This concise guide outlines the approaches for online payment security methods to ensure your clients‘ money and data remains safe from leaks and hackers.
Ever since the corona pandemic, even the corner shop has probably had an online shop. The question of how customers should pay for the goods after ordering has become all the more important. In the past, purchases were often made either in advance or on account, and the risk lay entirely with either the buyer or the seller.
Accordingly, prepayment for the shop around the corner would be most convenient, although it is safest to buy on account. Today, a number of third-party providers or banks are getting involved. The order process should be quick, user-friendly and, above all, as risk-free as possible for both sides.
The importance of protecting your customers’ personal and financial data with proper online payment security methods cannot be ignored in the current day and age. It does not matter what type of business you run or how many customers you have, you need to do everything in your power to ensure that their personal data is protected. An online payment security data breach could spell the end of your business when you consider the fines that you will face and how badly your reputation will be damaged.
Ensure online payment security methods
With that in mind, read on to discover some key online payment security methods for any business that accepts online payment.
Make sure you are compliant with PCI-DSS
There is only one place to begin with online payment security methods, and this is with PCI-DSS. PCI-DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. This is a set of 21 requirements that are in place, which state how you need to go about protecting payment data. These requirements are applicable to any business that accepts card payments, no matter whether you accept one or one million payments via card.
Establish a compliance department
We also highly recommend that you take the time to set up a compliance department to ensure online payment security methods are robust. You can check out this guide on the basics of setting up a compliance department, which will take you through everything you need to know.
Educate your employees
Did you know that the vast majority of business data breaches are insider attacks? Although a small number of these are malicious attacks, the bulk of these incidents happen due to employee error. This is because workers have not been trained in the importance of data security nor do they know the methods they should be using in order to protect critical data. This is why it is of paramount importance that you educate your employees about online payment security methods.
Verify transactions
Another important step is to verify payment transactions. There are a number of different ways you can do this. This includes making certain there is an address verification (AVS) match. You should also make sure customers are required to enter their security code. Track patterns as well to make certain you pick up on any suspicious activity, such as an unusually large order.
Choose a payment processor with care
A lot of people think that they do not need to worry about online payment security methods when they outsource payment processing. They assume that this is the responsibility of the third party. However, that is not the case. You still need to choose a company that has solid security measures in place and you will still be responsible for your clients and their data.
Credit card payments can be well secured , for example by additionally requesting a TAN or a password or confirming with the customer’s own fingerprint. The credit card companies offer such additional security procedures. They prevent online criminals from going on a shopping spree on the Internet for the account of others with just their credit card number and check digits. But it is always astonishing how many customers are willing to send their credit card details to an online shop by email. No matter, even if the shop states that this email is encrypted and secured – credit card details have no place in emails.
Conclusion
So there you have it: a concise overview of online payment security methods for any business that accepts online payments at present. It does not matter what products you sell, whether or not you outsource payment processing, or how many customers you have, you need to have a dedicated plan when it comes to the security of all of your clients’ information. Follow the advice above to get started.
