In the changing digital payments and mobile banking environment, secure payment processing is a must to attract more customers. For clients, the security of translations is paramount as they face increasing fraud attempts. That’s why companies must rely on secure payment processing providers.
Neontri has over 15 years of experience providing secure payment processing solutions through third-party integrations to worldwide clients. Our experts will help you find secure payment providers that suit your needs.
Secure payment processing is a very important aspect for enterprises. Ensuring transaction security and choosing the right payment provider are the main challenges in secure payment processing. To ensure safety, companies must implement best practices.
Secure payment processing
Secure payment processing is a technology that involves the use of systems and protocols that ensure the safety and integrity of user transactions. The processing should protect both sides of the transaction, the business and the customers. The key aspects of secure payment processing include encryption, fraud detection, and compliance:
- Encryption protects sensitive data by using safety protocols like SSL or TLS.
- Fraud detection tools like AVS or SCA reduce risks associated with fraudulent transactions and activities using machine learning.
- Compliance involves meeting regulatory standards to ensure secure handling and storage of data.
Secure payment processing also involves implementing industry security standards, like PCI DSS, EMV standards, PA-DSS, ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR and GLBA.
Here are the most important concepts and terms in secure payment processing before we move on:
| Term | Explanation |
| PCI DSS | Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a global industry-standard guideline for securing cardholder data. |
| SSL/TLS | Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security are encryption protocols for secure data transmission. |
| NFC | Near-field communication enables secure, contactless payments, e.g., through a mobile phone or smartwatch. |
| SCA | Strong Customer Authentication mandates multi-factor authentication for online payments. |
| Sandbox environment | It’s a safe testing space for payment systems to identify vulnerabilities. |
| Payment orchestration | It’s a centralized management of multiple payment providers and gateways. |
| HPP | Hosted Payment Page is a secure, off-site checkout page hosted by a payment provider. |
| AVS | Address Verification System matches billing address with cardholder information to prevent fraud. |
| DCC | Dynamic Currency Conversion allows customers to pay in their local currency securely. |
| mPOS | Mobile Point-of-Sale is a portable device that processes payments securely on the go. |
| ISO 8583 | Standard for secure card-based payment messages. |
| Zero-trust security | A security model that requires strict identity verification for every access request, reducing risk. |
Proper security measures ensure the transaction safety for the customer and the business, preventing any risks. These are the key concepts in secure payment processing technologies.
How does payment processing work?
Payment processing systems involve four key components:
- Merchant account – a bank account to accept online payments
- Payment gateway – a platform that connects the merchant with the customer’s bank, enabling electronic processing of payments
- Payment processor – a third party responsible for handling transaction processing
- Marchant service provider – the party responsible for providing merchants with an account, payment gateway, and processor.
The process starts with a customer making an online purchase. The purchase information is sent to the secured payment gateway, which passes this information on to the payment processor. The processor verifies the validity of the transaction, including payment details and if the customer has enough funds to pay for the transaction. Then, the funds are transferred to the merchant’s account.
Challenges in secure payment processing
Secure payment processing involves a lot of concerns for enterprises. Ensuring proper transaction security is the key for businesses, but there may be a few challenges to face in the process.
Data breaches, fraud, and compliance
One of the main concerns for enterprises is data breaches and fraud. Companies must ensure proper protection of sensitive data from security breaches, fraud, and unauthorized access. This process involves implementing global standards and security models to prevent transaction risks.
The compliance with security standards is another example. Meeting the requirements of regulations such as PCI DSS is a must. Lack of PCI compliance leads to severe penalties and increased vulnerability to fraud attempts and data breaches.
Encryption, security protocols, and data storage
Another issue is the implementation of encryption and security protocols. Ensuring robust encryption protocols like SSL/TLS are necessary to secure transaction data and prevent interception.
Moreover, industry standards recommend keeping as little information about the client and transaction as possible to reduce the risk of data breaches. Some regulations, like GDPR, ensure customers have access to all information about processing their personal data.
Implementation cost
Implementing secure payment systems and encryption technologies, maintaining compliance, and keeping technology up to date involve significant costs. However, such a cost is necessary to ensure the safety and security of transactions.
Enterprises face many challenges when implementing secure payment processing systems. Yet, these are necessary to ensure proper transaction security for the company and its customers.
