How Online Payments are Processed
May 1, 2019
With the decline of your typical high-street stores having a physical presence comes the increase of businesses with an online presence, ultimately resulting in more and more payments being processed online.
These digital payments are not just for e-commerce businesses, but also businesses in other industries such as Money Transfers or Foreign Exchanges and Gambling.
Alongside the rise of card and online payments inevitably comes the greater risk of payment fraud – whether this be through stolen credit cards or impersonation fraud.
HOW PAYMENTS ARE PROCESSED
Traditionally, businesses accepting and making payments online will need what is called a ‘merchant account’ which will allow them to accept the payments being made.
Merchants are able to accept payment through a number of ways: by card machine, over the phone and via an online portal.
Online payments are processed via a ‘payment gateway’ – a piece of software that processes the customer’s card data enabling a quick and secure transaction to take place.
To put this in simple terms, the customer inputs their card details online, hits the ‘Pay’ button. This then sends the money through the ‘gateway’ and once processed will hit the ‘merchant account’.
WHAT ABOUT THE FRAUD?
In a survey carried out by Experian, it was found that 42% of Millennials would carry out more online transactions if there weren’t so many security hurdles to overcome. However, what these consumers don’t realise is that actually the businesses are protecting them from being victims of payment fraud.
This proves to businesses that there is a balance that needs to be achieved – they should be putting consumer convenience at the forefront of their minds whilst also ensuring a safe environment for their consumers to be making payments. According to Experian, just 35% of businesses plan to be a leader above their competitors when it comes to battling fraud.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Join the 35% of businesses and become a leader by staying ahead of the game.
Acuant’s identity verification and fraud prevention solution, Acuant Identity’s Alternative and Social Data, allows businesses to verify their customer’s identity in just two clicks. Ensure a smooth customer experience with our robust and global answer to payment fraud.
