151 million people in the United States have fallen victim to credit card fraud at some point in the past. This is why having secure payments is so important. There are many payment processing options, but you should choose the safest one for your business.

You might otherwise encounter scams, fraud, and other issues. But how can you make sure that your credit card processing strategy is secure? What can you do to improve your safety?

Choose the Right Merchant Account

Accepting secure payments starts with choosing the right merchant account. If you don’t have the right merchant account on your side, a variety of things could go wrong. It is important to make sure the merchant account provider you choose is reputable.

Some providers seem real and reputable when they’re not. Some merchant account providers are scammers. They may get your information and use it against you.

Your best bet is to go to a bank to get a merchant account. But this is not always possible. Some banks will not give you a merchant account if your line of business does not follow the bank’s guidelines.

Suppose you have a high-risk business. This kind of business may deal in cannabis products, firearms, and other products that may exist in a legal gray area. Most banks will not provide merchant accounts to these businesses because they are too risky.

The Details

The banks won’t want to take the risk of giving you a merchant account as this may reflect badly on the bank. Does this mean that you have to go without a merchant account if you have a high-risk business? Not at all.

You can instead seek out a merchant account provider that specializes in high-risk accounts. These providers won’t have any problem supplying you with a merchant account no matter what risky items you’re selling. It is still important to double-check your account provider options.

If the provider has many good reviews and a good reputation, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. But if the provider seems shady or has many bad reviews, you should be wary. Such a provider may not seem as professional as it seems.

You shouldn’t have anything to worry about as long as you do your research beforehand and double-check your choices.

Use Strong Customer Authentication

Once you have a merchant account, you’ll have a good foundation for safely accepting payments. But many things could still go wrong with payment processing from this point on. Accepting business payments still needs a few extra layers of protection.

An important layer is strong customer authentication or SCA. This is one of the best credit card processing tools that help deter scammers and fraudulent payments. This tool is best for online credit card payments.

It requires a customer to go through a few extra steps of authorization before they can go through with their payment. This is important because most payment systems don’t have these extra steps. They may require the customer to input their payment information and that’s it.

But this makes it very easy for scammers to commit fraud. The extra steps involved in SCA are related to the customer’s personal information. This personal information may be a PIN or a long password.

What You Need to Know

Some SCAs are especially secure and may also require the customer to present a device such as a smartphone or personal ID. But if you want to be extra secure, you can go a step further. Some SCAs also require voice recognition or fingerprints from the customer.

This is not always necessary, especially if you’re dealing with small payments. But if you are selling more expensive or rare items, these extra security steps may be important. They make it very difficult for fraud to be committed.

Using SCA can also make you feel much more relaxed about accepting payments. Instead of worrying that something might go wrong or that you might get scammed, you can focus on your work. The SCA will do all the heavy lifting for you.

Using this along with other security measures can be a big help.

Always Be on the Lookout for Fraud

You should never let your guard down when accepting credit card payments. Whether you’re accepting payments online, with mobile, or in person, you always need to be alert. This is because fraud and scams can strike at any time.

The moment you let your guard down is when something bad might happen. But if you’re always prepared, you’ll never have to worry about that problem. This is why it is important to have a good foundation with your merchant account provider.

Having a safe and reputable provider will put you on the right track. Having tools like SCAs can add a few extra layers of protection over your payment processing endeavors. There are also built-in fraud monitoring tools that you can use that go the extra mile.

These tools can help you spot fraud from a mile away. This can help you avoid payments that might be too risky.

All About Secure Payments

Secure payments are important for running a safe business. You can start by choosing a reputable merchant account provider to start accepting payments. You can also use strong customer authentication to make sure that your customers are who they say they are.

Always being alert for fraud is important too. These tips will keep your business safe. To learn more about it, check out our processing options .