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What Does a Payment Gateway Do with Your Data?

Category: Growth Hacks

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Mohab Growth Hacks 0

What Does a Payment Gateway Do with Your Data?

A payment gateway is an essential element of online payment ecosystem. It allows businesses and consumers to carry out online payment transactions. While online merchants are not expected to have expert knowledge of payment gateway systems, it is still helpful to know about their mechanism so as to provide the best possible services to your clients. One of the most important aspects about a payment gateway is that it collects vital information about a business and its clients. It is important that the safety and security of such data is ensured. Following are some of the critical pointers about data handling by payment gateways.

PCI DSS Compliance: A payment gateway does not store the data in its original form. In order to provide the most secure form, the payment gateway should be PCI DSS compliant, which is the current gold standard when it comes to the security of data. The PCI Security Standards Council is a global organization which carries out the task of setting compliance rules with regard to the treatment of user data obtained during the online payment process. The current rules require the data to be encrypted for eliminating the risk of data interception. This implies that payment gateway never stores critical information such as CVV, password or pin. The information related to name, card details and address is only used for completing the transaction and is not stored.

Tokenization: Payment gateways also carry out tokenization of critical information. This implies that when you key in your card number, it is automatically converted into a single token. This token consists of a unique set of characters which replace the original card number. Using such tokenization, the payment may be processed without revealing sensitive details. As these token numbers are generated and assigned randomly, it is highly improbable that the original numbers may be retrieved by carrying out reverse engineering. There are different types of tokenization processes around, the main ones being format preserving and non-format preserving. Generally, non-format preserving tokenization is considered to be the safer option.

SSL Certification: As important as the PCI DSS compliance is, it is equally important to ensure that the websites are also securely configured. The payment gateways generally use SSL certification which secures the data using TLS encryption. Such certification may be verified by looking at the URL in the browser. If the website bears https:// protocol then it means that it is secure. This is especially important for ecommerce companies and websites so as to make sure that the integrity of consumer data is maintained.

Fraud Screening Tools: Most of the payment gateways offer you fraud screening tools which may help you in reducing the risk of payment frauds. Some of the most prominent tools used for this purpose are Address Verification Service, Card Verification Value and Card Code Value. With the use of these tools, the risk of online payment frauds may be curtailed to a large extent. A payment gateway endeavors to provide a secure channel between a business and its customers for enabling online transactions. It is important that proper measures are taken by such payment gateways to ensure the safety of critical data of all the parties involved.

Additional Measures: Websites may also use additional tools such as the use of the hash function for making the transactions more secure. Under this function, a signed request from the merchant is required for validating the transaction. Such signed request is a code and is known to only the payment gateway and the merchant. For further security of the transaction and the data, the IP of the requesting server is also authenticated, so as to filter out any malicious activity. Some payment gateways also use Virtual Payer Authentication (VPA), which is a 3D secure protocol. This step adds an extra layer of security, enabling online clients to authenticate each other, and thus adds to security measures.

Overall, several new tools and methods have evolved to increase the security factor of online transactions. While selecting a payment gateway, a business should take proper cognizance of the security measures taken for maintaining the secrecy of critical information pertaining to the business and its clients.

5 years ago
7 Online Payment Definitions You Should Know
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

7 Online Payment Definitions You Should Know

Online payment systems are a complex mechanism with very specific and specialized terminology. In order to fully understand the operations and working of online payment systems, it is important to be conversant with various terms associated with these systems. Here are some of the most important and widely used terms which you need to know to remain updated about online payment ecosystem.

