While more and more people are shopping online, the security of personal and financial data is still a huge customer concern. SecurePay’s Richard Mann explains how secure servers, SSL certificates, banks and payment gateways work together to keep your customers’ data secure.
According to the World Internet Project’s survey, The Internet in Australia, three quarters of respondents have purchased something online. However, the safety of credit card and personal details is still a major concern for online shoppers. In fact, the survey found that 87 per cent of survey respondents are somewhat or extremely concerned about the safety of their details online.
According to Richard Mann, CEO of Australian payment gateway SecurePay, people are right to be wary of putting their details online at any old e-commerce site that requests them. The instance of card fraud increased from 2.4 per cent in 2007 to 3.7 per cent in 2011, with a significant proportion taking place online. “In physical card transactions where you present your card, the PIN system is highly secure,” he says. “As a result, we’ve seen physical credit-card fraud levels drop and 71 per cent of credit card fraud takes place online.”
Mann says that Australian consumers are highly protected by consumer laws in case of fraud. “People in other countries don’t have these same protections,” he says. If someone’s details are used fraudulently online, customers are not liable for unauthorised transactions, for both local and international e-commerce sites. The bank refunds the cardholder and will try to recover the funds from the merchant’s bank. However, the process can take time and effort.
Shopper’s checklist: avoid online fraud
Richard Mann says that consumers can take some simple steps to help reduce the risk of online fraud by asking themselves the following questions when they shop online:
Is the deal too good to be true?
Do I know of this company and does it have a good reputation?
Where is this retailer based?
E-commerce must-haves
From a merchant’s perspective, including information about the business and contact details can help reassure potential customers.
Flagging the security mechanisms in place around financial and personal details your customers share online is critical. One of these security elements is the secure sockets layer (SSL), which encrypts the information in transit. If a web server has an SSL protocol in place, it will have an SSL certificate to prove it.
“When a customer goes to pay, they should see the secure padlock and ‘https’ in the URL,” says Mann. “State which payment gateway you are using and include a link to the gateway company, so that customers can click through to see that you’re using an established, reputable company that is PCI compliant.”
It’s also helpful to add a page with your privacy statement, so that customers know if you will be sharing certain details with a third party, such as a product supplier or Australia Post.
Did you know?
SecurePay is Australia’s leading online payment gateway. A key advantage for merchants is that SecurePay is an Australian business and offers local support and contact details.
E-commerce payments: behind the scenes
If you have a good e-commerce site, the purchase procedure should seem effortless to the customer. However, there are a lot of interconnected elements at work to make online shopping safe.
We’ve outlined, below, what happens when a customer places an
order with your e-commerce site, or take a look at this e-commerce payment flowchart.
1. Customer selects credit card as their payment method.
2. Customer presented with secure payment page: The payment gateway presents the customer with a secure payment page, which is payment card industry data security standard (PCI DSS) compliant. Essentially, this means that the merchant has no direct access to card details and does not store customer payment card details, or stores them in a highly secure, PCI DSS-compliant manner.
3. Customer enters credit card details: These details are submitted directly to the payment gateway, maintaining full security.
4. Payment gateway contacts merchant’s bank: Details of the payment request are encrypted and sent to the merchant’s bank. Authorisation is requested.
5. Merchant’s bank contacts card holder’s bank: The merchant’s bank contacts the card holder’s bank and requests authorisation, again sending the order data in an encrypted form.
6. Card holder’s bank tells merchant’s bank the outcome: The card holder’s bank lets the merchant’s bank know if the request has been accepted or rejected. If the request has been approved, the money will be moved from the card holder’s bank to the merchant’s bank overnight. This process is called interchange.
8. Merchant’s bank contacts payment gateway: The merchant’s bank account lets the payment gateway know if the payment has been accepted or rejected.
9. Payment gateway contacts site: The payment gateway lets the merchant’s site know if the payment has been accepted or rejected.
10. Site communicates with customer: The e-commerce site lets the customer know if their order has been successful.
If the order process runs smoothly, this entire series of communications should take two to three seconds!
Useful tools and resources
If you want to shop online but aren’t 100 per cent confident in the e-commerce site, why not use a Load&Go Card*? This reusable prepaid Visa debit card isn’t linked to your bank account and it can be used online or at regular shops where Visa is accepted. Load&Go cards are available at participating Australia Post outlets.
* Load&Go disclaimer: Card fees and load limits apply. Issued by Heritage Bank Limited ABN 32 087 652 024 AFSL 240984 Australian Credit Licence 240984. Australia Post ABN 28 864 970 579 is the distributor of the card. It is important for you to consider whether this product is right for you and to read the Product Disclosure Statement before purchasing your card.
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