Nothing can be more frightening than learning your online payment, credit card or bank account has been compromised or your customer database has been hacked and the information stolen. When doing business transactions online, you want to be assured your information (and money) are safe. What are some ways you can keep your online payments secure? How do you protect your money and still enjoy the convenience of online transactions? There are steps you can take to secure your online payments to keep your online payments safe and provide secure online shopping for your customers.
Ten Steps to Securing Online Payments
When looking at ways you can make your online payments more secure, consider the following options:
Two-Factor or Personal Authentication
Using a two-factor authentication method is vital to protecting your online payments. Additionally, you can use a personal authentication method to protect online transactions. Two-factor authentication methods use a code sent to you via text or email to enter after you’ve entered your user ID and password. This helps verify it is you making the transaction. Personal authentication uses a form of identification such as a driver’s license or other government issued identification.
Use of secure third-party partners to store sensitive payment information
Third-party partners actually process your payments to a store or business without your information being stored with the entity providing the good or service. This helps protect your customer’s online payments to your store by keeping sensitive customer data in a separate system.
Have a secure e-commerce platform for online payments
There are a number of e-commerce platforms to choose from when opening your online market/store, so make sure the one you choose is reputable with excellent security measures in place.
Invest in cyber liability insurance
In the event your systems are compromised and there is a data breach, having cyber liability insurance can help cover the costs involved with handling the breach.
Avoid storing customer payment data in your system
Once the payment or transaction is complete, clear the information from your system. Storing customer payment data can lead to compromised accounts if there is a breach, so by deleting that data once it is no longer needed helps protect you and the customer.
Invest in an SSL certificate for your business
Investing in an SSL certificate for your e-store is another way to safeguard your customer’s payment information. The SSL certificate is coding that gives online communication more security. Costs can range from $5 to $1000, but the average SSL certificate cost is around $60. This is a small price to pay to avoid a much more expensive data breach.
Keep your PC software up to date and keep your system in compliance
When the notice to update your software comes across your computer screen, don’t ignore it. Also, make sure you are in compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards to protect you and your customers.
Educate customers about their role in protecting online payments
When setting up new accounts, or when talking to customer, educate them on the role they can take in safeguarding their information. You can also convey to your customers via a newsletter, through blurbs on receipts or in your advertising or use of exclusive coupons the steps you are taking to protect their information. These measures can be use of VPNs and other security methods.
Watch for suspicious patterns or online behaviors
Pay attention to what happens in your accounts. When you see suspicious activity, flag it and reach out to customers to confirm identity. Also, when you train new employees, take time to educate them on patterns of fraud and how to identify them and report them.
Make sure your host provider has safeguards in place to protect customers
All the measures in the world won’t matter is your website host provider doesn’t also have measures in place, so make sure the host provider is in compliance and has updated security.
Protecting yourself and your customers helps make online business fun and rewarding for everyone. Educating customers and putting security measures in place can help prevent data breaches that result in financial loss.