  1. Merchant Account: This is the type of account which a business needs to acquire while entering into a contract with an acquiring bank. A merchant account has several features, the most important ones pertaining to the ability to process debit card or credit card payment system. Once an online transaction is executed, the acquiring bank proceeds to accept payment from the customer. The funds are then deposited into the merchant’s account after making due deductions. These funds are later paid into the merchant’s business account.
  2. Acquiring Bank: An acquiring bank is responsible for processing card payments, including debit and credit card payments for a business. Such banks are associated with different card networks including Visa, American Express, etc. The main function of these banks is to act as a middle person between issuing banks and the businesses. An acquiring bank carries out a large number of services such as accepting card payments from card issuing banks. It also carries out the verification of the transactions for approving or disapproving the payment.
  3. Issuing Bank: This bank is entrusted with the task of issuing debit cards or credit cards to customers. The name of such bank is printed on the card and thus is easily identifiable. An issuing bank is also known as card issuer. This bank is authorized to extend credit facility to its clients by implementing letter of credit process. Some of the major card issuers around the world are Visa, HSBC, MaterCard, Citi and Barclays.
  4. 3-D Secure: Ensuring safety and security of the sensitive information is very important in online payment ecosystems. 3-D Secure refers to Three Domain Secure protocol and helps in preventing fraud in online debit card and credit card transactions. This protocol establishes the identity of the card holder by assigning unique username and password to the cards. For example, Visa uses Verified by Visa service for this purpose while MasterCard uses MasterCard SecureCode to carry out 3-D Secure procedure.
  5. Chargebacks: A chargeback is a mechanism to ensure customer protection in the case of online transactions. It is done to provide security to customers in the case of disputed transactions. Under this system, the money is either reimbursed to the cardholder or to the merchant, depending upon the particulars of the transaction disputed. Some of the main events which may trigger charge-backs are the non-receipt of the goods, dispatch of wrong goods or the use of the card without being authorized by the card holder. Excessive charge-backs may lead to revocation of online payment privileges for the business organization. Alternatively, they may be saddled with high fines.
  6. Rolling Reserve: This term refers to the proportion of the transaction value which is kept in abeyance by the acquiring bank. The amount is later released in a staggered manner to the merchant. The main purpose of rolling reserve is to protect against various risks associated including chargebacks with online payments. Rolling reserve ensures that the merchant has enough liquidity to honor chargebacks. Acquiring banks carry out periodic review of rolling reserve ratio applicable to different merchants. Such limits are decided based on volume of online transactions and the risk profile of the firm. This constraint is not universal in nature and thus is not applicable to a large number of businesses.
  7. PCI DSS: This protocol refers to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, as defined by the PCI Council. The main purpose of this protocol is to improve the security factor of online payments. It enumerates various policies and procedures which need to be adhered to so that the sensitive information pertaining to the business and its clients is handled in a well-defined and recognized manner. The Council was created through the collaboration of various credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard.

Though these are the most important ones, there are other terms also which are important to know in the context of online payments. The need of the hour is to keep oneself completely updated about the changing norms in online transactions.

5 years ago
What are the benefits of working with a payment processor?
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

What are the benefits of working with a payment processor?

Reliable and foolproof payment processing is of utmost importance for any online business. While an online business can choose to have its own payment processing system installed, it is generally advisable to collaborate with a specialized payment processing service providers. Such collaboration brings several benefits such as dedicated services and access to latest technologies. So here are some of the pointers to let you decide whether you should go on your own or should work with a payment processor.

What is Payment Gateway or Processor?

First off, you need to be clear about the comprehensive definition of payment gateway or payment processor. These are the service providers which enable businesses and organizations to process online transactions made through debit or credit cards. Payment processors are able to support the payments made using website or apps. While choosing a pp service provider, you should ensure that they accept wide range of cards to let you expand your business without any hassle.

Payment processors may provide additional services such as carrying out validity checks and encryption of transaction details. These service providers may further ensure that the payments are sent to the correction destination and the responses are appropriately decrypted.

Why Work with a Payment Processor

Security: Since online payments require transfer of highly sensitive data, it is important that the security of such data is ensured. In the absence of any such securities, the clients may not be willing to share their details, leading to revenue loss for the business. Payment processors are dedicated service providers and hence invest in providing state of the art technological solutions to ensure the safety and security of the data. Overall, collaborating with payment processors can help you make your business more user friendly and secure.

