After all, cybercriminals now target online transactions, and their actions have resulted in substantial revenue loss for customers, merchants, banks, and other stakeholders. Let’s see how you can stay ahead of the fray by adopting a few essential tips.
How to secure card payments
eCommerce fraud creates reputational and financial damage for merchants. Unfortunately, not only are cybercriminals engaging in fraud – some of your customers could also be doing it too (otherwise known as friendly fraud). So, as you plan to improve the security of payments, you must also take measures to ensure you do not leave room for fraud. But how?
- Integrate verification measures
It's very easy for someone to use another person's card to make a card payment. After all, some people even memorise other people's card numbers for illegal transactions. Here are some ways to prevent this kind of theft:
Ask for the security code. Each card has a security code that only someone with access to the physical card should be able to provide. Requiring your customers to enter this information can help weed out criminals who may have memorised the card number.
Verify addresses. Financial providers have saved addresses for their customers. So, if you require your customers to enter their address, you can further verify the legitimacy of the payment by checking against what is on the record.
Use two-factor authentication. While the above two methods are a great way to limit thieves, they are not a full-proof solution. That's why you must confirm the customer's identity by requiring them to enter a token sent to the email or phone number that their bank has on file for them. If someone cannot access this code, they are likely not the card owner, and you will have prevented them from defrauding you and the actual card owner. You can also validate the email address provided for further security.
- Comply with PCI DSS standards
Once you start accepting credit card payments, you will be liable for all avoidable data breaches. If you don’t have a PCI licence, you will be unable to store payment data directly and instead have to work with a PCI licenced payment provider using encrypted or tokenised data sharing. Following the PCI DSS standards can stop you getting into trouble and putting your customers at risk but you do have to follow specific procedures. Ensure that your systems are secure, keep account data out of reach of unauthorised parties, scan your website for malware, and update your software to avoid security glitches. PCI DSS standards also dictate that you cannot store sensitive authentication data, regardless of your licence status.
- Encrypt data
Repeat customers and subscriptions necessitate data storage. While this makes customers’ lives easier with swift and easy payments, it also creates room for cybercriminals to intercept your transactions and access the sensitive data that you have on file. You can avoid this by getting an SSL certificate that encrypts the connection between the web browser and the server. This certificate also instils confidence with your customers as they will see you have taken the necessary steps to protect them.
- Embrace machine learning
An easy way to tell that a customer's purchasing patterns are out of the norm is to track their previous spending, but this is easier said than done when dealing with many customers. Luckily, machine learning software can handle this for you. The software can assess how customers have interacted with your website before and flag those when spending seems uncharacteristic, allowing you to contact the customers to ensure they are legitimate payments.
- Get insured
As a business owner, despite taking the necessary steps to secure your payments, there will always be events outside of your control. Cyber liability insurance can provide an additional layer of protection for those cases and allow you to seek compensation in those worst-case scenarios.
It starts with you: why you need a secure payment provider
Even with all the measures above, your store could still have glaring security loopholes if you’re not using a dependable payment provider – you need a payment gateway that mitigates known and emerging security risks, enabling you to protect your customers every step of the way. And how better to do this than by using payabl.? Our dependable payment gateway has agile security solutions for all online businesses, ranging from WEB SDKs to eCommerce plugins, ensuring you can keep accepting international payments in a secure environment. Talk to us about getting started on this journey.