In order to increase revenue, modern business outlets depend on the ability to engage in credit card transactions as well as reliable merchant accounts. One of the major problems that discourage business owners is they believe that there is a risk of exposing the customers’ private data to online hackers and fraudsters. This makes them shy away from establishing credit card processing as it would risk the company’s reputation due to the data breach. However, the problem of data breach can be avoided by incorporating secure data management protocols. In order to establish a secure data management plan, there are steps that a business is supposed to take. These steps include:
- Encrypting the customer’s data
Majority of companies store their customer’s data in the cloud or the servers. This necessitates the need to use tested encryption techniques to prevent hackers from gaining access, therefore securing the customer’s data. The purpose of encryption is to ensure that only trusted people gain access to customer information or decryption software. The less the number of people having access to this information, the more secure is the information.
- Conducting employee background checks
During the recruitment of company employees, all applicants should be subjected to a background check. This is especially so if the employee is going to have access to sensitive data or company servers. The online investigation should also be conducted on potential employees to ensure that even if they pass a background check, they have a clean criminal record. In this day and age, criminal records can be expunged hence the need for social media checks, to expose the potential hidden criminal background. This procedure is so important since the people that are closest to the customer data are the most vulnerable to information and data leaks. This can cripple secure data management efforts.
- Restricting computer access
Another method of safeguarding the customer’s information and limiting access is by limiting the number of people accessing the computers holding the data. Security can also be enhanced by restricting the online time of computers to prevent breaches of data when these computers are not necessarily required online. Companies can also prevent customer data breaches by limiting one computer being able to access such information. This method also makes it possible to monitor breach of privacy by use of a camera and access code entry by pinpointing potential threats.
How to Switch Credit Card Processing Providers?
As opposed to what many business owners think, switching credit card service providers is actually an easy process. The first process involves finding the right merchant accounts in order to identify which company you are going to switch to. After identifying the company, you should inquire about their rates, installation process as well as the fees. Once this is done, you can contact your current merchant account and direct them to cancel the service and uninstall the equipment from your business premises.
After the old equipment has been uninstalled, you can now contact the new service provider for them to install the equipment that they have available. This is a very fast procedure which takes about an hour or two and you are back online.
