Best Business Practices

If you take a card in any capacity, this applies to YOU; here are a few tips and best practices:

1. Be Up To Date With Software and Equipment

With the various types of POS systems, it is in your best interest to make sure that you have PCI compliant equipment and software. Using outdated or non EMV capable equipment may seem like a good idea to save on upgrade costs, but it is actually a huge liability.

2. Don’t Store Customer Payment Card Data

Never. Never. Never store card data. Storing card information could cost you your business, the longer that information is there, the greater the risk that it could get into the wrong hands. Staples Business Hub explains. “That’s one reason why it’s preferable to securely dispose of any payment information immediately following a transaction.”.

3. Develop Employee Handling Policies

Since employees are the ones handling the cards they will need to be trained to do so the correct way to help minimize cost. All employees should know what is involved in a transaction and how to take card information correctly. Another useful tip is to teach employees the different signs to look for to help avoid fraudulent activity.

4. Always Verify Shipping and Billing Addresses

It is imperative to make sure the billing and shipping addresses match, especially if the card is not present. UPS has a great tool to use called address validator that is free to use if you are unsure whether the address is legitimate or not.

5. Be Extra Careful With Online Purchases

Online purchases should never be done using a public wifi network. Only fill out the required fields, sometimes there is unnecessary information being requested, which can open things up to fraud and identity theft. The retailer is the sole entity liable for fraudulent online purchases. Most businesses could not recover from such devastation.

Conclusion

Taking cards sounds scary and maybe even too much of a risk. We assure you, it is not as daunting as it seems. We make sure that you have the facts and steps to take to protect yourself, and your customers. Checks have already phased out, other methods are not far behind. When you are processing with Platinum, we have your back and will do what we can to ensure that you are safe.