Many of us prefer the ease of paying our bills through an automatic withdrawal or with a credit card. These types of payments are very convenient, but can also put us all more at risk for credit card fraud.
Fortunately, there are many tools a business owner can use to protect themselves, their customers and their employees. Below you will find some valuable tools that you can use that will help.
1. Address Verification Service (AVS)
AVS is a system used to verify the address of a person claiming to own a credit card.
How is it used? AVS compares the name and address a customer provides with the information that is on file with the credit card company. A letter code is given to the person running the transaction. The code indicates if the information given matches, partially matches or does not match.
Click here to see a list of AVS codes and their meanings.
How do I use it? An business owner can manually or automatically set your AVS to decline transactions. You can also review the codes yourself if you choose.
Why would I want to use this? AVS is a great tool to help prevent fraud. AVS is also a required component for some interchange categories (Interchange categories is a set of categories that partly determines how much of a fee a business will be charged for accepting credit cards).
What is the cost? The cost to use AVS varies by the credit card processor that is used. Fees range from 1 cent to 10 cents per transaction. The fee to use the AVS system cannot be changed by the merchant. A fee is only charged to the merchant if the feature is enabled in the payment gateway and the customers address is entered. To learn more about using the Address Verification System click here.
2. Card Verification Value (CVV)/Card Verification Code (CVC)
CVV and CVC are numbers to verify a credit card. This number is usually printed on
the back of the card. This number cannot be stored by a business.
How do you use it? Accepting credit cards online or by hand keying you can enable the CVV field. Transactions can be manually or automatically denied for a CVV mismatch.
Why would I want to use this? When a customer is using a credit card for online transactions it helps to ensure the physical card is being used and not a stolen credit card number. The risk of fraud is higher when a credit card is keyed in. Inputting the CVV number at the time of sale validates the transaction.
What is the cost? There are no additional fees associated with your credit card processor for entering a CVV or CVC.
3. 3D Secure Technology
The 3D Secure Technology tool helps prevent fraud by 3 different parties that are a part of the authentication process. The 3 parties are: the business, your acquiring bank and the credit card company that your customer is using.
How do you use it? This tool is another layer of protection when the customer enters in a personal code at the time of checkout. Contact your credit card processing company to find out how you can implement 3D Technology at your business.
Why would I want to use this? Visa and Mastercard offer benefits to business owners who use the 3D Secure tool. Since this tool is considered a level of identity verification, business owners are protected in cases of charge-backs and customer disputes if they occur.
What is the cost? Neither Visa or Mastercard charge a fee for using the 3D Secure Technology tool. The only cost an owner may incur is to purchase a plugin for their credit card processor.
These 3 tools are great for owners who are just learning or who are already accepting credit
card payments at their business. Customers will feel protected with their personal information when you put forth the effort of protecting their credit card information.
Click the links below for more helpful information on credit card fraud protection:
