"If you're not sure about what needs to be done or find any instructions confusing, please ask the TL for help instead of completing the order without assistance"
Motivation
Real Payment Tests are different from regular exploratory test cycles. Although the customer might be asking for you to test in a production (LIVE) environment, they will also ask you to complete orders and proceed with the payment using your real and valid information. The point of Real Payment Tests is to catch bugs not only before the last step of the checkout page in a production environment but also after the user completes the order. Customers might also want to test the integration with third-party payment services providers, new payment methods or simply check for problems real users might face when completing a payment.
Real Payment Tests require extra attention from our testers since they will deal with monetary transactions. Therefore, if you are invited to such special cycles, the instructions below might help you familiarise yourself with the most common situation and rules.
How to Test and Best Practices in Real Payment Tests
The complete instructions in a Real Payment Test will be provided by each customer in the test scope and should be read carefully. A few key information you must check in the instructions:
The accepted payment method. The customer will ask for specific payment methods (e.g. E-Wallets, Credit or Debit Cards) and you can’t use a different method. If you don’t have access to the requested payment method for any reason, you must skip the cycle.
The purchase limit. If there’s a purchase limit, you must never complete orders where the grand total is over this limit. In case this can’t be completed (if there are no products available under the price limit), please inform the Team Leader about the situation.
The reimbursement amount. In some cycles, you will get a fixed reimbursement value and anything you don't spend you can keep it. In other cycles, you'll only be reimbursed based on what you've spent. Those instructions will be clear in the test cycle, but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the Team Leader.
The requested currency. You must pay close attention to the currency used by the customer and convert it to your own currency in case you are allowed to pay using local cards. You can use the tool available on the Investing website to help you with the conversion.
The attachments. You will be requested to attach evidence of your purchase, such as bills, card statements and confirmation emails. You must blur any personal or confidential information, but be careful to not blur important information (such as the order number or the total amount of your purchase).
The evidence of the purchase. Sometimes there might be a bug that prevents you from gathering the evidence you've made the purchase (e.g. you might not get the confirmation email or the order might fail but you might still get charged for it). It is always recommended to capture the entire checkout process and to keep all generated evidence, such as emails and receipts (even after the cycle is over). This way, if we need more information about the problem, you'll have everything already set.
The reimbursement vs the cycle payout
You will be paid for your work according to the cycle description after the cycle is archived, just like it happens with regular exploratory cycles. But the reimbursement will be reviewed by our team (TL, CSM and the customer) before authorizing the payment. The process to reimburse testers is manually made to make sure everything is correct and to avoid mistakes from our end. Therefore, you might be paid at any time, even after the cycle is already archived for a few days. So please understand that depending on the transaction size and reimbursement instructions, it could take up to two months (two payment cycles in our platform) to receive the reimbursement. That also means you must make sure you have enough credit limit on your credit card for example if you want to use the card after the cycle for other purposes and you have enough money to pay the card's monthly bill (which might come before the reimbursement).
You will usually be reimbursed through the Bonus system on our platform. The money is added to the platform for the current payment cycle and you will be able to request it along with your other monthly earnings. Taxes/conversion rates might affect the total amount you'll receive in your own currency though. For that reason, our team will always make sure to cover those expenses as well when reimbursing you. If the total amount is significantly different than what you expended in the cycle, please contact the support team for a reimbursement review.
Using fake or test data
For Real Payment cycles, you will not be allowed to use any dummy data, test cards or test accounts for third party payment tools. Remember you are testing a production environment so test cards will usually be blocked by the customer. Please do not use payment information from other people unless you are authorized by the person as well. Any attempt to fraud or to cheat the payment system will result in penalties on our platform.
Not sure?
If you're not sure about what needs to be done or find any instructions confusing, please ask the TL for help instead of completing the order without assistance. If you make any mistake while completing an order, you might not get the reimbursement. Remember you are dealing with a real purchase, so always ask for help if anything different happens than what you expected or if you have any questions.
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