In today’s global climate, it is imperative that every business has an online presence in order to reach all potential customers. As online shopping continues to grow and become more common, you might be wondering if it is time for you to begin accepting credit cards through an online payment solution.
Prior to contacting a merchant services provider for an online payment solution, as a merchant, you need be aware of the risks involved with online transactions and the ways to protect yourself against credit card fraudsters. Fraud is one of the risks you run when accepting credit cards through an online solution and if you have processed an online transaction and receive a chargeback, it is somewhat difficult to contest it.
Since you aren’t retrieving a signature or having customers swipe or insert their card, you wouldn’t have much to argue against if a customer disputes the charge to their credit card company to chargeback the amount. It is very unlikely that a merchant would win a chargeback dispute, which will end up costing your money, directly from your bottom line.
How To Protect Your Online Store
To combat security issues there have been a number of best practices and new products that merchants can adopt in order to ensure the security of online transactions through an online payment solution. Protect your business against fraud by implementing a few things on your website.
Look into a payment-processing provider and see what security measures they have in place for online payment solutions. It is not uncommon, for certain merchant services companies to have security best practices when accepting credit cards online. Take the time to go through your online payment solution with a merchant services provider to get all the facts before starting to accept credit cards online.
Verify Suspicious Transactions
Another good practice when accepting credit cards through your online solution is monitoring your transaction reports. Most merchant services companies provide access to online reporting, and you will be able to check all transactions to ensure that everything is running smoothly. If you do come across a suspicious transaction, or multiple transactions within a small period of time, contact the cardholder for verification purposes.
It demonstrates that you have made the effort and taken the time to protect your business against fraud, and have therefore ensured that all customer credit card information is secure as well.
CVV Drop Down Field
Card Verification Value (CVV) is a field on the checkout page of your website that asks cardholders to provide the 3-digit code on the back of their cards. CVV verifies the information before proceeding.
The transaction will not be approved until the cardholder has proved that the credit card was present at the point of sale providing additional security when accepting credit cards online.
Address Verification System
Similar to the CVV, AVS verifies transactions by checking the delivery/billing address that the cardholder has provided against the address registered to the credit card being used. The more information that you request from the cardholder when accepting credit cards online, the more secure your online store will be.
If you have an online payment solution currently, or if you are planning on starting one, you should protect your website and business against credit card fraud by implementing one or more of these suggestions. Increase your security and decrease the risk when accepting credit cards online through an online payment solution.
