7. Participant and readiness testing
The Bank is providing a range of testing tools to participants as part of our CHAPS ISO 20022 transition, in order to support participant preparations. Please see below for detail about the tools available, and our expectations for CHAPS Direct Participants to use them to support their preparations and indicative timelines for their availability.
MyStandards Readiness Portal
The MyStandards Readiness Portal allows users to validate their CHAPS payment messages against the published enhanced message schemas. All CHAPS Direct Participants are expected to make use of the Readiness Portal and indirect participants and software vendors supplying payment systems can also access the portal via a Direct Participant. The Bank monitors Direct Participants’ use of the Readiness Portal as part of our approach to assuring industry readiness for the migration.
Participant Test Simulator – from early 2022
The Test Simulator provides a solution for RTGS participants to receive inward test payment messages to themselves, removing the reliance on other participants. The Test Simulator is able to ingest and generate messages from bespoke message schemas built on industry standard ISO 20022 messages. In addition, the Bank is using the Test Simulator for its own internal testing.
Pilot Platform – from 20 June 2022
Since 20 June 2022, the Bank has made available a Pilot Platform test environment, allowing all CHAPS Direct Participants an extended testing period for enhanced ISO 20022 messages in a near live-like environment.
Participant Testing – October 2022
Direct Participants completed Participant Testing in October 2022 ahead of the planned migration to ISO 20022 messaging in June 2023. The Bank issued a minimum set of test cases for each Direct Participant to complete (Participant Acceptance Testing), alongside their own testing plans using either a test simulator or a ‘buddy’ bank. Once Direct Participants successfully completed this testing, a more structured test phase (‘Group Testing’) allows DPs to test multi-laterally with each other, including contingency and volume test scenarios. An additional test window at the end of Group Testing has been planned for any post regression test fixes that may be applied as a result of ECB go live.
For any queries on Participant Readiness and Testing, participants should contact [email protected].
