Safeguard Your Business and Your Customers from Card Payment Fraud.
| Posted in Bank Blogs
It’s been said that “cash is king,” but research on consumer spending says otherwise. According to a Forbes Adviser survey, just 9% of Americans use cash to pay for purchases, while 54% of consumers use debit cards and 36% credit cards.
It’s easy to understand the card love. Paying by card is easy and convenient and eliminates the need to carry cash. Debit and credit card acceptance also offers many benefits to business owners, like the ability to sell their goods and services online and expand their market area.
But, there’s a challenge with accepting card payments in person and online – increased threat of fraud to your business.
Yup, with the increase in card transactions has come a corresponding increase in fraud, making it essential that business owners work to protect their customers, reputation, and bottom lines.
Here are some tips to help you keep card fraud out of your business:
- Adhere to PCI-compliant standards. Ensure your company is in compliance with The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) when accepting, processing, and storing customer card data.
- Require identification at the point of purchase. If you take card payments at the point-of-sale, ask for identification, such as a driver’s license. Also, look out for suspicious behavior, which can be a strong indicator of fraud.
- Monitor sales activity. Regularly review orders to look for unusual activity or patterns. For example, did a customer place a larger-than-normal order? Do you notice an increased number of orders that couldn’t be processed? These may be signs of potential fraud.
- Develop a plan for data breaches. Having a plan for how you will address a data breach, including the steps you need to take to limit the damage from the breach and how you will notify your customers is critical.
- Collect only the data you need. While it’s great to know your customers, storing too much of their data can increase the damage of a cyberattack. Obtain only the information you need to close the sale and ensure that any card or personal information you store is protected.
- Update malware and payment processing software. Stay abreast of changing software and security measures, including updating anti-virus software.
- Train your staff. Establish security protocols and procedures for preventing fraud and train your staff about possible threats and how to handle them.
Card payments are a great way to grow your business, but they come with risks. Prepare to defend your business by taking these important steps.