Software-Defined Card Processing for Virtual EMV Compliance Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The development and testing of payment solution software is complex due to the reliance on physical hardware, requiring costly and time-consuming coordination of various payment terminals and adherence to stringent certification processes, which complicates the process and increases resource intensity.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a software-defined card processing (SDCP) infrastructure allows for the design, testing, and certification of payment solutions in a unified environment, abstracting away hardware-specific requirements, enabling rapid feedback loops and centralized updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical hardware and payment terminals are used for testing payment solutions, then the payment solutions can be tested for actual hardware compatibility and transaction processing, but the testing process becomes costly, time-consuming, and resource intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of payment terminals and hardware environments through software emulators. These virtual terminals replicate the functionality of physical hardware, allowing unlimited testing scenarios without the constraints of physical device availability. The virtual environment mirrors real terminal behavior, enabling comprehensive testing of payment solutions across multiple hardware configurations simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical testing infrastructure with a software-based virtualization system. Instead of requiring actual payment terminals, physical cards, and hardware equipment, the system uses software emulators that simulate hardware behavior. This substitution eliminates the need for physical resource coordination while maintaining testing validity through virtual representations of hardware interfaces.
2Manufacturing precision
If physical payment terminals and hardware equipment are coordinated for testing, then accurate testing of payment scenarios can be conducted, but the coordination and maintenance of these devices becomes complex and resource intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual replicas of payment terminals, cards, and hardware environments that maintain accurate simulation of real device behavior. These virtual copies preserve the functional characteristics, protocol implementations, and edge case behaviors of physical devices, enabling precise testing without the complexity of coordinating physical equipment fleets.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtualization platform serves multiple testing functions simultaneously - it can simulate various terminal types, card formats, hardware configurations, and payment scenarios within a single unified system. This multi-functional virtual environment eliminates the need for separate physical devices for each testing requirement, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining testing comprehensiveness.
3Reliability
If certification processes are followed for payment solution compliance, then the payment solutions meet security and interoperability standards, but the development process becomes more intricate and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements virtual testing environments that replicate certification test scenarios before actual certification processes. Developers can perform preliminary testing of compliance requirements, security protocols, and interoperability standards in virtual environments, identifying and fixing issues beforehand. This preliminary validation reduces the burden on formal certification processes and accelerates overall development by ensuring compliance is built-in rather than added as a final step.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems related to design, test, development, certification, deployment, and maintenance infrastructures for payment solutions are disclosed herein. A disclosed system includes a software binaries generator for generating an executable for a source code file. The source code file includes an EMV kernel. The disclosed system also includes a testing environment that accepts the executable and simulates the executable with a virtual payment processing hardware system in a simulation. The testing environment verifies EMV compliance for the executable via the simulation. The disclosed system also includes a security module that generates a proof of trust for the executable in response to the testing environment verifying EMV compliance for the executable and provides the proof of trust for the executable for an external EMV compliance authority.