Electronic payments are a mainstream transaction in the 21st century. We make them every day as consumers and businesses. Enabling advertisers to pay online has many benefits — faster payments, more efficiency and reduced costs. For any media company adopting this capability, you’ll also need to know about electronic payment security and compliance.
Without a secure, reliable and compliant platform, you open yourself and your customers to risk. Let’s look at the fundamentals of security and compliance.
Electronic Payment Security
Making secure transactions online is non-negotiable when offering electronic payment options. You and your advertisers need protection from any potential threats or breaches. Security mandates for this follow PCI (payment card industry) regulations.
Security components include:
- Payment gateways: This is the software application that encrypts financial data and authorizes transactions, communicating with payment processors to permit the fund transfer from the customer to you.
- SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Security Layer): These protocols carry out encryption.
- Tokenization security: This strategy replaces credit card numbers with a unique code that transmits the information. This makes the data useless if it becomes compromised.
- PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard): Visa, Mastercard and American Express set these standards for the secure processing, transmitting and storing of payment data. The PCI Security Standards Council determines and defines these.
PCI Compliance
Security and compliance go hand-in-hand in electronic payments. PCI compliance relates to security guidelines formed by the five major credit card brands to ensure you follow best practices to reduce credit card fraud and security breaches.
Using a PCI-compliant payment processor is a requirement for any company using electronic payments. There are different levels of PCI compliance, and you should seek out providers with Level 1 (the highest). To achieve this, providers must obtain a yearly report on compliance from a qualified security advisor or internal security assessor after an on-site audit.
Security and compliance are the foundation for online payments. When you have an electronic payment solution that adheres to the highest standards, you can reap many benefits.
The Key Benefits of Electronic Payment Acceptance
Adopting electronic payments makes sense for you and your customers. Here’s why.
- Improve days outstanding: On average, advertisers and agencies pay faster with electronic options compared to non-electronic payments, according to portal data.
- Streamlining workflows: Having seamless, repeatable processes boosts efficiency and reduces manual work and the inherent errors with it.
- Get paid faster: An electronic payment solution can provide next-day funding, which increases cash flow.
- Be easy to do business with: Advertisers want convenience and options for remitting payments, with many preferring electronic payments.
- Reduce the strain on employees around paper invoicing, mailing and other manual work: With a payment system encompassing the entire process, your finance personnel can focus on more strategic initiatives.
PayNow: A Compliant, Secure and Consolidated Platform
Our payment processing platform, PayNow, includes robust security and compliance protocols. It meets Level 1 PCI compliance requirements. It’s a consolidated system that delivers an integrated workflow with transparency and visibility.
Learn more about all its features and why it’s a great solution for electronic payments.
