With the daily exchange of millions of credit card payments for goods and services comes millions of chances for sensitive information to be lost or stolen. That risk applies to both the customer and the merchant. Here’s a quick look at how credit card monitoring can help your small business avoid risk.
Business information can be stolen…
Any time a business opens an account with a company that processes credit card transactions, it will have a payment gateway program installed onto its web page software. While this is a secure way for the customer to input their credit card information—as that data is encrypted before being sent to the processing center—the information can still be viewable when it’s in the merchant account service.
Funds get transferred from a customer’s account to the business’s bank, so there’s risk involved for all relevant parties. When business data is stolen, the company itself is liable for all fraudulent charges. Credit card monitoring services offer an easy way to prevent this from happening.
… and consumer information can be stolen…
Any consumer that uses a credit card to complete a transaction will generally be safe. A secure payment gateway system will protect their credit card, account number, and payment data. The merchant they are paying, however, may open up certain vulnerabilities. Even if the merchant has their own payment security system in place, the data from the transaction is stored with the credit card processing company.
It’s at this stage that a person’s personal, banking, and credit card information can be obtained and exploited to make unauthorized purchases. This can prove to be a serious inconvenience as it is not easy to rid one’s credit history of fraudulent card use.
… so be sure to protect your information!
Business owners should always study up on the credit card processing company and view its history before opening a credit card merchant account with them. Typically, this information can be found online.
Consumers would be wise to remember that not all credit card companies guarantee the removal of questionable charges. The ones that do are the safest accounts to use, as credit card users will not be burdened with the laborious task of trying to clear their name with the credit reporting agencies. On top of that, credit card monitoring services can help a small business detect potentially fraudulent borrowers in advance, to keep their credit reports clean.
Source: http://findquickanswers.com/the-risks-of-credit-card-processing-for-your-business/
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