. The protocol allows a Point-of-Sale System (POS) of a credit card acceptor to communicate with credit card authorization and data capture hosts.