Many businesses and vendors want purchases to be completed by their customers using credit or debit cards. It is a very rare occurrence in current times to find a business that will accept a check as payment and many businesses do not consider cash as their preferred type of payment. Because of these facts, merchant account providers have established processes and systems so that debit and credit cards can be used as payment for purchases, whether the payment is for products or services.
American consumers have embraced this new type of payment!
In 2013 with total consumer payments of $8.6 trillion, U.S. consumers spent $4.6 trillion using credit and debit cards. However as the use of the payment processing service through merchant account providers, so also has the possibility of credit card fraud and credit card theft. Credit card and debit card fraud, especially when purchasing online, is a great concern for 6 out of 10 consumers. Credit card fraud losses were up by 19% in July, 2015 from 2013. These losses are incurred by card issuers, merchants and those who own the cards and reached $16.31 billion. The losses to fraud outpaced the growth in the volume of total card use for the fourth year in a row.
For this reason, Americans want secure payment options and secure payment processing. Customers making purchases with their credit card or debit card want to be assured that their credit card information is not at risk for theft. They want to be able to rely on secure payment options.
Is there more danger to your credit card security if you purchase online?
More and more purchasing is being done online. Is there more danger in this type of a transaction. The merchant account providers refer to this as “card not present transaction” and look to find more ways to protect customers from the card not present fraud. Protection of customer account information and protection from credit card or debit card theft is a major purpose and goal of the merchant account providers.
Online shopping has become a major part of purchasing and customer activity. Customers expect as great of level of availability of product and the same or better quality of goods and services when the purchase is online as opposed to shopping in the physical presence of the product or service. Almost half of consumers (48%) are familiar with and know which online store they will make their purchase from and those digital buyers know where to look for a product before buying it – and they will typically search in their favorite stores online on a recurring basis.
The process to transact your payment with your credit or debit card is managed by the merchant account providers. The merchant account providers manage and enable the payment gateway service. They identify the high risk merchant account. This service is to your benefit!
If credit or debit card fraud or theft occurs, everyone pays for it!
If you get the call from your credit card company that your card has been compromised, oftentimes, if you can verify that the fraudulent use was not your purchase(s), the credit card company will not charge you for the fraudulent charges. However, the merchant or the credit card company will need to cover the loss. Eventually all of those charges are added back into the cost of goods sold, which will ultimately raise the price of the goods and services that you buy.
Having secure systems is an important aspect of merchant account providers and their service. The new chip technology is thought to be protection from the theft of credit card information. Even more important is the protection of the debit card purchase as these funds are deducted directly from your bank account. Typically it is much more difficult to return those funds to your account.
Don’t you want to do your best to find the most secure credit card and debt card company, process and monitoring to protect your credit and your funds? When you purchase online, watch for secure sites that will protect your data and privacy. Use sites that are familiar. Keep a vigilant watch over your own credit!
