8 Security Initiatives for Payment Gateways www.deekpay.com

Handling of sensitive data, compliance and security are alwaysPayment Gatewayof the top priorities. Today, technology is a double-edged sword. Just as digital advances have revolutionised global commerce, so have the tactics cybercriminals use to defraud merchants and customers. A PwC study, the Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020, found that 47% of companies surveyed had experienced some form of fraud, resulting in $42 billion in losses. It is the job of the payment gateway to ensure that merchants and their customers are secure and that all bases are covered.

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a cloud-based software that connects merchants and customers. When a customer wants to make a payment, whether it's at an in-store point of sale (POS) or online through a web shop, the payment gateway reads the customer's payment information and transfers it to the merchant's bank account. It usually takes just a few seconds. In addition to providing a seamless payment experience, FinTech developers must also ensure that their payment gateways are secure and comply with industry standards. While this may seem easy for merchants and customers, what happens behind the scenes of a payment gateway is very complex:

Customers start their purchase by filling in their card details and clicking 'buy', or by placing their card or mobile wallet on a card reader. The payment gateway springs into action, checking with the card-issuing bank that the information is correct and ensuring that sufficient funds are available. The payment gateway encrypts the transaction and sends it to the relevant card scheme. If the card scheme approves the transaction, the payment gateway sends the information to the merchant's bank. Finally, the payment gateway sends the encrypted message to the acquiring bank and transfers the funds. Thus, the transaction is completed.

Read more:What is a payment gateway?

Why is payment gateway security so important?

Payment gateway security is important to protect your customers' personal data and your company. Security breaches, fraud and compliance violations are costly mistakes that not only sacrifice hard-earned revenue, but also damage a merchant's brand reputation.

Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), breaching or stealing cardholder data can result in fines of up to €20 million or 4% in annual global turnover, whichever is higher. In addition, payment providers can impose fines of $5,000 to $100,000 per month on companies that violate the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Therefore, as more and more customers embrace e-commerce for their purchasing needs, companies must be prepared to provide a secure shopping experience.

Top 8 Security Measures for Payment Gateways

The following are the security measures that payment gateway service providers pay special attention to and focus on preventing in order to ensure payment security for businesses/merchants and their customers.

1. PCI DSS compliance

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of regulations and compliance rules mandated by the major card schemes. Businesses that process credit or debit card transactions are required to comply with PCI DSS.This compliance ensures a secure environment for credit and debit card transactions, thereby reducing the risk of card theft and fraud.

2. SET - Secure Electronic Transactions

Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) is an encryption-based system and electronic protocol developed in co-operation with VISA and Mastercard that ensures the protection of credit card payment data by hiding all personal information associated with the card.

This comprehensive encryption prevents fraudsters from gaining unauthorised access to sensitive details. In addition, SET restricts merchant access to cardholder data, further ensuring privacy and data security.

3. Data encryption

Data encryption is the primary mechanism used by payment gateways to protect sensitive transaction data. When a customer's card information is provided during the checkout process, the payment gateway encrypts this data. Through encryption, the data is converted into another format or code, ensuring that only the individual with the key can access it. The payment gateway then uses its private key to decrypt the transaction. This process greatly reduces the possibility of unauthorised access to the data.

4. SSL - Secure Socket Layer

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security technology that establishes a secure connection between a payment provider and a customer's web browser. It ensures that any data transmitted over SSL is encrypted. SSL is supported by all web browsers.

SSL must be implemented when a website processes transactions directly; however, SSL is not required on the website itself if the website redirects visitors to a secure checkout page hosted on a payment gateway domain, in which case the payment gateway provides the SSL link to the browser.

5. 3D security

3D Security is an important protocol that helps to enhance the security of online payments. It provides an additional layer of authentication when a customer makes a purchase. At checkout, customers are redirected to their bank or credit card issuer's website after entering payment details to validate the transaction.

This verification step (whether through a one-time password, fingerprint authentication, or other method) helps reduce the risk of fraud. Only legitimate cardholders can confirm a purchase. If their card details are compromised, verification prevents fraudulent transactions from being completed.

6. Tagging

Tokenisation is an important security technique used in online payment processing to help reduce the risk of fraud. It involves replacing sensitive account details (such as credit card numbers) with unique payment tokens. These tokens are then used to identify transactions and authorise future payments.

By tokenising data at the point of sale or payment gateway, merchants and processors never directly access and store the full Primary Account Number (PAN). If a data breach does occur, the token will be useless to an attacker instead of exposing the actual payment credentials.

When a customer wishes to make a purchase, a payment token is sent for authorisation instead of the fullPAN. This token can be reused for future transactions between the consumer and merchant without the need to resubmit full card details each time.

Recommended Reading:What is an Indian PAN card?

7. Penetration testing

Penetration testing is sometimes referred to as ethical hacking. It involves having qualified security experts attempt to compromise our systems in the same way as criminals so that we can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities.

External and internal penetration tests must be conducted on a regular basis. External tests simulate attacks from the outside, while internal tests attempt to compromise from within, simulating the risk of human error or disgruntled employees. It is vital to identify weaknesses before a real attacker does.

All penetration tests are carefully planned and approved in advance to avoid disruption to operations. Rigorous testing helps to ensure that network segmentation, access control, authentication methods and other layered defences are robust enough to withstand determined hackers.

8. Staff training

Employee training is important to any comprehensive security programme. For those in customer-facing roles, the focus is on social engineering tactics such as phishing scams and how to properly authenticate customers.

For engineers and other technical staff, an emphasis on secure coding practices, incident response protocols, and how to identify and report potential vulnerabilities Compliance training ensures that all employees are up-to-date on the latest industry regulations, such as PCI DSS.

This ongoing training is designed to foster a culture of security awareness where all employees feel empowered and capable of helping to protect customer payment data.

concluding remarks

While no system can be completely impenetrable, following established best practices and industry standards can greatly reduce risk. A secure payment gateway allows merchants to focus on growing their business knowing that transactions are processed reliably and efficiently in the background. Customers appreciate the convenience of flexible payment options without compromising security.

Atpay - we are a professional provider of payment solutions and have been deeply involved for many years inIndia PaymentsWe have successfully provided payment functions for countless customers at home and abroad. We are fully confident in payment integration and high-risk payment processing, and welcome inquiries and exchanges.