Impact on business
Ensuring secure payment processing of transactions significantly impacts customer relations and quality of services. There are some risks but also benefits connected with proper transaction security.
Risks
Enterprises must pay attention to the security of financial transactions. Insecure payment systems can cause many risks, such as fraud, penalties, and loss of customer trust. Fraud can result in financial losses for the company. When the public finds out about weak transaction protection, it can also lead to reputational damage.
That’s why finding the right payment service provider is necessary to ensure the safety and security of customer transitions. Proper partners can help provide the best services and create long-term customer relationships. The right partner can help meet regulatory requirements and avoid any compliance issues.
Companies need to follow all necessary regulations, such as PCI DSS. Violating them can result in serious fines or even suspension of services, which can lead to financial losses for the enterprise. Moreover, customers pay attention to the advanced security measures used by the company. Proper protection of transactions builds trust and confidence between customers and the company, leading to business growth and long-term relationships.
Neglecting this matter can lead to serious consequences for the company, including fines, interruptions in service operations, or loss of customer trust.
Benefits
Introducing secure payment processing into the system will bring many benefits, including improved operations and customer trust. Enhanced security of transactions helps protect sensitive information and prevents data breaches or fraud. As a result, the company has a reduced risk of financial loss or reputational damage.
Companies that offer reliable and safe payment processing ensure a secure transaction experience for customers while fostering trust, loyalty, and confidence in their services. This leads to long-term relationships and recurring purchases from customers.
The right payment partner and gateway reduce the risk of manual errors, streamline the payment process, add new payment methods, and speed up the purchase process, resulting in increased operational efficiency. Moreover, adding international payment methods can help reach a broader audience and support business growth.
Choosing the right payment provider
Finding the right payment service provider is a complex process for a business. Depending on the company size and type of customers, location, and local regulations, businesses need to choose a partner who can ensure a wide range of safe payment options.
When choosing a provider, businesses must pay attention to:
- Built-in safety features,
- Possible scalability of the payment system,
- Supported currencies,
- Supported payment methods,
- Ease of integration.
All these elements are important to provide the best possible solution for the enterprise.
There are many payment providers and gateways available on the market. Below are the most popular companies offering secure payment processing.
Stripe
Stripe is one of the most popular payment gateway providers, and it is known for its user-friendly interface and multiple features. The service supports major payment methods like digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, Clearpay, and Klarna. It accepts payments online in over 135 currencies and allows for third-party system integration.
PayPal
PayPal is one of the most trusted names in online and electronic payment transactions. At this moment, PayPal operates and processes transactions in 203 countries and has over 435 million user accounts. It offers scalable solutions for businesses and supports many payment methods. They include bank transfers and major credit and debit cards, like Visa, MasterCard, Citibank, and American Express.
Adyen
Adyen is a popular end-to-end payment provider with the status of an acquiring bank, which allows it to accept e-commerce, mobile, and PoS payments. It supports credit and debit cards, wire transfers, and real-time online banking transfers. Adyen operates in almost 100 countries and enables merchants to connect with different payment methods, including local payment methods and mobile payments.
Expert insight: When choosing a provider, companies need to take into account the transaction fees, supported currencies, and payment methods. For customers, a wide choice of payment options, including local ones, is very important to complete the transaction at online checkout.
Best practices for secure payment processing
To ensure secure payment processing, the company must meet compliance requirements and adhere to industry regulations and standards to ensure the safety of payment processing. Proper safety models must also be implemented. These include:
- encryption
- tokenization
- access control measures
- regular system updates
- fraud detection systems.
Monitoring transactions is necessary to control the risks and security threats associated with financial transactions. This helps avoid and prevent data breaches and other risks that could strain the business’s reputation. Using secure payment gateways, which often include built-in payment security features, is also a must when handling different transactions, like mobile, online banking, or wire transactions.
Limiting the storage of transaction and customer information is another way to ensure customer security and prevent data breaches. By storing the data securely and only the necessary data, businesses reduce the risk of exposing their customer information to unauthorized persons.
In today’s payment environment, it’s necessary to educate customers and employees about transaction security. They are often targets of phishing attempts and other threats. Keeping them informed about the risks will help prevent unauthorized access to their data.
Expert insight: Some legacy systems may require an audit or update to integrate with payment providers properly. We recommend finding a reliable provider who can take care of the system update and find a reliable payment gateway suited for the business needs.
