diff --git a/bert_e/tests/unit/test_github_app_auth.py b/bert_e/tests/unit/test_github_app_auth.py
index f4ad7110..a1023cce 100644
--- a/bert_e/tests/unit/test_github_app_auth.py
+++ b/bert_e/tests/unit/test_github_app_auth.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ def client_app():
             serialization.Encoding.PEM,
             serialization.PrivateFormat.PKCS8,
             serialization.NoEncryption()
-        ),
+        ).decode('utf-8'),
         base_url="http://localhost:4010",
         accept_header="application/json"
     )