We’ve seen and heard about the recent events as far as online fraud goes. More and more of us are buying goods over the internet, and with this comes an inevitable increase in concern over credit and debit card fraud. However, there are things you can put in place to protect both yourself and your customers from the perils of online scamming.
First off, any reputable ecommerce software platform should let you create an online shop for a low, fixed monthly price. It’s pretty much a given that with the boom in online shopping, all companies underneath the ‘e-tail’ umbrella should have a space on the internet to advertise and sell their products. Having access to your own ecommerce website isn’t new news; perhaps understanding how to gain customer confidence is.
In other words, your customers ought to safe in the knowledge that their personal details and credit/debit information is in great hands. And this, as a respective online shop owner, is your responsibility. Where newer and/or smaller businesses are concerned, it’s even more important to build up customer trust and this means getting it right from the offset. Clients are less likely to hand over their sensitive data if they see no good reason to do so.
The basic things you must do to create a professional and trustworthy image are listed below:
1. Display the padlock symbol
Any ecommerce website using secure technology should begin their web address with ‘https’ accompanied by a padlock symbol further down the page. There’s nothing complicated about taking steps to ensure security; all personal details exchanged online should be protected. The way to check that you’re on a secure page is to check the security information by double clicking on padlock symbol. Simple.
2. Use a respected payment gateway
Whilst there are many payment providers to choose from, we find many online shop owners turning to SagePay, PayPal and Google Checkout to process their customers’ card information. It’s advisable to check with you ecommerce provider which payment gateways are compatible with your online shop, then go from there. Note that by using a third party system you are passing on the responsibility of stockpiling sensitive credit/debit card, protecting both yourself and your online business.
You must take care not to put your client’s personal information at risk by attempting to use offline processing methods. Should you use a streamline terminal or PDQ once an order has been placed, you are paving the ground for potential hacking and risk extortionate fines – so do refrain. Make your ecommerce website look and feel like a safe place to shop, and you can’t go far wrong.