10 Best Practices for Secure Online Payment Processing 2024
Last updated on December 21, 2024 by Digital Sky Star
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Learn how secure online payment processing protects your customers and business from risk and fraud.
There are so many brands and businesses selling products and services online. This makes it easy for customers or consumers to have access to varying choices when they want to make purchases. Customers need the assurance that when they share their payment details online in an e-commerce store their details will not be compromised.
However, hackers are constantly looking for ways to steal the banking and payment details that are shared on websites. It makes it increasingly important for e-commerce owners to ensure that payment processing is secure and that customers’ data are not breached because doing so will lead to a dent in the brand’s reputation. Therefore, we will be sharing with you the 10 best practices that you can implement for secure online payment processing. They include:
1. Match the IP and Billing Address Information
During online payment processing, matching the IP and billing address information is frequently done because it helps to prevent fraud and ensure that the payment is secure. To match the IP and billing address information, customers must first input their billing information while making the payment online; this includes details like their address, city, state, country, and postal code. While this is being input, the IP address of the customer will be simultaneously captured. This IP address is usually a numerical label that has been given to the customer’s device once connected to the internet. With the help of geolocation services, the billing and IP address will be compared to see if it matches. Where this does not match, there is a possibility that it is a fraud and the customer can be notified. Including matching IP address and billing address helps secure online payment processing for both the e-commerce store and the customer shopping.
2. Encrypt Data
Another best practice for secure online payment processing is by encrypting data. With the use of TLS and SSL on the websites, data can be encrypted which makes it difficult or impossible for hackers to access the data and make use of it.
The benefit of using an SSL certificate is that customers can share data securely with a website while trying to make online payments. This data can be the card number, pin, CVV codes, expiration date, and other information that if it falls into the wrong hands, can be bad. Here, SSL can be either domain validated, extended validated (EV) or organization validated (validation types). It depends upon the type of SSL certificate that a payment process has in built. Most payment processors go with an EV SSL certificate that provides the highest authentication and security. Many resellers offer low priced or cheap EV SSL certificate in the market.
When a customer’s browser and your company’s website server want to communicate data between both ends, no hacker can intercept that data. It also ensures there is no interception or decryption of data that is shared with you.
3. Use Payment Tokenization
With the use of payment tokenization, payment processing is made secure. How this works is that immediately the card details are inputted on the seller’s server, and a unique token is assigned to it and used while processing the transaction. This token is often randomly generated and a reference is made between the card details and generated token to keep it safe. Therefore, when this token is being communicated to the seller’s server, the seller cannot see the original information on the card detail, but can only see the payment token. So, it becomes impossible for hackers to access the original card details because of the payment token.
4. Require Strong Passwords
Ask your customers to input strong passwords when they want to sign into the payment option of their website. The password should not be something that can be easily guessed by hackers like the birthdates of the customer or that of their loved ones. It is better if the password is something randomly generated but strong. A strong password is usually eight characters long and made up of numbers, alphabets, and symbols. There are times that up to eight characters may not be accepted, but you should still use a strong password. It is advisable to have a password manager to store your passwords, and if you ever have to click on the ‘forgot password’ option, ensure that the OTP that will be sent is to your email address or the phone number you are currently using.
5. Implement 3D Secure
You have to choose a payment service provider (PSP) that supports and allows 3D secure, because it will help to secure payment processing. When you settle on the PSP, you have to sign up and fully get on to make use of it and that will involve supplying relevant data like business name and banking information. With the 3D secure fully integrated on your website, each time a customer provides their card details to make payments, the request for payment and the cardholder's data will be sent directly to your payment service provider's API.
If their card is enrolled in 3D secure, a redirect URL will be given to them to initiate the 3D secure authentication process where they will be asked to enter a one-time password (OTP). After the customer inputs the OTP, he will be directed to the website to complete the payment process. Some cards are not enrolled in 3D secure and it is usually a bit good because of the high risk and the potential of hackers accessing the data. So, implementing 3D secure will help to secure payment processing.
6. Request the CVV
CVV stands for card certification value. It is usually made up of 3 or 4 digits and at the back of a credit card. Ecommerce store owners have seen and agreed with the need of asking customers to input this CVV code for secure online payment processing. The benefit of customers inputting the CVV is to prevent fraudulent transactions because even when someone can access your payment details if they do not have your card, they will not be able to add the CVV hence the payment transaction will not go through.
7. Use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
Based on your state or country, there are different strive customer authentication (SCA) guidelines or procedures that you can make use of to secure payment processing. There are certain monetary thresholds that when it is exceeded, you have to make use of SCA. Therefore, on your website, you have to make use of two-factor authentication, and appropriate authentication methods, which can involve you including third parties, authentication methods on your website.
SCA methods are constantly evolving so for the benefit of your customers you should keep abreast with it and educate your customers on setting up authentication methods and its importance. When your customers have an idea and implement authentication methods, it makes it easier for you both to work together towards securing payment processing.
8. Monitor Fraud Continuously
To monitor fraud for secure online payment processing, you have to make use of real-time monitoring and proactive measures to watch out for this fraud. There are fraud detection tools, address verification systems (AVS), two-factor authentication, chargebacks and refunds, data analysis, and other things you can do to monitor fraud. If you want to monitor fraud in real time, you have to employ a data analyst who can go through all incoming data. Spending the time and resources to do this will help you spot fraudulent activities and any form of hacking attempt during payment processing.
9. Manage PCI Compliance
As an e-commerce store owner or any person who is accepting credit card payments online, you have to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). The standards that must be covering protecting the data of customers and credit cards being used on your website. It ensures that some security systems and networks have been built, and regularly looks out for malicious software that tries to access your website or data. The team should look for who can access sensitive data on your website, each time you notice unauthorized access quickly take notice of it and put a security system in place to prevent an attack and if there is an attack, try to respond immediately to rectify it. Doing all these will help secure online payment processing for your business and customers.
10. Train Employees
Securing payment processing is the work of customers, e-commerce store or website owners, and employees. When your employees are trained on how to secure online payment processing, it will help minimize payment insecurities and hackers accessing sensitive data. So, teach your employees to log out of their accounts when they leave their workstations, not keep work USB drives unattended, and watch out for phishing emails or spam so that they do not click on them. They should not give anyone their accounts or log in details to prevent unauthorized access to their information. Employees should frequently keep abreast of how to secure payment processing.
Rapyd Offers Built-In Payment Fraud Protection with Advanced Features, which will be beneficial to your website or e-commerce stores each time someone wants to make a payment. Additionally, you can download the useful guide: How to Reduce Your Payment Risks for Cross-Border e-commerce. This guide will help you need to secure online payment processing. Know that you can keep or lose your customers online based on the security measures you implement to process payments.
Conclusion
Securing online payment processing is important for a business or brand that does not want to lose customers' data and harm their brand's reputation in the process. So, as an e-commerce store owner, make use of these 10 steps to secure payment processing. Do not fail to keep abreast with relevant and innovative ways to secure payment processing online.
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Written by Digital Sky Star
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