As the digital landscape in India expands exponentially, the consumer base is also shifting its course to online purchasing. The increase in online shopping and digitisation of services has led to the growth of online payment gateways.
The search for the best payment gateway in India begins at the crux of best security measures. According to a report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), over the last 3 years, financial cyber crimes have accounted for over Rs 1.25 Crores. As alarming as these numbers are, they only reflect the growing need to find the best payment gateway in India.
This blog will explore some of the main security risks that exist in payment gateways and how these issues can be averted through proper compliance and regulation.
What is the Function of a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway authenticates and securely transmits payment data between customers, merchants, and financial institutions. The best payment gateways in India employ encryption, tokenisation, and fraud management to protect sensitive information.
These gateways adhere to strict industry standards and regulations, ensuring secure and smooth transactions. While encryption keeps data unreadable to unauthorised parties, tokenisation minimises data breach risks. This blend of security measures makes payment gateways essential in the modern payment ecosystem.
Issues in Security and Compliance
Online businesses are key to economic growth in the digital age. They facilitate quick transactions with various payment methods, involving customers, sellers, financial institutions, and payment gateways. This ecosystem ensures smooth online shopping, global business expansion, and secure payments, driving economic progress.
Getting the proper payment processing and managing various transactions of a small business can be challenging. Having the right platform can help manage transactions efficiently. Here are five common challenges you might encounter.
- Information Security: Information theft is a growing concern. The best payment gateway in India offers PCI Data Security Standards compliance, ensuring customers’ information is protected.
- Lack of Integration: Manually updating transaction records is time-consuming and risky. An integrated payment processing platform reduces errors and improves operational efficiency by tracking all transactions in real-time.
- Huge Fees: High fees from payment processing companies can cut into profits. The best payment gateway in India combines reliability and affordability, helping businesses lower costs.
- Multi-channel Payments: Limited transaction support can hinder operations. A single integrated platform for all payment types simplifies and reduces costs.
- Lack of Support: 24-hour support is crucial for maintaining stable payment processing. The best payment gateway in India ensures continuous support, helping businesses operate smoothly.
Measures to Tackle Security and Compliance
Implementing these security measures can significantly reduce the risk of fraud and ensure the protection of sensitive payment information. Adhering to these practices helps businesses maintain customer trust and comply with industry standards.
- Adhering to PCI DSS Standards
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a critical set of regulations and compliance rules established by major card schemes. Businesses that process credit or debit card transactions must adhere to PCI DSS, ensuring a secure environment and reducing the risk of card theft and fraud. Understanding PCI DSS standards is essential for businesses accepting online payments to make informed decisions when selecting a payment partner.
- Implementing Secure Electronic Transactions (SET)
Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is an encryption-based system developed by VISA and Mastercard. SET protects credit card payment data by concealing all personal information associated with the card. This encryption prevents unauthorised access to sensitive details by fraudsters and ensures that merchants cannot access the cardholder’s data, enhancing privacy and security.
- Utilising Data Encryption
Data encryption is a fundamental mechanism used by the best payment gateways in India to protect sensitive transaction data. When customers provide their card information during checkout, the payment gateway encrypts this data, transforming it into an alternative format or code accessible only with a secret key. The payment gateway decrypts the transaction using its private key, significantly reducing the likelihood of unauthorised access.
- Establishing Secure Socket Layers (SSL)
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security technology that creates a secure connection between a payment provider and a customer’s web browser, ensuring that any transmitted data is encrypted. All web browsers support SSL and it is essential for websites handling transactions directly.
Suppose a website redirects visitors to a secure checkout page hosted on the payment gateway’s domain. In that case, SSL implementation on the website itself is not mandatory, as the payment gateway provides the SSL link to the browser.
- Enhancing Security with 3D Secure
3D Secure is a protocol that enhances online payment security by adding an extra layer of authentication. During checkout, the customer is redirected to their bank or credit card issuer’s website to verify the transaction. This verification step, which can involve one-time passwords, fingerprint authentication, or other methods, reduces the risk of fraud by ensuring that only the legitimate cardholder can confirm the purchase.
- Reducing Fraud with Tokenisation
Tokenisation is a security technique used in online payment processing to reduce fraud risk. It involves replacing sensitive account details, like credit card numbers, with unique payment tokens. These tokens identify transactions and authorise payments without exposing actual payment credentials. If a data breach occurs, the tokens are useless to attackers. When a customer makes a purchase, the payment token is sent for authorisation instead of the full card details.
- Conducting Penetration Testing
Penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking, involves qualified security experts attempting to breach systems to identify and address vulnerabilities proactively. Regular external and internal penetration tests are essential. External tests mimic attacks from outside, while internal tests simulate risks from human error or a disgruntled employee. These tests ensure network segmentation, access controls, authentication methods, and other defences are strong enough to withstand determined hackers.
- Training Employees for Security Awareness
Employee training is crucial for a comprehensive security programme. Customer-facing roles focus on social engineering tactics like phishing scams and verifying customer identities properly. Technical personnel receive training on secure coding practices, incident response protocols, and identifying and reporting potential vulnerabilities. Compliance training ensures all staff are up-to-date on industry regulations like PCI DSS.
By implementing these security measures, the best payment gateways in India ensure the safety and compliance of online transactions, fostering trust and reliability in the digital payment ecosystem.
Choosing the Best Payment Gateway in India
The best payment gateways in India exemplify the highest standards of security and compliance, setting a benchmark for the industry. These gateways not only safeguard transactions but also foster trust between businesses and customers.
Opting for a reliable payment gateway is a commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction, paving the way for sustained growth in the digital marketplace. You can consider secure solutions such as Plural by Pine Labs. Its tokeniser replaces sensitive card information with secure tokens, ensuring 100% RBI compliance. This not only fortifies transaction security but also boosts customer trust and business success.
Plural’s online payment gateway also offers exceptional features to enhance business operations and security. With developer-friendly APIs, UPI intent flow, and industry-best commercials, Plural provides a competitive edge. Visit their website to learn more.
