The finance industry has always been under the threat of data breaches. Every week, personal information and credentials of thousands of credit cardholders around the world get leaked. These customers get robbed of all their credit money when this valuable credit card information gets into the wrong hands. Hence, it is important to safeguard your credit card account information by all means. And, it all depends on the way you store this information.
5 Best Ways for Securely Storing Credit Card Information
There are a few ways in which credit card information can be secured properly. Ideally, you should opt for storing this information in more than one secure options mentioned below.
#1 Authentic Security Software Services
It is wise to not install or run any credit card processing software by yourself. Instead, you should partner with legitimate software service providers who manage credit card processing of leading organizations. These providers have built robust credit card account storage for their customers. Before offering IVR phone services and web-based SaaS, these software service providers conduct extensive testing, the quality of which is further checked by external QSAs. These providers regularly run audits and update their information policies, security procedures, and data protection infrastructure. You must trust only those service providers that have PCI compliance and an active PCI DSS Validation.
#2 Authorized Devices & Applications
Most instances of credit card data theft occur at data points, which are multiple hardware terminals through which the transactional data gets transferred. These terminals are located in credit card swiping machines, computers, and all sorts of devices being used. It is important that these devices are equipped with authorized PCI-compliant payment processing software. To view the reputable hardware and software vendors, browse the lists of approved PIN transaction security devices and validated payment applications on the PCI DSS website.
#3 Appropriate Forms
Ensure that you feed your credit card credential only in secured forms. These forms collect and store your card data and pass it to processors. The online form fields must be appropriate while sharing your information. The Card-on-File feature of Cognito Forms is an example of secured transactional data transference to payment processor and data storage facilities.
#4 Signed Agreements
Every cardholder needs to get a signed agreement and terms of service document from the credit card issuer. In this agreement, the safety measures must be clearly stipulated. All the reasons for storing your card information need to be illustrated. These agreements should also mention the charges used for securing the credit card account information beforehand. Without such signed agreements, it is impossible to have a legal fight against payment processing companies in the event of theft instances.
#5 Data Encryption
At all costs, electronic storage of credit card account numbers must be encrypted. It is also advised that paper storage of this information is very risky, as securing it from physical thefts is not practical. Make sure that the digital storage of your credit card numbers and three-digit Card Verification Value (CVV)s is encrypted using robust encryption algorithms.
The five best practices go a long way in safeguarding your credit card account information and keeping it PCI-compliant. Following these also helps customers build their trust in your credit facilities and continue doing business with you.
