FedNow® Onboarding: Testing 123

A lead actor would never skip rehearsal before the premiere, right? They would practice their lines and attend multiple dress rehearsals before the big day.

The same goes for onboarding to the FedNow® Service. Before a financial institution uses the FedNow® Service for real, institutions will want to do a dress rehearsal in the testing environment. It’s important to test the connection and the ability to send and receive messages at the volume and the speed that’s expected in a live environment.

Keep in mind – this isn’t just a one-time thing. If your institution makes changes, especially major changes, that could affect how it’s using the FedNow® Service, your team might need a second dress rehearsal. Set up both the testing and production environment to be identical, and make sure the testing environment is mimicking your setup as closely as possible.

‍Your Ticket to the Main Stage
‍To complete the FedNow® Service required customer testing program, there are a few steps a bank must take: the Certification Preparation and the Certification of Production Readiness

‍1. Certification Preparation
‍The Certification Preparation walks you through all the ins and outs of the FedNow® Service. Each section is focused on specific functionalities, plus the objectives and desired outcomes, detailed scenarios and actions your team can take – which a service provider like Pidgin can help with. It’s like having a teacher’s answer key to help you study.
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‍2. Certification of Production ReadinessNow that your team has studied hard and prepared for the testing, it’s time for the final exam. Don’t worry – an institution can retake this test as many times as needed; however, the Certification of Production Readiness must be completed within 30 days before going live on the FedNow® Service.

There are two parts to this test: the Certification of Messaging, which certifies that your institution can send and receive all required ISO 20022 messages for the specific participation type your team has enabled in your institution’s profile, and the Certification of Operational Readiness, which certifies that your team understands the operating circulars, the operational procedures and the technical specifications of the FedNow® Service.

Financial institutions only need to do this once for the organization. Similarly, service providers only need to do it once for their entire organization – not for every app that gets connected to the FedNow® Service. However, it’s your team’s responsibility to make sure all apps meet the standard for certification.

‍Getting Ready for the Big Show
‍As with any important test, it’s important to study hard, prepare and take practice tests to ensure your institution shows up on testing day with confidence. Be sure to play by the rules to get an A+ every time and have a seamless go-live process.

In a nutshell, getting certified with the FedNow® Service is like going through college, acing your final exams (with the help of your teachers’ answer keys) and graduating with a certificate.

Pidgin has already completed testing and certification for the FedNow® Service, so our team is prepared to guide your financial institution through the testing and onboarding process. Whether your institution connects to the service using a partner like Pidgin or goes the DIY route, testing is the first step to becoming operationally ready for the world of real-time payments.