Doing a digital business is pretty cool! However, there are a host of challenges which an ecommerce businessman has to overcome. And, one of these challenges includes ensuring credit card payments made by customers is completely secured. Trustworthy online businesses are not built overnight. A small mistake can bring down your business within minutes. Ecommerce store owners, therefore, need to exercise great caution when it comes to handling credit card payments because ghosts do reside in wires as well.
Besides losing a customer’s trust, online retailers lose billions of revenues each year just because the credit card processing was not secured. In 2012, ecommerce merchants lost about $3.5 billion due to online fraud. Also, about 10% of Americans in 2012 became victims of credit card fraud. So, as an online retailer, how do you convince customers that their confidential information is in safe hands? Well, here’s your answer…..
Be careful with bank card information
First things first, never store bank card information on your premises. Collect & store data only when absolutely necessary. Go for third party payment processors with PCI DSS compliance. These providers use a platform to ensure that sensitive data is not stored in your business software. Instead, it’s stored securely in a virtual place using cloud technology.
Train your employees to handle data carefully
Not training your employees to handle credit card information in the right manner can harm your online business. Make sure you have crisp and clear policies regarding these. Always double-check an employee’s credentials before hiring him/her. Encourage employees to report instances of fraud or any other online vulnerability. Limit the access to sensitive data.
Encrypted connections are useful
Go for E2EE or what is better known as end-to-end encryption when it comes to transferring sensitive information from your place to an external server. You can either go for TLS (Transport Layer Security) or SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). Also, make sure that any application used for processing sensitive information uses encryption. E2EE technology is extremely helpful in preventing online data theft and other kinds of fraud.
Go for secured payment gateways/merchant accounts
When it comes to choosing payment gateways or merchant accounts, go for the most reliable. Partner with reputed a merchant service which has experience in handling credit card processing safely. It will help strengthen your business. Never go for cheaper alternatives. Also, consider their payment practices and how easily it will integrate with your website software.
PCI Compliance
Payment Card Industry-Compliance is absolutely essential, given the kind of today’s online business environment. You must ensure that the payment processing software you use has Payment Application Data Security Standard certification. Also, your online business has to get a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certification. All this ensures that you are adhering to the best practices when it comes to receiving online payments.
Apart from these tips, as an online retailer you must always be proactive. Keep yourself updated with upcoming threats as cyber thieves are constantly on the look-out for security loop holes. So, gear up yourself to protect your customers’ precious data!
Author Bio
Max Shouse is a noted writer, an experienced ecommerce retailer and is associated with http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com. He loves to share tips and tricks about conducting online businesses in a more secured and safe manner.