Secure ecommerce payment solutions matter
Ecommerce transactions are underpinned by trust – the buyer’s trust in what you’re selling, and in the payment solutions that you offer. Historically, the relatively slow rate of growth in South African ecommerce has been attributed at least in part to people’s reluctance to use their credit cards for online purchases. This highlights the importance of secure ecommerce payment solutions – put simply, when people trust your payment solution, they are more likely to shop in your online store.
Offering a variety of payment methods is also important – these could include instant EFTs, third-party apps such as Zapper or SnapScan, and even instalment payment options. Choice is important to online shoppers, but trust comes first. Buyers need to feel that you will process their payments accurately and securely, and that you can be trusted with data such as card numbers.
Features of a great payment gateway
Choosing the right payment gateway (a merchant service that authorises payment processing) is one of the most important decisions you will make as an online store owner. Buyers are looking for convenience and security – does your payment gateway provide both? If it does, it will instil trust in buyers (especially those who are new to ecommerce, or who are only occasional buyers).
Online transactions necessarily involve the transfer of sensitive information, which creates potential
data breach vulnerabilities. You therefore need to choose a secure ecommerce payment solution that protects against security threats and fraud.
This is especially important as bank cards are not physically present during online transactions. In theory at least, anyone in possession of card numbers can make purchases. Your payment gateway therefore needs to be robust enough to mitigate these risks.
Integration is everything
Services such as Bob Go from Bob Group offer seamless integration of multiple selling platforms, including proprietary websites and marketplace sites such as Bob Shop. Your chosen secure ecommerce payment solution will need to be similarly easy to integrate with your entire ecommerce ecosystem.
Data management
Here in South Africa, compliance with the provisions of POPIA (the Protection of Personal
Information Act) is vital. Failure to achieve this can result in financial penalties and reputational damage. While ecommerce transactions represent valuable opportunities to gather data that can be used to gain market insights and drive future advertising campaigns, they also create significant responsibilities.
These cover how you collect, store, disseminate and use personal information, and the level of consent you have obtained. The right secure ecommerce payment solution will offer adequate security against external threats, but the way you use it in your day-to-day business operations must also instil trust.
Security features
When you choose a payment gateway, vital features to look out for include fraud scrubbing (which matches buyers’ ISP and other data to ensure billing and shipping accuracy) and SSL encryption. SSL stands for ‘secure sockets layer’ and it combines data encryption and website recognition, and enables two-way trust. This is important, because you also need to protect your online store against potential fraud.
To learn more about secure ecommerce payment solutions, visit https://www.bob.co.za/ – the home of ecommerce expertise and solutions you can trust.
