E-commerce platforms and online payment services are multiplying yearly. According to Statista, expectations are that by 2024 the total amount of worldwide digital transactions will be valued at almost $8.3 trillion. At the same time, the issue of protecting and securing online payments is hugely crucial. Warren Buffett, one of the world’s famous investors, calls cyber attacks the number one problem for all humanity.
According to the Cybersecurity Ventures forecast, cyber attack damage in 2021 will cost the world $6 billion, which is two times more than in 2015. With the development of modern technologies, the types of fraud have become more sophisticated. Now, everyone who does business on the Internet must worry about their money and that of their customers.
Proactive Ways To Protect Your Business and Online Transactions
Online payment protection is a comprehensive approach that includes building a secure platform, using encryption methods, manual verification, and so on. These are essential measures to help you protect your e-business and increase users’ confidence.
Below is a list of online payment security tips that each company should use to protect payments in 2020:
1. Build a Secure Online Payment System
First of all, you must make sure that your website or app is reliable and secure. Various programming languages have built-in anti-hacking packages; it makes sense to choose the most effective tool. Take advantage of the services of competent and professional software developers. For example, the KeyUA team has been developing secure payment software for over 12 years. Also, note that a reliable site must have the following characteristics:
PCI DSS Compliance.
It is a standard aimed at protecting payment cards. It was created by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, and Discover to maximize the security of payments. The standard is a set of 12 detailed requirements for organizations (including eCommerce apps) that process payment cards. Check Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to get a more detailed description.
SSL.
Another primary tool that confirms the reliability of a site is a Secure Socket Layer. It establishes a secure connection between users and your website, thus protecting against data interception. Besides, SSL also contributes to more effective SEO. Since the search engines’ algorithms consider a site with SSL to be more reliable, it gets put higher in the search results. There are various ways of obtaining this certificate. For example, using Google web hosting, you can get it for free. It’s also possible to buy SSL from suppliers. The average price is $3.50 – $6 per year.
CVV verification.
CVV Card Verification Value is a 3 or 4 digit code located on the back of the payment card. Be sure to require the user to enter it when paying. This increases the reliability of the transaction. Usually, fraudsters have only the card number and expiration date, while the CVV code remains unknown.
2. Do not store credit card details.
More than 95% of hacks occur in small businesses. Thus, you do not have to store personal customer billing data in your database or cloud. Here are some simple steps you can take to keep yourself and your customers safe:
- Do not store the card number. As a last resort, store only the last 4 digits to identify the client.
- Do not save the CVV code under any circumstances.
- Delete any billing information after the transaction.
3. Tokenize payments
Credit card tokenization is a secure online payment used by Netflix, Amazon, Apple Pay, etc. It is the process of exchanging card data for a unique and secure digital token that can be stored in a database. Strong encryption methods create a secure key that significantly reduces the risk of interception of customer payment data.
Related: How to Download Netflix App on Mac
The huge advantage is that the token works only with a one-time cryptogram generated on the payer’s device. Outside the device, this cryptogram cannot be created. Moreover, tokens are easy to manage. You can delete or create new ones in less than one minute online; there’s no need to visit the bank.
This method provides secure online payments and costs the owner of electronic commerce much less than compliance with the PCI Standards.
4. Use two-factor authentication for secure online payments
The most common method of protecting user data is two-factor identification. Trusted online banking systems also use it. Two-factor authentication involves two steps to gain access to customer information.
The first step is to enter the username and password.
The second step is to provide additional information that only the user can own, such as a unique code sent by SMS, email, phone call, fingerprint, or face scan.
5. Use Trusted and Secure Online Payment Systems
Many small and medium-sized businesses use third-party vendors to conduct transactions. These resources offer payment systems that process transactions. In other words, these are intermediaries between the bank in which you have an account and the client’s bank, which serves the movement of funds. Payment systems have tools such as a payment gateway and a payment processor.
The payment gateway securely transfers credit card information between the buyer, seller, and payment processor.
A payment processor is a company used by a website (seller) to process transactions.
Reliable payment systems have a robust level of security, so it is worth using trusted providers. The top 5 suppliers are:
- Authorize.Net
- PayPal
- Google Checkout
- Stripe
- Braintree
6. Verify transactions
Another way to protect payments is to verify customers’ transactions. It can involve several steps. One of the most common methods to secure online transactions is the Address Verification Service or AVS. It is actively used for payments without presenting a card and for eCommerce. The bottom line is that you need to compare the billing address with the issuing bank’s address information stored in the card file. Based on the result, decide on the transaction. Andres can coincide completely, partially coincide, or be completely different, which indicates fraudulent actions.
The next step is to check the small details of the transaction, such as the email address. In this case, manual verification may be required. Suspicious email addresses can indicate fraudulent activity.
Explore the unusual activity of regular customers—for example, large amounts of orders, not typical for previous purchases.
7. Tell clients how they can protect themselves
VPNs use modern encryption methods to protect user data. Surely your site may have reliable tools such as SSL, but additional protection will not be excessive. Explain to your clients that when they use a VPN, they increase the security of their online activities. You can post this information on your website or blog if you run one.
8. Maintain a customer database
It is important to identify customers. Typically it should be a name, email address, telephone number, and shipping address. It is also good to save to database IP addresses from which users entered the site and the shopping cart’s contents. But, do not forget that the storage of personal payment information is not allowed. More detailed information about the client will help identify fraudulent actions, such as when a user logs in from an atypical IP address or uses a suspicious email.
9. Use an antivirus on the server
Some viruses break into user data on their computer and use them to commit financial fraud. If your service provides any documents that users can generate on your site and then download on a computer, you must keep your environment secure. Ensure that a reliable antivirus is installed on your server, periodically run a system scan, and monitor the results.
10. Test your platform
By knowing the specific flaws of your system, you can develop valid and reliable system architecture. Security testing is the assessment of system vulnerabilities to various types of attacks.
Security testing is carried out in several ways – manually and automatically. The first method assumes that the tester will manually search for system vulnerabilities, imitating unscrupulous persons’ behavior. Automated testing involves creating programs and tools that will try to hack the system to identify potential bottlenecks.
Final Words on Secure Online Payments
Small and medium-sized businesses are highly susceptible to cyber attacks due to limited resources. Cybersecurity Ventures states that attacks on small businesses occur every 14 seconds. If you do not want to lose significant amounts of money, protect your website or application in advance.
Building a payment software solution and a robust system is a great way to protect your company and customer data and ensure secure transactions. It is also important to hire trusted developers who can create a powerful eCommerce system. Update your knowledge of transactions’ protection techniques. Modern technologies are rapidly developing, and new affordable ways to secure your business appear more and more often.
