More people are shopping online today than ever before, and people in general are more relaxed about Internet security issues and online credit card payments. Making online purchases has become so common today that many people are not vigilant enough about protecting themselves and their money. There are a number of simple things that you can do before making that online credit card purchase that will make your financial life safer and more worry free. I will go over 10 easy things that you can check before giving away your credit card details; simple information that can really keep you out of trouble.

Buying things online is not necessarily a dangerous activity, in fact it is probably the safest way to shop if it is done right, as no people are involved in the transaction.

1. The first thing to check before giving away your important card details is that the site you are purchasing from has an address that starts with ‘https://’, the ’s’ is the all important letter as it stands for secure and means exactly that.

2. The second thing to look for is a yellow lock in the bottom right hand corner of your browser window, meaning that the site is being encrypted or scrambled.

3. Another more general tip is to check out the reputation of the vendor you want to use; is there any negative feedback about them online?

4. The fourth tip is to find some independent reviews of the company by searching authority review sites or reputable forums. Word of mouth travels fast if a business is truly dodgy.

5. Another important thing to do is to check that the company you wish to purchase from is actually who they say they are; there have been some recent cases of fake emails circulating and directing people to fake shopping sites of a well known online business. Check that the URL address is the same address that you normally use and that the company logos and designs are not replicas.

There are many things that you can do as an online shopper to enhance the security of your transactions.

6. Make sure that you are running an up to date version of some well respected anti virus software, this will stop viruses and worms from installing themselves and tracking your key strokes. This is especially important as credit card data can be stolen in this way.

7. Check that an appropriate firewall is also installed to make it much harder for malicious software to get on to your hard drive.

8. You can be even more careful by running your computer through a startup monitor prior to a purchase to make sure that you have no such software trying to register itself as a start up program in your machine. The final two checks have more to do with common sense than security, but are still important.

9&10. Before giving away your credit card make sure that the company offers a guarantee on the goods and that they ship them to your area, as it is no use having bought a product that you can’t even get a hold of.

A reputable payment processing company is necessary for the growth and success of a business institution in today’s modern world. Payment processing companies offer secure systems for processing credit and debit card payments. These companies also offer secure payment processing services for other types of payment methods such as PayPal among other online payment methods.

Online payment processing services are useful for companies and their consumers. The Internet has paved the way for businesses to reach consumers around the globe in easy and effective ways. Consumers now use these online payment processing methods to securely pay for the goods and services they need without spending too much time and money. Today, consumers need quick and easy options especially when it comes to purchasing goods and services from businesses on the Internet.

Choosing the payment processing company offering the best services can be an easy task. To identify the payment processing company offering the most appropriate services, you should:

Choose Between a Person-To-Person Account and a Direct Merchant Account

A person-to-person account processes payments from consumers to businesses through the merchant account of the third party service provider. Most consumers already know about popular third party payment processing service providers. This is an advantage provided by this type of payment processing account, especially for new businesses because these consumers go through a payment processing system they may already know and thus trust.

A direct merchant account processes payments from consumers to businesses through the financial institution responsible for the credit, debit, wire, or online payment type. This means payments from consumers are directly processed by the corresponding financial institution depending on the type of payment used. Established businesses can benefit from low fees charged by financial institutions for payment transactions between consumers and businesses. Consumers can also benefit from this since they need to pay lower fees for such transactions than those charged by third party payment processing service providers.

Determine the Setup Fees and Transaction Fees Among Other Fees Charged by the Payment Processing Service Provider

It is important to compare the setup and transaction fees among others charged by third party payment processing service providers for its person-to-person accounts against direct merchant setup and transaction fees charged by various financial institutions. Usually, third party service providers have higher setup and transaction fees for person-to-person accounts than financial institutions offering direct merchant fees.

However, person-to-person accounts frequently come with customized Web development services as opposed to default online payment processing systems bundled with direct merchant accounts. Businesses can benefit more from the customized Web development services of person-to-person accounts than the default payment processing systems of direct merchant accounts. This is because businesses can customize their payment processing systems to be most appropriate for its target market. These merchants can even add a few details on its online payment processing page for it to be optimized for Internet search engines and effective Internet sales.

Determine the Countries and Currencies Accepted By the Payment Processing Company

It is important to identify the countries and currencies accepted by the payment processing company. For instance, consumers in the US have different needs and demands than those in the UK. They also use different currencies and payment options.

Businesses always have target markets for its products and services. This means you should identify the consumer market that needs your products and services. Afterwards, you must provide these people with the payment processing options accessible to them. This will help your business become as efficient and profitable as possible.

Determine the Products and Services Accepted by the Payment Processing Company

Some payment processing service providers only allow payments for certain products and services to be processed. For instance, some third party providers and financial institutions only accept electronic or digital products while others only accommodate physical products. You should identify the exact types of products and services you are offering in order to determine the restrictions imposed by the third party providers and financial institutions on their payment processing options when it comes to the products or services that can be accepted.

Determine the Payment Speed and Frequency Offered by the Service Provider

Third party payment processing companies and financial institutions also process and send payments differently. This means you should identify the time it takes payments done by consumers to be processed and reflected on your account. You should also identify the frequency of payment transfers done by the third party payment processing service provider or financial institution. You need to choose the most appropriate payment processing options for your purposes.

Determine Customer Service Quality Offered by the Payment Processing Company

The quality of the customer services offered by the payment processing company is another important aspect you need to consider when choosing a provider. Your customers need to know about the technical and general details bundled with your payment processing services. They need to determine the necessary steps to take when faced with certain problems when it comes to your payment processing systems. A friendly and reliable customer service support team will always be beneficial to your business. However, you need to acquire the services of the payment processing company that offers high quality customer support services. After all, good business means remarkable customer support services.

British Telecom, or BT as it prefers to be know recently announce the launch of services that helps retailers comply with the new Payment Card Industry regulations. BT is certified by the PCI Security Standards Council as a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) for PCI Data Security Standard services, this certification authorises BT to offer compliance assessments, training, managed security monitoring, consultancy and compliant technology solutions.
BT’s head of security, Ray Stanton, commenting about the new BT offering said “PCI DSS compliance is a critical business issue for any organisation accepting business by card, and equally for card issuers and payment services providers. BT has an exceptional reputation and global expertise in delivering secure business systems and our new PCI DSS offering can help customers protect their brand and reduce the risk of penalties due to being caught out by unscrupulous and professional criminals.”