By SellerList.
Many people today shop online and most people use a credit card and debit card pay for their purchases. Taking payments online can save you and your customers considerable time and effort. Using the internet to make payments to online purchase, utility, phone, credit card, insurance and donation.
You always take a risk when you shop online: there's a chance that thieves could steal your payment information and make purchases through your online payment system. It's important to understand these risks and to make sure your customers can trust you with their payment information. Your information is usually scrambled or encrypted into a hard-to-read format. But even when you do everything right - even at large, reputable websites - there's a chance of a data breach or intercepted traffic. It's obviously important to keep your device secure and up to date. There are, however, risks associated with online payments and you need to take care when making them.
Payment Services
Third-party payment services are also a good option for online shopping. They can provide an extra layer of safety: instead of giving your credit card number or bank account information to every website you shop with, you can keep that information in one central location(Example: PayPal, google)
If you shop at numerous sites or sites you're unfamiliar with, you can reduce the number of places that hackers can find your information. These services may also offer some level of "buyer protection" in case your goods never arrive or you get swindled.
When things go bad (If you have a dispute with a seller) these accounts can get frozen while the company investigates. If you make a habit of disputing charges (and the disputes don't end up in your favor), your account might even get closed and you could be banned from using the services. You can certainly live without a PayPal account there are plenty of places to shop online with other payment methods - but PayPal is sometimes the easiest way to pay.
Credit Cards
A credit card is often a good choice for shopping online. Fraud protection with credit cards is quite strong, and getting charges reserved is pretty simple (just report the suspicious activity to your card issuer or let them know you never received what you paid for). No money comes out of your bank account - it's the card issuer's money that gets spent. As long as you act quickly, your liability can be limited to $50, and in many cases you won't pay anything for fraudulent charges.
The bad thing is you might think of your credit card as a tool of everyday life. Perhaps you use it regularly for personal and business expenses, and you might pay automatic or recurring charges with the card. If your card number is stolen, you'll need a new card (and card number), you'll have to update billing information in numerous places, and you may have to live without your card for a while as you wait for a replacement.
Tips: When you shop online, use a credit card as the funding source for purchases (if possible). That way, if there's a dispute and the payment service doesn't decide in your favor, you can dispute the charges again with your credit card company where you might have better luck.
Debit Card
Debit cards are inexpensive payment cards that pull funds directly from your checking account. You don't need to apply, get approved, pay annual fees, or risk racking up debt like you do with a credit card. Although it's not required by law, debit card issuers often offer "zero liability" protection similar to credit card protection.
The bad thing is a debit card is linked directly to your bank account. If the card number is used without your permission (or if there's simply an error somewhere), money comes out of your checking account - and you might not be able to pay bills and expenses with a drained account. yes, there are fraud protctions in place, but it can take few days for the bank to return money to your account.
Tips: unless you're extremely vigilant and have set up alerts on your checking account (and you have plenty of extra cash available), avoid using debit cards if possible. If you simply cant't use a credit card or a payment service, a prepaid card can help insulate your checking account from any problems.
The Risks
> Fraud resulting from making payments over unsecured web pages.
> Emails directing you to fake websites set up to collect your payment card details.
Safe Payments
Online payments are normally part of your arrangement with a service provider as an alternative to payment by direct debit or cheque. In most cases, therefore, the payee will be familiar to you, but you must take care to ensure that you are on the provider's genuine site.
> Ensure you are on a genuine website
> Ensure the website is secure before entering payment details.
> Remember that paying by credit card offers greater protection against fraud than with other methods.
> Double check all details of your payment before confirming.
> Before entering payment details on a website, ensure that the link is secure, in three ways:
1. There should be a padlock symbol in the browser window frame, which appears when you attempt to
log in or register.
2. The web address should begin with 'https://'.
The 's' stands for 'SECURE'.
3. If using the latest version of your browser, the
address bar or the name of the site owner will
turn green.
> When making a payment to an individual use a
secure payment site such as PayPal - never transfer the
money directly into their bank account.
> Check the website's privacy policy.
> Always log out of sites into which you have logged in or registered details. Simply closing your browser is
not enough to ensure privacy
> Keep receipts - electronic or otherwise.
> Check credit card and bank statements carefully after payment to ensure that the correct amount has been
debited, and also that no fraud has taken place as a result of the transaction.
> Ensure you have effective and updated antivirus/antispyware software and firewall running before you go
online.
It's important to understand these risks and to make sure you are following all mentioned instructions.
