5 ways to reassure your customers about payment security
Make no mistake; consumers are seriously concerned about credit card fraud.
According to a study from ACI Worldwide,
50 percent of global consumers worry about credit card fraud. The study also notes that nearly a third of consumers across eight countries have experienced some kind of
card fraud.
How can merchants reassure
customers that their credit card data is safe and secure -- and build stronger
customer loyalty in the process? For starters, try these five
tips:
1. Craft a "card security" campaign.
Merchants can pacify anxious customers through a campaign
that teaches them to protect their own identities. That could mean regular
emails, tweets and texts that provide customers with privacy tips and fraud-prevention
tactics. Also, send out a mailer detailing any fraud protection features that you have
implemented toward credit card protection.
2. Remind consumers about your fraud
prevention efforts.
You can also blend in your
company's own fraud-protection policies with your "reassurance" campaign.
Emphasize privacy rules you have in place, and what steps you're taking to
comply with government and industry standards, group rules and regulations on
consumer privacy and card protection.
3. Work with card companies to protect card
data.
Major credit card carriers like Visa
offer fraud-prevention measures. Visa, for example, has a program with the
National Retail Federation that provides operating regulations on how businesses collect
and store card information. Visa advises that merchants produce receipts with
only partial card data (like the last four numbers of the credit card) and use special "codes" to hide card data on receipts.
4. Get your employees on board.
Your staffers are the public face of your company. To ease consumer
concerns about how their card data is being handled, train your employees on
the safety procedures you've implemented. For example, insist that your
employees never ask for certain customer information, like Social Security
numbers. And make sure they never ask for personal financial information over
the phone, or online. Another good idea: Designate an employee at your company
to supervise privacy policies and practices.
5. Be vigilant about guarding consumer data.
Always maintain good records, but make sure they are locked away,
either through a secure computer database or a vault at your company's
location. Keep credit card receipts far away from the public. Make sure
consumer data on your computers is password-protected. Also, make sure you
shred and eliminate customer data once you no longer you need it.
Getting customers inside the door and
spending money is only half the battle. To keep them as customers, you'll need
to assure customers that their credit card data is safe when you process it. If they
trust you on that key issue, they'll trust you enough to keep coming back.
See related:Point-of-sale devices are an easy fraud target, say experts; PCI data security standards: What they are and why they matter
Published: April 25,2023
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