News
Asia United Bank saves with GFG:FINsim
September 2006
Philippines-based Asia United Bank has purchased GFG:FINsim for testing its ATM machines and switches, saving a full time salary equivalent and freeing ATM machines previously used for testing to be deployed into production.
AUB is using GFG:FINsim to run automated ATM test scripts, replacing manual testing processes.
“GFG:FINsim has helped us minimize usage of resources in a labor intensive area,” says AUB Vice President for Information Technology Wilfredo Rodriguez.
“After just one month of use it’s clear we will save one full time salary equivalent. We’ve also been able to put into production two ATM machines that have in the past have been used for test purposes. We will realise further savings when we extend our use of GFG:FINsim to include switch testing.”
Asia United Bank (AUB) makes constant changes to its ATM screens due to the wide variety of bill payment transactions available via ATM in the Philippines. Insurance, credit card, utilities and loan payments are all commonly made using ATM machines.
Each month AUB adds at least one or two companies to the ATM payments screen, as new companies join the consortium. After every change to an ATM screen, AUB must re-test the entire screen in the correct sequence and format.
In addition to screen testing, AUB tests the validation of account numbers for payments made by check, which entails testing account numbers in check digit algorhythms. It also tests valid and invalid 16-digit card numbers.
“It was all eating a lot of time,” says Wilfredo Rodriguez.
“With GFG:FINsim we run the test scripts automatically, in batches. The simulator splits the completed script into a valid and an invalid batch. We can then quickly run through the results. It’s much easier for AUB to validate the tests this way,” he says.
Testing is iterative – the same tests are performed over and over again until the desired result is achieved, so the use of automated test scripts is highly efficient. GFG:FINsim requires no supervision. It runs in the background and is checked only after completion.
Setting up test systems and hiring people to perform iterative testing was highly labor intensive for AUB. Using GFG:FINsim has removed the need to hire testing staff, enabling AUB to take its testing functions in-house.
AUB’s testing processes were made more challenging by the lack of graphics in its old testing system – the testing was all conducted and displayed in numbers. The graphical system used by GFG:Finsim greatly reduces time spent on testing by making changes immediately visible. This graphical capability is something from which AUB will extract further value when it extends its use of GFG:FINsim to include testing on switches.
“We have showed GFG:FINsim to our switch vendors and they are impressed,” Wilfredo Rodriguez says.
“On occasions when screen changes were too complex we would have to request the switch vendor to make the changes. They would load the file to ATM and test. If they couldn’t do a clear pass in one or two runs they would go back to re-edit, reload and re-test, which was very time consuming. Now that we can see the changes on screen, we can easily see if they’re aligned correctly. We can just load it and it’s done. We can then extract the load (CI) file, and move it to the switch to update the physical ATMs. It will save us the time spent revising and editing CI files.“
