Accepting Credit Card Payments – Is it Safe?

With the kind of transformation that shopping habits and purchasing behavior have seen in the last few years, it’s important that your small business stays in sync. As a business owner, meeting customer expectations is the cornerstone of the health and growth of your business.

Today, Americans not only have a credit card; on average, they have at least three. Surveys show that these cards are used most often for making online purchases and paying for travel/holiday related expenses. Other sectors where credit cards are popular payment methods are at restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, and coffee shops.

What makes credit cards so popular? The reasons are not difficult to find. From the consumer point of view, credit cards:

• Boost purchasing power, especially if you want to buy large, expensive goods or services
• They’re convenient to carry around, unlike cash
• Major card brands are valid around the world
• Great option for unexpected purchases and emergencies
• Easy to track and create a credit history
• Many card companies offer sign-on rewards, add-on insurance, cash-back offers, flying miles, points, bonuses
• Help with paying recurring expenses
• Offer staggered payment terms

Safety and Privacy

You can opt for different ways of accepting credit card payments like POS (point of sale), mobile devices, by phone or email.

As with any payment system, there are risks involved. You can protect your customers and your business by taking precautions:

• Ensure that all transactions are only through SSL (secure socket layer) technology – it boosts customer confidence.
• Migrate to EMV chip technology cards (Europay Mastercard Visa) that have high-level safety features.
• Comply with PCI (payment card industry) regulations. These determine the right ways to use and store card information.
• Avoid collection/storage of personal/financial customer information on your OS. It can be replaced by a token that can be mapped back to the original data when it’s needed.
• Use features like payer authentication or 3D Secure system and address verification services that help to deter fraud in online card payment transactions.
• Embrace new technologies like biometric verification.

Ensuring safety and privacy is a prime concern in this industry. It’s important for you as a small business owner to ensure that accepting credit cards doesn’t pose risks or add to your stress!

For more information on whether accepting credit card Payments for small business is safe, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.