What Your Business Should Know About Securing Payment Cards

Cards are one of the most popular methods of making payments these days; it’s just more convenient than carrying a lot of cash on you at any given time. However, if your business accepts card payments, it puts you in a place of vulnerability. Considering how often payment cards are utilized for transactions, you need to take action now to keep your business from experiencing data breaches related to payment information.

How People Utilize Payment Cards
Some people don’t even carry cash around anymore, instead opting to use payment cards for their convenience. About what percentage of your transactions do you use a card for? In particular, countries in the European Union have a lower percentage of cash usage compared to card usage, while less developed parts of the world rely more heavily on cash. In countries that have the technology to take advantage of payment cards, data privacy laws are much more specific and comprehensive.

Digital wallets may have seemed like the future, but they are far from a sustainable system; retailers and other organizations aren’t guaranteed to take these types of payment. Thus, the de facto payment method is to use your card, unless you carry around a full wallet.. Some companies will attempt to incentivize card payments, while using cash in certain situations (think use of an automated teller machine) could cost consumers more in the long run for goods or services.

What Data Loss Means for Your Company
The more often consumers purchase goods or services with payment cards, the more likely it becomes that those credentials could be put at risk. With the number of hackers out there, there is a significant price on your organization's sensitive data, including card information. While it might be more common in e-commerce sites, you can never be too careful with how your company stores and protects sensitive payment card information.

If organization's fail to secure this data, the repercussions could be extreme. While it could mean a loss of consumer confidence, it could also result in a series of smaller events that gradually erode your organization’s profitability. Either way, whether it’s a series of minor inconveniences or a major disruption, you’re still facing down a disaster.

Payment Card Index Digital Security Standard
Not all countries are as progressive with individual data security as the nations of the EU, but there are still actions that have been taken to standardize card information security. The Payment Card Index Digital Security Standard, or what is typically called PCI compliance, is the strategy payment card companies have come to. The requirements they expect every business that accepts payment cards to meet include:

• Monitor and test network.
• Maintain security network and systems to ensure customer privacy.
• Protect cardholder data.
• Maintain system that manages and reduces vulnerabilities.
• Maintain strong access control.
• Maintain information security policy.

These requirements might seem strict and hard to carry out, but an easy way to make it happen is to work with Macro Systems. Macro Systems can help you maintain a secure network for all of your organization’s sensitive information, including card information. To learn more, reach out to us at 703-359-9211.