So long as you’re an adult, our best bet is that you are particular about financial flexibility.
From making online payments using our mobile phones to paying for products and services by swiping your cards, there are lots of opportunities to consider. However, online transactions at merchants and stores are not the only available options.
Numerous online casinos also accept digital payments via bank transfers, cards, and digital wallets. You probably think they are safe because of their convenience, right? Well… That’s not really correct. This article explains the tech solutions payment providers leverage to secure online payments.
Online Payment Security and Its Importance
In simple terms, online payment security involves the processes and procedures payment companies use to safeguard financial transactions that happen online. These measures help ensure their systems are airtight so that users’ funds and personal information are well protected.
Online payment security is crucial because digital transactions are susceptible to security risks like hacking, fraud, and big data breaches. So, online payment security is a non-negotiable discourse across financial systems.
These safety measures cut across individuals and companies. As a person, you don’t want your banking information in the wrong hands. Neither do you want your money stolen by hackers. Similarly, businesses, including the best crypto casinos, don’t want their customers’ data compromised by malicious actors.
That’s why major players prioritize a secure payment system (SPS) to protect transactions from one end to another.
The Tech Behind Secure Payment Systems
As stated earlier, secure payment systems (SPS) use different technologies to secure individuals and businesses from potential security breaches. Some of the options include:
Encryption Technology
Secure payment channels use advanced encryption technology to safeguard their transactions. Picture this, when you initiate an online transaction like a cable TV subscription payment via a credit or debit card from a payment provider like Visa or Mastercard, a lot of things go on behind the scenes.
The cable TV platform encrypts your data before sending it to your card’s payment processor or gateway. Only the approved gateway can use the provided encryption key to unlock the transaction data and process it.
Afterward, the processor forwards it to your bank for final execution. That way, no unauthorized persons can intercept the transaction. However, since these transactions take only a few seconds, you may not realize these steps. Notably, there are two major encryption technology models:
Symmetric Encryption
This model stores a transaction’s encryption and decryption data within the same key, making it more efficient for quicker decryption. However, it is relatively less secure than the asymmetric variant.
Asymmetric Encryption
The encryption model has two distinct keys for encryption and decryption. The encryption key is the public key like you have in a crypto wallet, while the decryption key is the private key. The key separation makes this model more secure.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
It has been established over time that securing your banking app or digital wallet with a password alone is risky. This is because hackers may use social engineering skills to guess your password and access your account.
That’s why modern payment systems use multi-factor authentication (MFA) technology for additional security. This involves you completing verifications at different levels before a transaction can be processed successfully.
In most cases, you’ll need to enter a password, PIN, and an additional code via SMS or an authentication app like Google Authenticator.
KYC Checks
If you’re familiar with digital transactions, you must have encountered platforms requesting you to verify your identity when getting onboarded. This is known as the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process that such platforms use to combat fraud and other similar activities.
Moreover, fraud prevention systems flag suspicious transactions and prevent affected accounts from successfully executing transactions until they can prove their authenticity.
Similarly, some payment providers use KYC checks to restrict people from countries with high rates of fraud. For instance, PayPal and Cash App do not accept people from every country.
Tokenization
Though tokenization is yet to be fully adopted, some people now use it for online payment security. The process involves replacing a transaction’s data with tokens instead of scrambling it or putting it in a key. However, the data is stored in a sequence that protects it from getting unscrambled by malicious actors.
We can already see this playing out in online gaming, with numerous game assets being tokenized and stored in-game using blockchain.
Popular Online Payment Methods and Their Security Solutions
Virtually every business and individual uses online payment service providers to process digital transactions. Here’s an overview of the most popular payment methods and their security features:
Credit/Debit Cards
Card payments were the earliest forms of digital payments and they are arguably the most selected by companies and their customers. Primarily, they use the security protocols mandated by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI DSS) regulations to ensure payment providers transmit and store users’ data securely.
Additionally, cardholders can improve their security by using MFA.
Bank Transfers
Online bank transfers have similar security features as cards. These include using AI software and trained ML models to detect and flag suspicious transactions, allowing users to activate MFA for additional security, and having basic passwords to access banking applications.
E-Wallets
The modern business and individual uses digital wallets called e-wallets for secure online transactions. Unlike the card and bank transfer methods that require direct, end-to-end connections, e-wallets store your card details on your mobile phone.
So, instead of moving around with your card, you only need your smartphone, making it more convenient. Moreover, your card information will not be exposed or shared with other parties for additional security.
The security features employed by e-wallets include multi-level access clearance, which requires a user to use a PIN, password or biometrics to access their wallets. These secure the payments from the user end.
On the processing end, clearance is also required from the gateway that will complete the transaction. Additionally, the stored data is protected using tokenization.
Conclusion
As a business owner, secure online payments are crucial to your company’s success. Partnering with reputable payment solutions providers and adopting high-level safety measures will make online transfers secure for your customers.
Individuals can also find common security features to look out for in this article. Endeavor to prioritize them by making purchases from businesses with verifiable security features.
Read more:
The Technology Ensuring Online Transactions Are Secure for Users