Neontri—expert in secure payment solutions
Neontri has over 11 years of experience in banking and financial services. Our expert teams have in-depth expertise concerning safeguarding payment transactions and implementing payment gateways.
Our team has introduced a secure payment method to the payment system of a sporting goods market leader in Europe. The system is used on average for about 6 million transactions a day only in Poland. Neontri experts have added it to the multipayment system in the Polish chain store available in over 60 markets.
Our expertise in banking software development and fintech software development solutions has enabled us to offer third-party integration services to integrate banks and stores with third-party applications, platforms, and services. This allows our customers to expand their offer, streamline processed, and provide clients with broad functionalities and safe transactions.
Some businesses struggle with outdated payment infrastructure. Our experts have over 11 years of experience in modernizing the payment systems. Our team has the knowledge and expertise to integrate advanced digital payment technologies like real-time payment systems, mobile wallets, contactless payments, and more.
Conclusion
Nowadays, customers pay attention to the security of their online transactions. That’s why secure payment processing is paramount for e-commerce businesses. Finding the right payment provider is one of the most important steps when implementing new payment systems. Companies must be aware of the challenges of the process. Implementing the right payment gateways can bring some key benefits to the company.
FAQ
Can enterprises integrate payment systems with existing infrastructure?
Enterprises can integrate payment systems with existing infrastructure. To do so, enterprises need to evaluate their current systems to check compatibility with the payment system’s API. Then, the integration method must be selected. These may be hosted payment pages, direct API integrations, or embedded SDDKs. The integration must be implemented with scalability in mind to support multiple payment methods and accommodate future growth.
What measures should be taken to secure mobile payment processing?
Mobile payment processing security can be addressed with specific measures. For example, encryption and tokenization can help reduce the risk of data breaches, encrypting payment information, and using tokenization to replace any sensitive information. Another measure is two-factor or multi-factor authentication methods that prevent unauthorized access to customer data. Secure network connections are also a significant measure to ensure mobile transactions are secured.
How can enterprises ensure vendor security in payment processing?
There are many methods that can ensure vendor security in payment processing. For example, encryption and tokenization of customer information. Unauthorized access to customer data is prevented as a decryption, or security key is necessary to decrypt the data. Moreover, two-factor authentication, for example, approving a payment with a fingerprint scan or other biometric authentication, adds another layer of security to the transaction and prevents suspicious transactions. This is an especially useful authorization method on a mobile device, which can also be used with a one-time password.
How can enterprises handle cross-border payment security?
Digital wallets and card payments are the most popular cross-border payment methods. Cross-border payment security can be ensured with proper tokenization to protect sensitive information, like customer’s card details. Card payments must also comply with PCI DSS standards, which ensure secure storage, processing, and data transmission. Moreover, 3D Secure authentication is also an effective way to ensure transaction security and prevent unauthorized payments.
How can enterprises educate staff on secure payment practices?
To educate staff on secure payment practices, it’s necessary to present the actions malicious actors can undertake to gain access to payment data. This includes phishing and other techniques aimed at obtaining customer data. Any suspicious activity should also be reported and flagged to prevent unwanted access or payments. Educating staff and customers about potential threats is an effective way to fight fraud.
What emerging technologies are enhancing payment security?
Payment security can be improved by new, revolutionary technologies. Starting with AI-powered fraud detection, it helps identify fraudulent activities and prevent them in the future. Biometric authentication is also a strong method of authentication that prevents unauthorized access to customer data. There are also two types of encryption: symmetric and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption uses a single key to both encrypt and decrypt data. Asymmetric encryption uses two keys: a public key to encrypt data and a private key to decrypt it.
How do secure payment systems integrate with existing eCommerce infrastructure?
Secure payment systems can integrate with existing eCommerce infrastructure using payment gateway APIs or plugins. Popular payment gateways can be easily integrated with the system of small businesses or enterprises. They ensure the merchant receives payments to the merchant account.
How do secure payment systems ensure compliance with PCI DSS standards?
PCI DSS compliance is a security standard that needs to be implemented to ensure safe payment processing. PCI DSS standard requires the use of specific security measures. These include encryption and tokenization, security audits, and proper access control. By adhering to these practices, payment providers protect customer data and maintain compliance.
Dorota Jasińska
