Martin Halse

Associate Director, Test Manager 

Everyday Banking (Contract to Permanent Dec 2020)

August 2018 – Present

Visa to Mastercard Migration - Card scheme migration from Visa to Mastercard that included the mass re-issue of ca. 80,000 cards

• Analysed and documented as-is Visa functionality, forming a reference point for the to-be Mastercard state
• Defined the Mastercard settlement and reconciliation model and facilitated rollout across Payment Operations
• Contributed to the definition of the migration and re-issue strategy by evaluating and providing feedback on various options
• Prerequisite to the migration, led Coutts, Mastercard and other third-party resources in verifying global acceptance of Coutts Mastercard cards
  • Obtained and analysed historic transaction data to identify and target specific merchants, countries and transaction types
  • Centrally managed all reported issues; actively engaged and united the third-party card processor, Mastercard, and affected merchants to bring about resolution
• Developed a test strategy that delivered testing across multiple third-party vendor systems, culminating in comprehensive end-to-end and live proving phases
• Supported the Card Operations team post go-live by investigating issues and identifying appropriate solutions

PSD2 / Open Banking - Introduction of enhanced authentication processes and procedures for payments

• Analysed OBE documentation to form a deep understanding of the PSD2 rules and the application of strong customer authentication
• Applied knowledge to ensure the solutions delivered by the internal development team and third-party vendors met the objectives of the regulation
• Undertook the design and execution of the testing of internally developed Open Banking APIs and third-party card processor developed PSD2 card authorisation changes

Card Issuance Platform Migration - Migration of card production between third-party providers G+D and Idemia

• Created the functional specification upon which the new vendor developed the end solution
  • Investigated system functionality and business logic and translated the output into a set of functional requirements
  • Consulted with the vendor throughout the design and build phase to ensure the solution was built to specification
• Planned and then led live proving and verification activities over the transition weekend

Coutts Crown Dependencies - Development of a current account proposition offering multi-currency debit card, CHAPS, FPS, and SWIFT payment functionality to offshore clients

• Chaired the daily payments working group at the most critical stage of the programme
  • Worked through outstanding SWIFT and FPS issues with Payment Operations specialists and Software Engineers to devise solutions under aggressive timelines
  • Produced papers presenting options to aid in decision making in steering committees and by senior leadership
• Coordinated the formal accreditation process with the UK payments standards body

Test Lead (Contract)

Mar 2014 – June 2018 (Oct 16 – May 17 sabbatical)

Re-Platform Programme - A complete front-to-back office re-platform of Brewin’s execution-only subsidiary Stocktrade

• Mapped the organisation landscape, ran workshops with each business function within the trade lifecycle and documented the outputs in the form of business requirements
• Obtained business and system process documentation, and combined with workshop output, defined the minimal viable scope to prove platform readiness
• Built out a test strategy that aligned testing with the phased deliveries by the platform vendor and business test resources from across the organisation
• Coordinated 25 business resources across three locations undertaking test execution, ensuring progress tracked to plan and impediments dealt with swiftly 
• Engaged directly with the external platform vendor to efficiently manage identified issues 
• Created and owned action logs and chaired regular meetings to actively drive progress

Test Analyst (Permanent)

Jan 2010 – Feb 2014

• Responsible for testing client-requested changes and quarterly core platform upgrades
• Ultimately assigned to a key TDWI client as a dedicated resource upon building a dependable relationship
• Collaborated with the business to inform on testing to ensure their needs were met and changes were operationally fit for purpose
• Analysed requirements and investigated application functionalities
• Established test environments and test data, developed and executed test plans and cases
• Responsible for facilitating the resolution of issues, logged and tracked them through to resolution
• Produced timely and accurate reporting of the status of testing-related activities; escalated risks and issues as appropriate to the Test Manager 
• Analysed arising issues and provided valuable input into solutions through the application of subject matter expertise

• Jira
• Confluence
• Microsoft MTM
• HP ALM
• Microsoft Office

• Avaloq
• Fiserv VisionPLUS
• TSYS TS2
• Broadcom ARCOT

• Visa
• Mastercard
• FNZ Figaro
• Objectway Eximius & OMS

• SWIFT
• ISO 8583
• FIX Protocol
• Open Banking Standards

• API
• SQL
• XML 
• Digital Wallet / Tokenization