A major bank in South Asia wanted its terminal integration certification to be completed by the end of April 2020. They wanted to start the project at the beginning of April, but it was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dates kept getting extended, and they were in a fix, so they postponed the certification project indefinitely.

However, card transactions were happening, and they could not benefit from their chosen acceptance devices. Merchants were live. Customers were transacting. But the bank's terminals were sitting uncertified, unable to participate in the acceptance infrastructure they had invested in building.

That's when we suggested our remote consulting model. They mentioned that they don't even have the test tools. They said they depend on the testing and validation tools that the onsite consultants brought for their testing and certification.

Is there a way out? That's what they were wondering.

We reassured them that they didn't have to worry, and our consulting would address it.

The situation this bank faced was not unique to the pandemic. Terminal integration testing at a remote location from the consultant's location has always been a practical option, but most banks and vendors default to onsite engagements out of habit. COVID forced a rethink. This project demonstrated that remote EMV L3 consulting is not a compromise. In many cases, it is the more efficient model.

Solution

Our EMV Level 3 remote consulting solution addresses all the challenges of acquirer certification.

We guided them through the entire process, from certification preparation to certification completion.

We understood their certification needs, including payment brands and terminal types.

Based on that, we shipped ready-to-use EMV test cards compliant with the latest EMVCo and payment brand specifications. The cards were configured to be ready to run, removing the dependency on onsite tooling that had previously made remote engagement seem impractical.

EMV terminal integration remote testing requires the right test environment on the bank's side, and our remote EMV consulting service is structured to build that environment before the first test is run. Teams do not need to have certification infrastructure in place before engaging us. That is part of what we set up as the project begins.

We set out on the certification project by following our EMV Level 3 remote consulting process.

9-step EMV Level 3 Terminal Remote Consulting process - From Certification to Transactions

1. Prepare your EMV Level 3 test environment

2. Help you run the tests using the shipped test cards and capture the logs

3. Help you upload the logs

4. Analyze and validate the logs

5. Report any issues and suggest how to rectify them

6. Coordinate with other stakeholders, including terminal vendors and host vendors, to explain the issue

7. Submit logs or help you submit the logs to the payment network for certification

8. You receive your Letter of Accreditation

9. You can roll out your terminals in the market and start processing transactions

The nine-step process is designed to give the bank full visibility at every stage without requiring it to manage the technical complexity itself. EMV L3 remote integration support means the bank's team is informed and involved without being responsible for the certification mechanics. Log analysis, issue identification, stakeholder coordination, and network submission are all handled on their behalf.

Remote payment certification consulting also eliminates the idle-time costs that onsite engagements typically entail. When an issue is identified and the bank's team needs time to fix it on their end, an onsite consultant sits waiting. A remote model means that time is not billed. The engagement picks back up when the fix is ready, and the next test cycle can begin.

Benefits for the customer

We handled the full project coordination on behalf of the bank. We handled all coordination with terminal vendors, host vendors, and payment brands.

It saved considerable costs, time, and effort for the bank.

The cost savings came from multiple directions. No travel. No accommodation. No consultant idle time. And because our remote EMV consulting service ships pre-configured test cards directly to the bank, there is no delay while tooling arrives or is set up by an onsite team. The bank was running tests within days of engaging us rather than weeks.

EMV terminal integration remote testing also gave the bank's internal team greater ownership of the process. Rather than handing everything over to an onsite consultant and waiting for the outcomes, the team was actively involved in each step, building internal capability as the certification was completed.

Why should you consider remote consulting even post-pandemic?

The pandemic made remote EMV L3 consulting a necessity. What banks and terminal vendors discovered during that period is that it works, often better than the onsite model they had always defaulted to. Here is why the model makes sense regardless of travel restrictions:

1. Better commercials. Remote engagements eliminate travel, accommodation, and idle time costs. The billing reflects actual working hours rather than days on site.

2. Aggressive timelines. Without the logistics of travel and onsite setup, projects can start faster. The 9-step process can begin within days of engagement, rather than waiting for the consultant's availability and travel coordination.

3. Multiple projects in parallel. A remote EMV consulting service can support multiple bank or vendor projects simultaneously without the constraint of physical presence. Onsite models limit consultants to one location at a time.

4. No idle time billing. The key advantage of remote terminal integration testing is that you only pay for productive hours. When your team is working through an issue on your end, the clock is not running on our side.

5. Round-the-clock support irrespective of time zones and geography. Remote payment certification consulting removes geography as a constraint entirely. A bank in South Asia, a terminal vendor in Europe, and a payment network in North America can all be supported within the same engagement without anyone having to get on a plane.

The South Asia project was completed successfully, the bank's terminals went live, and the transactions began processing. The project that seemed impossible in April 2020 was done without a single consultant setting foot on site.

Next steps

Your EMV Level 3 terminal integration certification does not have to stop for anything. Write to us, and we can get you started with remote consulting. After all, the tools, the expertise, and the process are already in place. All that is needed is the decision to begin.