Wider Payment Options: with the help of a pp, you can offer larger number of payment options to your customer, which will then lead to higher potential revenue for your business. Typically, payment processors support payments made through online banking, debit cards and credit cards. They may also extend their services to the use of online wallets. Through this service, a business may design a payment mix to ensure that it is able to provide different options to its clients. A business can widen its customer base by letting the clients make the payments the way they are most comfortable.

Flexibility: Collaborating with a pp lets you scale your business in an efficient manner. As payment options are changing rapidly, it is important that your business is able to change itself accordingly. Dedicated payment processors are in a position to provide latest services and technologies to aid the process of online payment.  With the help of these service providers, a business can offer cutting-edge payment solutions to its clients without incurring formidable transformation costs. While some processors may be directed towards certain specific business forms such as startups, still they are able to grow their services in a prompt manner.

Payment System Integration: Business organizations employ a large number of systems for their smooth operations. It is important that these systems are properly aggregated to ensure that there is smooth flow of information throughout the organization. Similar is the case of a payment system where it is optimal to integrate with other systems running in the organization. Payment processors offer integration services so that their clients are able to draw synergies in their operations and are able to economize.

Better Analytics: Working with a pp offers a business access to larger amount of data, which in turn helps in better analysis. Such collaborations are highly conducive for analytics purposes. Payment processors also tend to provide state of the art tools designed for analytics. With the help of these tools, businesses can analyze big data and determine trends to better forecast the future. Such analytics are helpful in several ways including for the purpose of planning and controlling. Analytics also aid the process of innovation by providing useful information.

Overall, it can be concluded that working with a pp is an ideal option for small and medium scale businesses. Large business may have enough internal resources to set up their own online payment system, however, even such businesses may be better served with collaboration.

5 years ago
7 Ecommerce Tips for New Entrepreneurs
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

7 Ecommerce Tips for New Entrepreneurs

E-commerce occupies a primary position in today’s economy. Every new business is now required to have online presence to ensure its overall growth and survival. E-commerce landscape is highly dynamic and is continuously evolving. In order to make your business more efficient and productive, here are some tips for a new entrepreneur regarding eCommerce.

  • Deliberate Before Going Live: one of the biggest mistakes committed by new entrepreneurs is to launch half-baked products and services. While online business world follows the practice Minimum Viable Product, it is still advisable for new businesses to endeavor to perfect their products before launching them online. Such precautions should be undertaken with regard to the product as well as with regard to the infrastructure required for online launch. Before making your website live, you should ensure that your domain name, outbound links and SEO are all in the right place.
  • Integrate your Marketing Efforts: as eCommerce is fast evolving, the marketing tools are also changing at a fast pace. In such environment, it is therefore important that the marketing mix is designed in such a way that frequent changes may be incorporated seamlessly. E-commerce generally uses email blasts, newsletters and social media. It is imperative that these promotional media are used in an intertwined fashion. New entrepreneur can use these media to cross target their markets and draw synergies.
  • Use Funnel Approach: in simple words, funnel approach implies that you need to be aware of the path taken by your target customers to eventually buy your product or service. The various facets involved in the process of funnel approach is to retain customers and upselling. Further, entrepreneurs may also use subscription based models and cross selling approaches under this framework. There are various tools available for this purpose such as plugins which may be easily integrated with your website to achieve desired results.
  • Keep Your Systems Flexible: it is important that the infrastructure used for running your eCommerce venture is flexible and is able to accommodate your growing business. The backend system should be designed in such a way that it expands with your endeavor. While selecting various elements such as server capacity, you should keep in mind not only the present requirements but also future potential. In case of eCommerce, later upgrades in the system may prove to be prohibitively expensive and tedious. Therefore, it is advisable to anticipate the future requirements and incorporate them into the infrastructure in the beginning stage, thus minimizing the need for later additions.
  • Go Social, Go Mobile: proper use of social media can work wonders for your online business. With a number of platforms available, it is important to ensure that your social media mix offers you synergies, without causing any duplication of efforts and resources. The use of social media not only allows you to provide latest information to your clients but also to keep track of their changing preferences. Further, one of the most important trends is to use mobile access. More and more people are using eCommerce through their phones and tablets. In order to fully harness the power of mobile eCommerce, it is important that you optimize the mobile rendering of your website. Alternatively, you can opt for designing a dedicated app for mobile devices. In order to future proof your eCommerce venture, it is essential that you pay proper attention to mobile segment.
  • Pay Attention to Analytics: as eCommerce changes at a fast pace, the businesses are required to keep pace with them. This can be done by using various analytical tools which are helpful in gathering data. Such data is then analyzed to find trends and predict future patterns. The important data required for such purpose is the number of visitors to the website, the conversion rate and loading time. Such data is then analyzed and the strategies are designed accordingly. In order to design robust marketing and other plans, the use of analytics cannot be overemphasized.

