Adopting good business finance habits ensures an establishment’s security and longevity. When credit card processing is treated with acute attention, point-of-sale transactions are quick and simple.
However, many businesses engage in a slew of less-than-safe practices, capable of undermining the entire establishment’s security.
Both negligence and bad bookkeeping can severely harm a business—and poor payment processing can compromise its customers.
Insecure Data Storage
Merchant services requires consistency and protective storage methods. Unfortunately, when PCI compliance isn’t regularly practiced, digital payments may reduce an organization’s security.
An Oswap.org business data breach analysis has figured in the many threats posed against companies utilizing point-of-sale technology. Store-based devices aren’t entirely safe from malware, malicious users or false authentication. Similarly, the following habits can severely compromise a customer’s security at, and after, the register:
- Writing down credit information by hand
- Using insecure mobile applications for promotions
- Improper maintenance of addresses, social security numbers and credit card data
- Easily accessible information systems
The Importance of Employee Training
Delegating business tasks effectively ensures a resource-savvy business. However, employee training benefits the customer’s security directly.
Task distribution promotes business connectivity, and a well-connected business may further assist its customers. When employees aren’t trained effectively, however, their customer attentiveness may dwindle. Similarly, they may forget or fail to execute vital actions needed for customer safety.
Anyone operating a business register or information database should be capable of utilizing supreme precaution. A negligent employee may not mean to compromise a customer’s information—but poorly trained job skills can absolutely exploit important information.
Credit Card Security
Forgers often utilize fraudulent credit cards and their potential danger should be understood. This primarily affects the business, rather than the consumer. However, anything capable of targeting a business’s secure data infrastructure should be considered a vital security risk to everyone involved.
When examining credit cards for purchases, merchants must remember to check the following:
- Valid expiration dates
- First four account numbers above the card’s first four numbers
- Three-dimensional security hologram
- Matching signatures
Fraudulent credit cards can affect a business when high-tech sales processing machinery is forgone, which is why maintaining comprehensive point-of-sale processing is incredibly important.
Remember: The consumer is relatively unprotected during most transactions. While a business actively maintains systems to ensure their own privacy and sustainability, consumers may be exposed. Proper routines, effective employee training and a watchful eye during transactions will not only protect the consumer’s information—it’ll breed a business atmosphere deserving of trust and success.
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