4 Tips To Secure Your Customers Credit Card Information

Integrating online payment solutions on your eCommerce site is beneficial for your business because you can attract even more customers and increase sales. However, some customers are concerned about how businesses are handling their information.

With the recent upsurge of credit card fraud and data breaches, most customers are wary about their information online. As a business, it’s your duty to assure customers who leave their credit card information on your site that it is secure and safe from hackers. Here are tips on how you can secure credit card information.

1. Use only approved equipment and software.

Whether your business uses a swipe system or a point-of-sale system attached to a computer or mobile, you should ensure that all your software and hardware is PCI compliant. Unfortunately, different software and applications are not safe to use. They have vulnerabilities and security holes that can make your data unsafe.

To avoid this and ensure your customer’s information is secure, use tested and approved software. To check if the application you are using is tested and approved, you can check on the PCI website.

2. Ensure you use approved service providers

Different payment processors manage and process payments for you and store credit card information from your customers if you don’t want to run credit card software on your site yourself.

Such service providers have to be PCI compliant as well and also approved by an external quality assessor. All this safeguards your business and assures you the trust you place on them is deserved.

3. Never store or track credit card numbers.

While you may want to store customers’ credit card information for your business, it is not allowed. Processing regulations forbid storing security information from credit cards or “track data” contained in the magnetic strip at the back of the card.

People can use the information at the back of the card to get the customer’s account information. Such data in the hands of the wrong person can prove risky. That’s how people steal and use customers’ cards unauthorized.

If you are storing credit card details, ensure you cross out the numbers at the back. However, some software can store this information even without your knowledge, so ensure you use the PCI-compliant applications mentioned above.

4. Ensure all phone recordings with credit card information are encrypted.

Businesses that take orders via phone may record phone calls for accounting purposes and also monitor service quality. If you are in such a business and storing credit card information, if not secured, may be vulnerable to misuse. If you keep this information digitally, ensure it is encrypted and store it in a password-protected directory.

Following the above tips to ensure your customer’s credit card information is secure will go a long way in ensuring that your business is PCI compliant and that you will meet credit card information regulations. Protecting your customer’s credit information also shows you care about your customer’s safety, and this will even attract more customers to your business because they feel secure.