The above given pointers offer simple and fast way to optimize your eCommerce business. It is essential that an entrepreneur ensures that they are constantly evolving to keep their eCommerce ventures relevant and effective.

5 years ago
Payment security lingo: What’s point-to-point Encryption
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Payment security lingo: What’s point-to-point Encryption

One of the biggest threats to online security comes from data breaches. Such breaches have now become mainstream and it is now very important for the companies to save their data from such infringement. There are several new technologies and tools available for securing the data belonging to the business and its clients.   One such important tool is Point to Point encryption or P2P encryption, as it is popularly known. It is especially important for businesses which accept online payments through different modes including debit cards and credit cards.

What is P2P encryption?

P2P encryption refers to a standard established by the PCI Security Standards Council. The main aim of this standard is to ensure that confidential data pertaining to debit and credit cards are instantaneously into unbreakable codes. Such coding is important to ensure that the data is protected against fraud and hacking. The standard is designed to provide optimal security of payment process and data for online card transactions.

The P2P encryption Standard enumerates the requirements to be fulfilled by an online payment solution to qualify as a PCI validated P2PE solution. These requirements pertain to a complete set of software, hardware, decryption, gateway and device handling etc. The final decision in this regard rests with P2PE Qualified Security Assessors, who are independent third party entities with requisite qualifications to make such assessment. It is important to note that only ‘solutions’ may be validated and not individual units of hardware. If a payment solution does not meet the requirements for being validated as P2PE solution but offers similar type of encryption then it may be accredited at End to End Encryption Solution.

How Does it Work?

P2P encryption works using a number of secure applications, devices and other related processes. Whenever a business swipes a debit or a credit card, it initiates an interconnected series of actions. The point of interaction device, which is used for swiping the card, encrypts the information immediately. If the device is PCI validates then it uses an algorithm for the purpose of encryption. These encrypted codes are then sent to the payment processor or payment gateway, which decode the information. The main requirements for setting up a PCI P2P encryption system include the secure management of encryption devices as well as decryption devices and the proper upkeep of decryption environment.

It should be noted that coding and decoding keys are not provided to the merchants. They are given a unique token number to identify particular transactions so that they can keep proper records and issue refunds as and when required. However, merchants stand to gain a lot from this process. They are assured of the safety and security of their transactions. Their business is protected against card frauds, which in many cases lead to heavy financial loss. The merchants are also able to improve their turnover by assuring the customers about the safety of their data and payments.

P2P Encryption vs. End to End Encryption

For P2P encryption, there are certain features which are unique to this protocol. The solution offers hardware to hardware coding and decoding where POI device comes with Secure Reading and Exchange of Data function. The solution is also required to be validated for the PCI P2PE Standard. For this purpose, the solution should fulfill the requirements such as temper evident packaging, shipping and installation. Such solutions also come with instructional manual to guide merchants about device use and storage.

End to End encryption, on the other hand, does not unencrypt the card details between the two terminals. It secures the data provided the endpoints are offered by PCI accredited organizations.

The Benefits

P2P encryption is important for the development of ecommerce and online businesses. Many customers are not inclined to make online transactions due to the fear of data breach and financial losses. By providing P2P encryption, the businesses can assure their clients that their financial data will be secure. This can help in increasing the revenue for the business, adding to the bottom line. All leading payment processors now offer P2P encryption to ensure smooth and safe transactions.

5 years ago