Credit card terminal security covers more aspects. The benefits of investing in security go in more directions.
For instance, customers want to be safe. They want their details safe, especially since card theft is a common crime these days – no one wants to end up with an empty bank account overnight.
Then, it is also about you – you want your business to be secure. You do not want poor-quality processing machinery that can leak data and give others access to your banking details.
Deciding on the best card processing for small business takes some research, but before digging for solutions, it is imperative to become familiar with credit card terminal security first.
The concept of payment security
Payment security goes in more stages and covers everything you need to do to ensure data is kept private. You do not want your customers’ details to leak – and especially their payment details. Such data breaches will lead to lots of problems for your customers and a terrible reputation for your business.
There are numerous protocols that can enhance the security of a business, with 3-D Secure and PCI Compliance being the most popular ones by far. There are more layers in this segment, and they vary based on the type of business you have.
With online shopping gaining more and more popularity, both credit card companies and merchants must implement solid security standards to protect businesses and people against fraudulent transactions – plus, such things could get you in trouble as well.
Defining 3-D Secure
3-D Secure is one of the most common protocols out there and evolves round the clock to prevent fraud. All sorts of details are collected – the transaction, IP address, and amount of money. There are over 100 such details, and each of them is collected to improve security.
Such information is shared over more platforms. The acquirer bank will be notified, but also the issuer bank. The protocol communicated with the infrastructure too. All these things aim to define risks and counter them before they turn into actual trouble.
You might have faced such things before. If there is not enough information or the transaction cannot be authenticated, the customer will have to provide additional verification – such as confirming a transaction through an app, a text message, or a card reader.
Becoming familiar with SSL Protocol
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. The protocol is mostly used online and encrypts any type of communication going over a website. While not important for a random blog, it works wonders for websites that process payments and deal with customer information.
You can tell whether or not a site uses this protocol by checking the address – if it starts with HTTPS, you have an extra layer of security. If it starts with HTTP, you do not. Getting such a certificate is fairly simple and not too expensive either. Make sure you renew it before it expires.
Understanding how tokenization works
Tokenization gains more and more popularity lately, and for some good reasons. Basically, it aims to replace all the information associated with a payment with random characters. If someone does manage to hack you, they will not see numbers and names, but d34j4jaghf#&*% instead.
Using suck tokens gives you the possibility to protect your customers’ accounts, as well as yours. You can also change settings, schedule payments, and so on. To work by the book, tokens will use both private and public keys.
Not only do you have the opportunity to protect all the parties involved in a payment (your customer and your business), but you also reduce the number of times payment details are sent over the web – basically, you reduce the risk of hacking.
How Address Verification Service works
You might have noticed it before – sometimes, it is only a statistic, but other times, it is all about payment security. You go and buy or return something – you will be asked for the postcode or perhaps the house number.
Such tools determine if the details match the details given by the card issuer. If there is a mismatch, the payment will be rejected. Therefore, if someone tries to use someone else’s card, they will also have to know the address.
The problem with AVS is that everything must be flawless. A type or a missing hyphen in the last name can trigger security warnings, so even legitimate customers may end up with rejected payments. With these ideas in mind, it is better to combine this security standard with other similar protocols.
Figuring out Card Verification Value
Finally, the Card Verification Value protocol is better known as the CVV. If you have ever shopped online, you are probably aware of it already – most websites will ask you for it. The CVV consists of those three last digits on the number on the signature strip – the back of your card.
CVV can definitely help prevent fraud, but someone who aims to use someone else’s card can still see it there. Leaks may still occur. Therefore, while good to have, this security protocol works better when combined with others.
Conclusion
As a short final conclusion, credit card terminal security goes in more directions, and to be successful and prevent fraud, you need to implement more of them. Each protocol has its own benefits, hence the necessity to come up with a combination.
Some protocols are designed for online shopping. Some others are made for card processing equipment. No matter what payment solutions you offer, there are lots of opportunities to ensure your business is foolproof.
