Secure Payment Methods Online | Online markets have become the main target of fraudsters and scammers. No matter how advanced your merchant gateway services are and how big your business is, you may get attacked by hackers online. Although we all can enjoy the ability to order the products from anywhere around the world, a security breach is something that can scare away all the customers in a moment.
Main Players
You have to learn how many sides take part in one transaction online. It helps you understand the further actions you have to take to improve the security system. After the customer pushes the button “Pay” here are the main players that get involved:
- The customer or cardholder is the one who performs the transaction and wants to receive the product from the merchant;
- Merchant is the owner of the business who sells products or services;
- The bank is the issuing institution of a customer that delegates the money from the debit or credit card of the cardholder using the card scheme;
- Acquirer or acquitting bank is the institution that has the bank account of the merchant. It receives the money in exchange for the product or service demanded by the customer.
Payment Methods Online
There are top popular payment methods to use while paying online to the merchant. You have to make sure that they are reliable and safe whether you are a merchant or a customer. Here are the most secure options for you.
Credit cards
A credit card is one of the most popular ways to pay for the goods you order. They usually contain an advanced level of security and are widely used as a payment method around the world. The best thing about credit cards is that they usually have one similar process of transaction in every store. Money usually may be transferred from one account to another for several minutes, so you can stop the action if you notice something suspicious. It is easy to follow several simple rules when you pay with a credit card:
- Do not name your security code to anyone;
- Do not name your details to the random person who calls on behalf of the store;
- Make sure that the web store’s address starts with the”https”.
Debit cards
Another secure way to buy the product is to use a debit card. You can deduct the funds from the account in no time. And good news, you don’t make any debts like when you are using your credit card. There is a protection of zero liability, unlike in other paying methods.
If you want to make sure that you are protected from fraudsters, use the prepaid card. The funds will be loaded on the card, and you will be saved from direct withdrawal. Besides, you don’t have to spend lots of time filling in the details of your card online. Issuers of debit cards usually support customers with daily fraud monitoring. Once the suspicious activity is noticed, you are notified. If you want to increase the security, create a one-time password for the card, so after you paid for the goods, no one could use it. You will receive this code by email or phone, based on your preferences.
Alternatives
You can use the services of third parties to pay for the order online. The most popular among them is probably PayPal. It is a highly secured service, trustable by millions of people. Payoneer, Google Wallet, and Skrill work well too. They all use advanced encryption systems and keep your money under many locks. Using these services, you don’t have to share any private information or card numbers. You can transfer the money using the email address only. Almost all of them have buyer’s protection that keeps your money safe until you will be satisfied with the result.
Wire transfers
This method is less popular than credit card or payments via third parties, but still, merchants can use it. Seller gives you the number of the account where you have to transfer the money. After a customer makes a transfer and shares the ID of the transaction, the merchant confirms the order.
UPI
UPI or Unified Payment Interface is another way to send money from one bank account to another. It is a digital system of payments. You can use this system to send money from different banks. To do this, you need to have the UPI application. You don’t have to provide any personal information, data on your credit or debit cards. Without confirmation of the security and reliability of the account, money will not be sent anywhere.
Safe Online Shopping
Safe online shopping must be the concern of both sides, merchant and customer, as well as of the bank that transfers the money. Make sure that your money is secured and can be transferred directly to the merchant as a payment for the services you order. Pick the safest tool to do this.
