Credit card acceptance provides an alternative method for customers to pay for goods and services versus using cash. Affordable merchant services help business owners save money, while providing greater convenience for shoppers. Valued Merchant Services offers tips to securely accept credit cards.
About Secure Payment Processing
A customer can confidently shop in stores where secure credit card processing exists. This should be extremely important for merchants, as a credit cardholder might decide to splurge for more items than she planned to buy.
Although, the opposite could be true for a merchant with a recent security breach.
With secure payment processing, a customer’s credit card information is protected at all points of contact.
Maintaining a security process that prevents hackers from accessing a cardholder’s financial data can eliminate a variety of threats.
Use EMV Technology
EMV was developed to aggressively fight credit card fraud.
The initials from Europay, Mastercard and Visa are used to represent the creators of EMV.
For many years, magnetic stripe technology was the most popular way to validate credit card transactions. However, fraudsters found clever ways to manipulate the magnetic stripe protocols that led to billions of dollars in losses.
The development of EMV technology provides a far more secure way to process credit cards than magnetic stripe technology.
Unlike a magnetic stripe card, EMV chip cards do not store a cardholder’s data. Instead, a uniquely encrypted code is generated each time a cardholder dips his card into an EMV chip-card reader.
Most banks and credit card companies have issued EMV chip cards to their customers for use during debit card or credit card transactions.
To securely accept credit cards with an EMV chip, merchants have been strongly encouraged to upgrade all point-of-sale equipment to EMV chip-card readers.
By law, merchants are not required to use EMV chip-card readers. Although, this could provide an undesirable experience for customers who support the added protection.
Additionally, if a customer performs a swiped transaction via magnetic stripe because the merchant does not support EMV technology, the merchant would be liable for any fraudulent transactions that occur.
Follow PCI Compliance for Credit Card Acceptance
Adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards will keep a business in compliance with the regulatory requirements.
PCI compliance requires all businesses that accept credit cards or debit cards to safeguard stored cardholder data and to encrypt cardholder information for transactions that occur within public networks.
Merchants are also required to regularly perform network tests for various vulnerabilities and to maintain the most recent antivirus software updates.
The recommended PCI compliance standards are in place to help merchants securely accept credit cards.
Following the PCI DSS requirements can also help businesses avoid unnecessary fees for non-compliance.
Securely Accept Credit Cards Online
Consumers enjoy shopping online from home and from work.
Online shopping is very convenient, as a consumer can search for items to buy 24 hours per day.
However, safe payment transactions can benefit consumers and merchants.
A business owner will need a website or an online platform to sell goods or services via the Internet.
To securely accept credit cards, a business will need to obtain a secure payment gateway that encrypts a cardholder’s data. Also, the business will need to set up a merchant account to fulfil credit card processing online.
Speak With a Merchant Services Representative
A conversation with a merchant account rep can enable a business owner to ask a variety of questions about the best merchant processing equipment and the most up-to-date software to securely accept credit cards in-store and online.
Our knowledgeable sales representatives provide honest and insightful information that merchants can depend on.
Contact Valued Merchant Services today for more details about safely accepting electronic payments.
