Customer care: Keeping online payments secure13 February 2006
We have all heard enough to last a lifetime about online identity fraud and the care we must take to avoid becoming a victim of this fast-growing crime. Alongside this awareness, however, is the trust we place in the companies and organisations to fulfil their side of the bargain and do their utmost to protect the details we give them.
Millions of credit card holders in the US were left vulnerable to fraudsters recently when the newspapers they had subscribed to accidentally attached paperwork containing customers' card details to 9,000 paper bundles delivered to shops and distributors.
The data was part of an internal company report, old copies of which had been used to print route information - a simple error that may have caused irrevocable damage to the company's reputation.
With £50 billion spent in online transactions during 2005, it is no wonder that small businesses are looking to tap into the virtual marketplace. But to attract customers, and most importantly keep them coming back, it is essential that security measures are in place to maximise their confidence in the site.
Show off a secure site
No matter how much a customer may want or need your product, when considering whether or not to input credit card and personal details on a site they are more likely to place their trust in your organisation if you have utilised a well-known secure payment service.
It is likely that potential customers have used such payment procedures before and once they spot a well-respected logo it is also likely that the familiar layout will not only improves their faith in your business as a secure seller, but also encourages purchases through being simple and convenient to use.
Many companies decide to use an outside payment bureau, such as Paypal and World Pay, as they provide a secure site through which the customer completes the entire transaction and therefore is a useful, hassle-free option for small businesses. BT's Internet Trader Pack Payment product offers businesses a complete and secure method of processing online debit and credit card payments. This package utilises World Pay and so lends respectability and security to online operations and means that no card details need to be stored with the vendor - therefore eliminating the risk of a security breach similar to the newspaper error.
Above all, it is essential that any business looking to sell online remains up-to-date in terms of risk and security knowledge and maintains an attention to detail when using sensitive data. For more information on keeping staff members trained in IT security see our previous feature .
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