Protecting the business has always been of concern to merchants. In years past, these security concerns were traditionally centered around protecting the physical inventory and the building. Today, security concerns are much more complex. Merchants also have to protect their business systems from thieves stealing much more valuable, non-physical assets such as sensitive payments data.
Being a merchant today means having a credit card processing system that not only uses best-in-class security solutions, but also anticipates customers’ ever-evolving needs. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead of fraudsters – and your competition.
Big events in the payments industry
In 2004, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was introduced, signaling a momentous shift in the importance of protecting digital assets. In October 2015, the U.S. began the official shift to EMV chip card technology, including chargeback liability shift to merchants.
While the migration to EMV technology has been one of the biggest events in credit card payments in the past 10 years, merchants have to take additional measures to keep their systems secure. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re not vulnerable to a data breach just because you’ve upgraded your systems to accept EMV chip cards. On the contrary, you also need to consider how your customers are changing their behavior with respect to hot new payment types like mobile wallets and their associated security protections.
With fraud breaches in the mainstream news, consumers are very aware of these incidents and are taking measures to prevent a breach from impacting them. Sixty-one percent of consumers say that any extra time needed to process an EMV chip card is worth the added security. Tapping into this desire for more security and other emerging payment preferences offers merchants new opportunities to connect with customers and build long-term loyalty.
Consumers taking payment card security seriously
With the shift to EMV technology fully underway, U.S. merchants now shoulder a bigger burden for chargebacks. However, they aren’t the only ones who are thinking about data security. Recent research found that the majority of consumers think they are equally as responsible for protecting themselves against card fraud as the card companies are. Since nearly half of consumers have been a victim of some type of card fraud, it’s not surprisingly that they’ve become more vigilant about their own credit card data security.
This vigilance is directly impacting the types of payments that consumers use when they shop. Nearly two-thirds of consumers think that traditional magnetic stripe cards are the least secure payment method, while half of consumers rate EMV chip cards as the most secure payment form and prefer to use them.
Making data security a priority as a business owner
First off, make sure you’ve upgraded all of your POS terminals and payment systems to accept EMV chip cards – and that you’ve trained your staff on the process, since it is a bit different than magnetic stripe cards. As chip cards become increasingly commonplace, shoppers will become skeptical of the security of merchants who aren’t using EMV-enabled terminals.
Secondly, you have to decide which types of payments you’re going to accept on your eCommerce website. Since PayPal has a generally good reputation among shoppers for secure online transactions, you will want to consider offering this payment option on your website.
Thirdly, you should keep in mind that one of the primary caveats for shoppers using mobile payments is feeling confident that their transactions are safe and secure (see below).
How mobile payments benefits merchants
January 2016 research found that one out of four consumers think mobile wallet payments are the least secure payment type. Reasons that consumers think mobile wallets are unsecure include:
- Losing their phone and compromising their payment information
- Being connected to public WiFi networks and transmitting payment data
- Being afraid a business at which they’ve used their mobile wallet will be hacked
At the same time, you should not disregard mobile payments altogether since these concerns don’t stop all consumers from using mobile payments – and security experts agree that mobile wallets are a secure payment type. February 2017 research showed that one out of three consumers have used mobile wallet payments within the past three months, while 80 percent of shoppers rate their mobile payment experience as fairly positive.
Those mobile wallet users who haven’t been happy with their experience cite the following reasons:
- Frustration with cashiers
- Problems using payment terminals
- Inconsistent experience among different retailers
But, there are fairly easy ways to combat these challenges. If you choose to accept mobile wallet payments, make sure you’ve implemented and tested your POS terminals to make sure they work smoothly. Also, make sure your staff is trained on mobile payments acceptance so they are confident using this payment type and it will be a positive experience for your shoppers.
3 things you can do today to protect credit card data
Keeping all this in mind, here are three things you can do right now to show your customers that you take their payment data security seriously:
- Upgrade to EMV. Make sure you’ve upgraded your POS terminals to accept EMV chip cards, the most secure card type for card-present purchases.
- Shout it loud and proud. Display signage to let your customers know you accept EMV chip cards and payments via a mobile device, and train your staff to explain to customers how their data is secured in these types of transactions.
- Offer the latest payment options. Offer PayPal and other favorite payment types that make online purchases easy and secure for your customers.
As you choose which payment options you’ll offer – and take steps to make sure your systems are secure – your payment processor is your trusted advisor. Speak with your processor today for advice on the offerings you should provide based on your industry, business type and customer needs.
