When it comes to online payment processing, safety and security should be your top priorities. After all, you don’t want your customers’ information falling into the wrong hands. That’s why following the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing is essential.
But what are the best practices? And how can you implement them? In this article, we’ll answer those questions and provide tips for keeping your customers’ information safe and secure.
The Risks of Online Payments
When processing payments online, it’s essential to be aware of the risks involved. After all, you don’t want your customers’ information falling into the wrong hands.
That’s why it’s essential to use a secure payment gateway. This is a system that encrypts your customers’ information so that unauthorized individuals can’t read it. In addition, a secure payment gateway will keep track of all the transactions on your site, so you can rest assured that your data is safe and sound.
Another thing to remember is never to store your customers’ credit card information on your own servers. This is a significant security risk and can leave you open to attacks from hackers. Instead, use a third-party provider to store this information for you.
By following these best practices, you can ensure that your customers feel safe and secure when they’re making payments on your site.
Best Practices for Online Payment Processing
The following are some of the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing:
1. Link the Billing & IP Address Details
If you take the time to verify the details during the checkout, you may get hold of all the fraudulent transactions and manage to save your business from losing money. AVS (Address Verification Service) is a process in which the IP of the buyer is compared with the billing address of the credit card utilized. This will verify if the cardholder is using his personal card to make the payment.
2. Data Encryption
Transport Layer Security and Secure Socket Layers are security protocols that encrypt and authorize data online. If you want all the information on your website to stay secure, you should encrypt it and make it accessible to the concerned person only.
3. Set Up the SSL Certificate
Ensure that the website where your customers make purchases is SSL-secured. The first clue is the padlock icon in the address bar of your browser window when you are accessing your website. To let the client know you are who you claim you are and that your certificate is valid and current, you should be able to click on the icon that will reveal that your company is, in fact, the website’s owner. The second is the “HTTPS://” in your website’s address.
The SSL certificate must be installed on your website or, at the very least, on the payment page where you accept and send credit card information, per payment providers’ requirements.
4. Utilize Strong and Tricky Passwords
Cyber goons are always on the hunt to get access to user accounts that use easy passwords like data or birth, names, familiar words, and personal phone numbers. You can make their lives a whole lot more complex by adding another layer of defense by simply requesting a solid password. Make it necessary for all users to use a password with a combination of numbers, upper-case and lower-case letters, and characters.
Do you know that a 12-character password takes 62 trillion times longer to crack than a 6-character one? Well, now you do!
5. Request the CVV or Card Expiry
A CVV (Card Verification Value) is the number printed on the back of a credit card. These digits are used to verify if the customer making the payment physically has the card or not. By chance, if the card is stolen, such information that is only written on the card can help you check criminals.
You can also request the card’s expiry as this information is also available on the card. This will add an additional layer of security to protect your store from dealing with thieves.
6. Use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
SCA is a regulatory requirement that applies to companies that process payments online. It’s designed to help reduce fraud and protect customers by requiring them to authenticate their identities with two or more factors.
This could be something as simple as entering a password and a security code or using a fingerprint or facial recognition scan. The idea is that by using more than one verification method, customers are less likely to be the victims of fraud. So, if you’re a business owner who processes payments online, you must familiarize yourself with SCA and ensure your system is compliant.
7. Streamlined Monitoring
In order to instantly catch a cybercriminal, you need to introduce the concept of streamlined monitoring in your store. All store owners need to go for a payment gateway that instantly flags and deals with fraudulent actions. The built-in monitoring facility allows store owners to have the power to set specific rules and benchmarks as per their business requirements. This will help in rejecting any transaction that seems harmful or suspicious.
8. PCI Compliance Management
A merchant must be PCI compliant in order to process, store, or transfer credit card data. For a non-compliant organization, a data breach can have serious repercussions, including expensive fines and penalties and severe reputational harm.
However, businesses should take a proactive approach to understanding their obligations and compliance standards. Payment processors play a significant role in helping merchants manage and maintain compliance.
9. Do Not Store Customer Information
Storing customer data for your next newsletter or huge sale could sound like a good idea, but it isn’t.
Particularly with regards to credit card information. According to PCI Compliance standards, retailers are not permitted to hold all card information. Unless the customer chooses to set up a secure account to access later, you should securely discard all payment information. Even in that case, this information should not be kept on your premises but rather saved on a PCI-DSS-compliant gateway operated by a regulated gateway provider through tokenization.
Establish a structure for what is kept and what is thrown out. Your clients should be informed of this information, so they know that payment details aren’t being saved. This will also encourage them to buy from your site as they’ll feel safe.
10. Offer Training to Your Employees About Cyber Threats
By holding training sessions for your employees in which you offer knowledge about various cyber threats and skills to counter them, they’ll be able to deal confidently with such matters. In addition, the ability to respond, recognize and identify suspicious activity is crucial to keep online payment processing secure in your store.
Final Words
When looking for a payment processing service, it’s essential to ensure that they offer the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing. That way, you can feel confident that your information is safe and your transactions are protected.
Look for a payment processor with a good reputation and robust security features. Make sure that they use industry-standard encryption methods to protect your data and that their fraud prevention measures are up to par.