Many people today shop online and most people use a credit card and debit card pay for their purchases. Taking payments online can save you and your customers considerable time and effort. Using the internet to make payments to online purchase, utility, phone, credit card, insurance and donation.
You always take a risk when you shop online: there's a chance that thieves could steal your payment information and make purchases through your online payment system. It's important to understand these risks and to make sure your customers can trust you with their payment information. Your information is usually scrambled or encrypted into a hard-to-read format. But even when you do everything right - even at large, reputable websites - there's a chance of a data breach or intercepted traffic. It's obviously important to keep your device secure and up to date. There are, however, risks associated with online payments and you need to take care when making them.
Payment Services
Third-party payment services are also a good option for online shopping. They can provide an extra layer of safety: instead of giving your credit card number or bank account information to every website you shop with, you can keep that information in one central location(Example: PayPal, google)
If you shop at numerous sites or sites you're unfamiliar with, you can reduce the number of places that hackers can find your information. These services may also offer some level of "buyer protection" in case your goods never arrive or you get swindled.
When things go bad (If you have a dispute with a seller) these accounts can get frozen while the company investigates. If you make a habit of disputing charges (and the disputes don't end up in your favor), your account might even get closed and you could be banned from using the services. You can certainly live without a PayPal account there are plenty of places to shop online with other payment methods - but PayPal is sometimes the easiest way to pay.
Credit Cards
A credit card is often a good choice for shopping online. Fraud protection with credit cards is quite strong, and getting charges reserved is pretty simple (just report the suspicious activity to your card issuer or let them know you never received what you paid for). No money comes out of your bank account - it's the card issuer's money that gets spent. As long as you act quickly, your liability can be limited to $50, and in many cases you won't pay anything for fraudulent charges.
The bad thing is you might think of your credit card as a tool of everyday life. Perhaps you use it regularly for personal and business expenses, and you might pay automatic or recurring charges with the card. If your card number is stolen, you'll need a new card (and card number), you'll have to update billing information in numerous places, and you may have to live without your card for a while as you wait for a replacement.
Tips: When you shop online, use a credit card as the funding source for purchases (if possible). That way, if there's a dispute and the payment service doesn't decide in your favor, you can dispute the charges again with your credit card company where you might have better luck.
Debit Card
Debit cards are inexpensive payment cards that pull funds directly from your checking account. You don't need to apply, get approved, pay annual fees, or risk racking up debt like you do with a credit card. Although it's not required by law, debit card issuers often offer "zero liability" protection similar to credit card protection.
The bad thing is a debit card is linked directly to your bank account. If the card number is used without your permission (or if there's simply an error somewhere), money comes out of your checking account - and you might not be able to pay bills and expenses with a drained account. yes, there are fraud protctions in place, but it can take few days for the bank to return money to your account.
Tips: unless you're extremely vigilant and have set up alerts on your checking account (and you have plenty of extra cash available), avoid using debit cards if possible. If you simply cant't use a credit card or a payment service, a prepaid card can help insulate your checking account from any problems.
The Risks
> Fraud resulting from making payments over unsecured web pages.
> Emails directing you to fake websites set up to collect your payment card details.
Safe Payments
Online payments are normally part of your arrangement with a service provider as an alternative to payment by direct debit or cheque. In most cases, therefore, the payee will be familiar to you, but you must take care to ensure that you are on the provider's genuine site.
> Ensure you are on a genuine website
> Ensure the website is secure before entering payment details.
> Remember that paying by credit card offers greater protection against fraud than with other methods.
> Double check all details of your payment before confirming.
> Before entering payment details on a website, ensure that the link is secure, in three ways:
1. There should be a padlock symbol in the browser window frame, which appears when you attempt to
log in or register.2. The web address should begin with 'https://'.
The 's' stands for 'SECURE'.
3. If using the latest version of your browser, the
address bar or the name of the site owner will
turn green.
> When making a payment to an individual use a
secure payment site such as PayPal - never transfer the
money directly into their bank account.
> Check the website's privacy policy.
> Always log out of sites into which you have logged in or registered details. Simply closing your browser is
not enough to ensure privacy
> Keep receipts - electronic or otherwise.
> Check credit card and bank statements carefully after payment to ensure that the correct amount has been
debited, and also that no fraud has taken place as a result of the transaction.
> Ensure you have effective and updated antivirus/antispyware software and firewall running before you go
online.
It's important to understand these risks and to make sure you are following all mentioned instructions.
