Online purchases of goods and services have revolutionized commerce, opening up endless opportunities to entrepreneurs worldwide. As ecommerce continues to grow, it has also brought about vices like online fraud and theft.
Protecting customers against attacks over the internet and cyber theft to gain their trust is becoming crucial and one of the most important tasks for business owners. Therefore, it is important to take maximum security measures to keep their business and their customers safe from risks in accepting online payments.
Below are some security measures for online transactions that make it possible to transact safely online while safeguarding customers and businesses from security threats.
Ensure PCI DSS Compliance
If your business accepts online payment, it is essential to comply with PCI DSS compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). PCI DSS was established in 2006 to promote the safety and security of financial data and assures that the website meets security requirements for online payment.
Get an SSL Certificate for your site.
Each online business should go with an SSL certificate. SSL certificate enables your website to encrypt sensitive customer data, such as credit card details that passes between a browser and a web server during and after a transaction. You can take the help of trusted Certificate authorities like Comodo SSL, RapidSSL, GeoTrust SSL, DigiCert SSL to purchase an ssl certificate.
Don`t store customer payment data.
Storing sensitive information puts it at risk against cybercriminals. Almost all websites ask for customers’ information to fill in a prescribed form, and it seems a common practice. Once the transaction is done, there`s no reason to store a customer`s financial information.
Choose a secure e-commerce platform.
It can be easy to manage all the security measures on your own, which is ideal for finding a reliable e-commerce platform and payment processor. That way, you can rest assured that all the security issues are well taken care of. However, before committing, you should thoroughly research the most reputable ecommerce platform and payment processor that caters to all your security needs. Some of the popular ecommerce platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce and Magento.
Use an Address Verification Service (AVS).
Almost all online businesses use an Address Verification Service, which verifies whether the billing address is correct or not. The address should be verified in case of debit and credit card transactions, especially for authorization. The business receives a code from the card processor asking whether the transaction should be rejected or processed.
Use of tokenization and encryption.
Both tokenization and encryption are popular and effective ways of ensuring data is secure. Tokenization works by removing the data from a system and replace it with an associated value. At the same time, encryption leaves the original information intact but makes it inaccessible without a proper key.
Tokens are random characters that replace sensitive data like the credit card number. If a token is misplaced, the hacker cannot get anything out of it. Tokenization amends payment security and decreases the probabilities of a data breach. Data at the store should be encrypted, which is an extra layer of security.
Conclusion:
Online transactions need a strong security and encryption is an ideal answer. Lack of security, customers’ online details is at risk. The key to secured online financial transactions starts with information and precautions. We hope that above tips to secure online transactions will be helpful to secure your business and enhances the trust in your customers.