Introduction
Don’t let the importance of secure payment processing get away from you. If your company accepts credit card payments, there are certain rules that must be followed to protect both your customers and yourself. These rules can seem overwhelming at first, so we’ve put together this handy guide to help you navigate them with ease.
Make sure your website is PCI compliant
So you’re a business owner and you want to accept credit cards online. But first, let’s talk about PCI compliance.
A few years back, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) came up with a set of standards for companies that handle sensitive payment information. It’s called “Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard,” or PCI DSS for short. The goal of PCI DSS is to protect cardholder data from unauthorized access or use by maintaining its integrity throughout processing environments at all times–from when it’s stored on your server until after it’s been encrypted for transmission over public networks like the internet or mobile networks (if applicable).
Keep an eye on the latest trends in payment processing
Payment processing is an ever-changing industry. You need to keep up with the latest trends and developments, or else you could be left behind. Here are some of the most significant developments in payment processing:
- Updates to PCI standards: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of standards that all businesses that handle credit cards must comply with in order for their customers’ data to remain secure. These standards have been updated multiple times since their initial introduction in 2004, and more updates are expected over time as technology changes and new threats arise.
- New payment methods: Mobile payments have become increasingly popular over the last decade or so, but there’s still plenty of room for innovation when it comes to how we make purchases from our smartphones–or even our computers! Other emerging technologies include cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and blockchain networks like Ethereum; both offer ways for consumers and merchants alike to exchange value directly without using traditional currencies like dollars or euros (or pesos).
- New ways of accepting payments: With all these new options available out there, merchants need better options than just accepting credit cards online via Stripe or PayPal alone; there needs to be some way they can accept all those other types too while still keeping everything secure! Luckily there are plenty such companies out there providing such services including Square Cash App which allows users to send money easily between friends through text messages rather than bank accounts while ensuring compliance with federal regulations regarding financial transactions made over cell phone networks…
Use an online merchant account and payment gateway
An online merchant account is a payment processor that processes credit card transactions for ecommerce businesses. A merchant account can be combined with other services, such as fraud prevention and chargeback mitigation.
A payment gateway is an application that securely processes credit card transactions on behalf of an ecommerce business by sending sensitive customer information over encrypted channels to make sure it’s safe from hackers. Payment gateways are often bundled with online merchant accounts because they’re complementary products–the former handles the technical side of accepting payments while the latter allows you access to different payment methods (like PayPal).
If you’re thinking about starting an ecommerce business or already have one running but aren’t satisfied with your current processing solutions, consider switching over to a combined product like this one from Stripe:
Avoid charging cardholder information for online orders
When you process payments online, the cardholder information should never be stored on your website. If a hacker were to gain access to this information, they could easily steal all of your customers’ credit cards and destroy any trust they have in you as a business. To ensure security and efficiency, use a payment gateway instead of storing credit card data in an database or file on your computer.
If you’re using email as a payment method (like PayPal), don’t store any sensitive information in an email message either!
Create a recurring billing option for your customers
Recurring billing is a great way to build trust with your customers, and it’s also a convenient way for them to pay for the products or services they love. You can set up recurring payments for subscriptions and memberships, as well as one-time purchases.
If you don’t already have recurring billing set up on your site, there are several simple ways to get started:
Include an FAQ section on your site about security and privacy policies
If you have a website, consider adding an FAQ section. This is the perfect place to put information about security and privacy policies. You can also include links to each of these documents on your site so that visitors don’t have to search for them elsewhere.
Allow your customers to pay with multiple methods, and give them room to decide what works best for them.
It’s important to give your customers the ability to pay using multiple methods, and let them decide which one works best for them.
If you’ve ever been in line at a store and had someone behind you try to pay with cash instead of credit or debit card, you know that not all customers are happy with paying with their preferred method.
You can avoid this problem by making sure they have options when it comes time to make a purchase: give them the choice between different payment processors or systems (such as Stripe vs PayPal), allow them to pay through different channels (like text messaging), and give them control over how much detail they want displayed on their receipts (for example, whether they want an itemized list).
You can avoid costly mistakes with secure payment processing
You can avoid costly mistakes with secure payment processing.
- Make sure you’re PCI compliant. If your business accepts payments online, then it’s crucial that you meet the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This industry-wide standard helps ensure that all businesses involved in credit card transactions are protecting their customers’ information from hackers and other threats. You should be able to find a list of certified providers on the website of your processor or gateway provider; this will help you know which ones are safe for use by businesses like yours.
- Use a payment gateway as well as encryption software when transmitting sensitive data such as credit card numbers over public networks such as the Internet–even if those transmissions happen within an organization’s own network (i.e., between servers). This will prevent hackers from intercepting sensitive information during transmission and using that information to make fraudulent purchases or steal identities.* Don’t store any cardholder data at all! If consumers submit their payment details through an online form on your website, do not save those details anywhere else beyond what’s needed for immediate processing purposes (such as storing them temporarily in RAM while awaiting confirmation from another system). It’s much better practice to simply create new records each time someone makes an order rather than keeping old ones around so they can be reused later without needing any further authentication from customers.* Allow customers multiple options when paying with plastic: both debit cards/ATMs and credit cards/Visa Electron may be used interchangeably depending on personal preferences regarding interest rates versus convenience factors such as faster delivery times etcetera…
Conclusion
You’re in charge of your business, so make sure you protect it. In this day and age, payment processing is more important than ever before. You can avoid costly mistakes with secure payment processing.
