In today’s era, it is important for microenterprises to offer their buyers a secure online payment method. Not only does it provide more satisfaction for buyers, but it also expands sales and assists in business growth.
With the immense technology, doing many works online is easy and possible. Technology has modified everything worldwide. You can showcase your talent and skills more openly via social media and turn it into a small business.
Moreover, you can have a theater experience at home with streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and many more. With advanced tech, you can even stream content that is unavailable in various regions via VPN. As payment services have also increased nowadays, you can buy VPN with Paypal, Payoneer, etc.
However, setting up online payments is troublesome work, mainly when you are concerned about security. But with appropriate tools and information, you can create a safe online payment system that shields your business and buyers’ payment details.
In this article, we will mention some tips on how to set up secure online payments for your micro business.
1. A reputable payment system
One of the most essential factors in setting up safe online payments is selecting a payment processor with a high reputation. Payment processors control the safe transfers of amount details between your website, the buyer’s bank, and your business’s bank.
While selecting a payment processor, ensure your safety by checking its security terms. Search for the processors that give encryption and scam detection tools to prevent data infringements and false transactions.
Moreover, give a thought about the processors that provide two-factor authentication and fraud detection to advance their security aspects further.
Various popular payment services are best for small businesses like PayPal, Stripe, and Square. These services are best recognized for their security policies, easy to use, and competitive cost.
2. Obtain an SSL certificate
SSL is widely known as a Secure Sockets Layer certificate. It is a security protocol that encodes data transfers between a website and a person’s browser.
This certificate shields sensitive details, like credit card numbers and personal details, from getting hacked by attackers.
To acquire an SSL certificate, you have to buy one of the most trusted suppliers, like GoDaddy or VeriSign. Moreover, your web hosting supplier might have provided SSL certificates as part of their service package.
After acquiring an SSL certificate, you need to install it on the website. This procedure may differ according to your web hosting supplier, but it usually includes creating a certificate signing request (CSR) and later downloading the SSL certificate on the website’s server.
3. Applying PCI DSS compliance
PCI DSS, the abbreviation, stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It is a pack of security standards made by large credit card companies to shield against credit card scams and data violations.
Conformity with PCI DSS is essential for small businesses that approve credit card payments. Moreover, becoming PCI DSS compliant can be a great hassle and costly; shielding your business and buyers’ payment information is crucial.
4. Strong password
It is always advised to use strong and unique passcodes. It is a common yet most effective way to shield your online payment method from attackers and data violations.
Avoid predictable passwords like “1234567” or “password” instead, using a combination of capital and small letters, numbers, and symbols.
You should also avoid creating the same passwords for multiple accounts. Consider utilizing a passcode manager to create and store your passwords securely.
5. Educate the employees
Employees play a vital role in managing the security of online payment systems. It is essential to hire educated employees or give knowledge to them about the harms of cyber attacks and how to solve them.
However, provide daily training to employees on identifying and neglecting phishing scams, which are ordinary schemes used by attackers to get sensitive details.
Also, educate employees on how to generate solid passcodes and the importance of keeping them safe.
6. Monitor payment system
Daily tracking of your online payment system can assist you in identifying and avoiding false transactions or data violations. Imply a system that sends notifications about any unnecessary action or activity, such as a rare high level of transactions or multiple unsuccessful login attempts.
It is also essential to examine your payment system logs often to detect any unusual devices or errors that will be a threat to your privacy.
7. Limit access to payment information
Another effective way to put a shield on your online payment system is to limit access to payment details. Only permit employees who must perform their duties like accounting or finance team.
Additionally, consider applying access controls, like two-factor authentication or passwords, to limit access to sensitive information.
Conclusion
To summarize, building secure online payment methods for your small business is crucial in the 21st century. Using the following tips, you can shield your business and your customers’ payment details from hackers and scams.
Author Bio:
Richard works as a content specialist in OysterVPN. He has a special talent for producing user-friendly tech-oriented content for masses. In addition, his knowledge of writing makes it possible for him to cover diverse and challenging ideas into very simple guides for the general audience.