The risks of fraud and information theft are increasing every day. Because of this, it is extremely crucial to protect your customers’ sensitive information and take the necessary steps to secure your business’s reputation and maintain its clients’ trust. Inadequate security in your payment system and easy access to this data are not only bad for business but also break this trust in the eyes of your customers and the financial institutions you use to process payments.
If you sell products or accept payments for your services online, you deal with sensitive information like credit and debit card numbers, bank accounts, addresses, and more. Your customers trust you with this information, so having a secure payment system is not only necessary but also a priority.
Think of it like this: an online store needs a sound security system, just like a physical shop must have locks and alarms. Fortunately, the right tools can create a secure payment system that protects your customers and business against detrimental risks.
Now, how do you secure your business? This article will describe how to implement the most secure payment system for your online store and detail how ECS Payments can make your life easier with its e-payment solutions and services.
1. Choose a Reliable Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is the avenue that takes your customers’ payment details and processes a transaction. Because payment gateways authenticate sensitive information, such as credit card details, and authorize transactions between your store and financial institutions, the first thing you should do to build a safe checkout system for your online store is to use a trusted payment gateway.
Think of a payment gateway as the bouncer outside your e-commerce store. Its job is to allow legitimate transactions to pass through securely, while keeping the garbage that has no business being there out. Your payment gateway is provided by a merchant service provider or payment processor, like ECS Payments.
2. Ensure PCI DSS Compliance With Your Payment System
The best way to ensure a secure payment gateway is to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which the ard brands developed to protect sensitive cardholder data during payments.
Any inadvertent violation will result in fees, an increased risk of potential fraud, and, as a result, many unhappy customers. Without a compliant system, your business is at a higher risk for chargebacks, which result in lost revenue, fines, and damage to your reputation. Unfortunately, reputational damage and excessive chargebacks could result in the loss of processing capabilities with any valid payment processor.
3. Use Tokenization for Secure Payment Data Storage
One important security feature for online shopping carts is tokenization. Tokenization protects e-commerce sites from serious financial fraud while maintaining the convenience of recurring billing or future transactions. Instead of storing real credit card numbers, tokenization stores a random string of characters (tokens) in the gateway. If a hacker breaks into your payment system, the tokens are useless.
4. Implement Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption
Another security feature is encryption. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) provides further data protection by encrypting communication between your website and customers. It establishes a secure connection that protects sensitive data during a transaction transmission, preventing unauthorized access to credit card numbers and personal information.
SSL certificates are essential for securing your checkout process, and most customers are now aware of its importance. SSL encrypts the connection between your customer’s computer and your website so no one can snoop on their data. If you’re on a secure website, you will see a small padlock in your browser’s address bar and an “s” standing for “secure” at the end of “http” (https).
5. Ensure Mobile Payment Security
Nowadays, people shop on their phones as much as or even more than their computers. In fact, a 2023 study indicates that 85% of remote purchases were completed via mobile devices. Customers expect a seamless, safe shopping experience regardless of the device they use. Because of this, it’s crucial that you optimize your point of sale for mobile device payments with the same level of security as a desktop.
In addition to the previously mentioned security measures such as PCI compliance, tokenization, and SSL encryption, consider 3D Secure (3DS).
3Ds is an additional layer of authentication added to increase the security of an online transaction, especially one on a mobile device. It confirms whether the person using the card for a purchase is the real cardholder. 3DS uses one-time text codes or biometric authentication, such as fingerprint scans or facial recognition, to confirm the validity of the mobile payment. This extra step and high security during the payment process ensures customers’ data is safe.
6. Monitor and Detect Fraud with Advanced Security Tools
It’s important to be able to quickly identify suspicious activity and then respond to it accordingly. But preventing fraud before it happens might be even more essential. Fraud prevention tools use a variety of methods designed to identify and prevent fraudulent activity within payment systems, including:
- Address Verification Service (AVS): This tool checks that the billing address the customer provided at checkout matches the address the card issuer has on file. Any discrepancies can indicate fraudulent activity. Not all mismatches are fraudulent, i.e., the cardholder recently moved and hasn’t updated their address. However, it is a good indicator otherwise.
- Card Verification Value (CVV): This three- or four-digit code is printed on the back of the card. It is not stored in the magnetic stripe or chip. Therefore, the customer must have the card physically in hand to know the CVV.
- Velocity Checks: These checks monitor the number and frequency of transactions from a particular account or IP address. Unusual patterns, such as a sudden increase in activity, may indicate fraudulent activity.
- Machine Learning Algorithms: Machine learning algorithms analyze transaction data to identify patterns or unusual occurrences that may indicate that a payment is fraudulent. This technology can adapt as time progresses, enhancing its ability to detect new threats.
7. Stay Updated with Security Features and Payment System Compliance
With the rapid advances in technology, online security is constantly changing. To ensure the best security and compliance for your online store’s payment system, it’s important to look out for new threats and stay well informed of legal requirements so you can be proactive.
To stay informed about security, you can regularly monitor security news and updates from trusted sources like industry forums and webinars, experts, and peers about emerging threats and vulnerabilities, best practices, and new security technologies to mitigate them. You can also subscribe to security newsletters to receive real-time notifications about potential risks and the recommended actions to take.
Once you are informed, it’s time to focus on educating your staff. Train your employees on security best practices, such as how to recognize phishing attempts and report them, handle sensitive customer data, and secure their passwords. To really drill this in, you could even conduct periodic security drills or simulations to test your staff’s preparedness and identify any areas for improvement.
By staying informed on current fraud threats, maintaining POS compliance, and proactively addressing security risks, you can create a secure and trustworthy payment experience for your customers, safeguard their sensitive data, and protect your business from potential financial and reputational damage.
ECS Payments and Your Secure Payment System
It’s not only about your protection but also about making your customers feel safe when they enter their credit card numbers on your website. ECS Payments provides businesses with various solutions that can help build a secure payment system for their online stores. It simplifies the payment process and accepts a number of payment options, such as credit cards, ACH transfers, and digital wallets. This makes it easier for customers and secure at the same time.
Additionally, ECS ensures that all merchants know how to become PCI compliant. It has a 90-day grace period, reminder emails, and a security walkthrough to help merchants set up their gateway security easier. Also, the ECS payment gateway provides end-to-end encryption, tokenization, and secure authorization of the payment transactions to avoid disclosure of the payment details while making and storing the payment. With the help of our real-time fraud detection tools and payment monitoring, ECS Payments can detect and report any suspicious transaction, helping businesses avoid chargebacks and other forms of fraud.
By partnering with ECS Payments, businesses can utilize these tools and features to help equip their point of sale with robust security so customers can shop with peace of mind.
