Tips for Transacting Customer Payments Securely in Your Business
These days, less people want to pay for goods and services with cash, and instead want to make use of payment options such as credit card transactions, mobile pay, PayPal transactions, mobile wallets, etc.
If you want to cater to this demand, and/or sell online, it is important to give customers a variety of payment options to choose from and to make processes as quick and streamlined as possible. However, with hackers continually finding more ways to gain access to sensitive data and systems, it is also imperative to keep customer payments secure every time. Read on for some key tips you can follow today to ensure this is the case.
Pick a Secure Merchant Services Facility
One of the first steps you need to take to ensure transactions are secure is to select a secure merchant services facility. While there are lots of different firms in this area, they don’t all have the same commitment to security. As such, make sure you do your research when comparing options and ask the necessary questions to find out what kind of security measures providers have in place.
When you’re analyzing payment processors, it is best to find a company that is committed to ensuring all the data which is transmitted between them and their clients, plus customers and banks, is encrypted using complex algorithms, so that hackers can’t get easy access.
Additionally, search for a merchant services firm that incorporates CVV2 verifications; can work with top-level SSL certificates; has limits on how data is stored and sent via the Internet; and can utilize EDoc processing so you can minimize the risk of fraudulent transactions.
Protect Information with Security Software, Firewalls, and Proper Passwords
Next, when it comes to things you can do from your own end to keep customer data secure, it is very important to protect all your company’s computers and networks with security software and firewalls. Every gadget your business uses should be outfitted with comprehensive security software that will protect it from malware, spam, viruses, spyware, ransomware, and the like.
This will ensure hackers won’t be able to simply break into your systems to get access to information. It also helps to stop cybercriminals from infecting your networks and devices with malicious code that runs in the background, stealing your login information or taking note of keystrokes.
Firewalls are also really handy because they act as one of the first lines of defense when hackers attempt to break into your systems via an Internet connection. You can choose to buy a third-party firewall, or you might find that you actually already have a firewall pre-installed on your computers. If you decide to use these, ensure they are actually running. Often, firewalls will be sitting there but won’t be activated by the manufacturer. To check, head to the settings on your devices to see what the current status is.
Keep All Systems and Passwords Updated
Another key part of keeping prying eyes from seeing customer data is ensuring all your business systems are kept up to date. Hackers can try to take advantage of holes in your security to gain access to information, so you need to keep these holes plugged. To do this, always use the most up-to-date versions of browsers, plug-ins, and apps which are downloaded on your devices, and update the security software and firewalls you use as soon as new releases become available.
Something to keep in mind is that even when you go out and buy a new computer which comes with programs and firewalls installed, these might already be out of date if the gadget was manufactured some time ago and has been sitting on a store shelf for a while. As a result, you need to check for updates as soon as you set up the computer for use.
Don’t forget to keep your password information updated, too. This goes for all team members who will be using company devices or logging into business-owned websites, networks, and programs. Codes should be changed every two to three months for optimum security, and kept at a minimum of eight characters in length to be difficult to crack. Tell your employees to create passwords which are made up of a combination of symbols, letters (both upper and lower case), and numbers for the codes to be as secure as possible.
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