How to Make a POS Transaction More Secure

When you have a business, security should be one of your primary concerns. Attacks can come from the outside as well as from the inside. Credit card fraud, POS fraud and POS theft are all too common problems many merchants and retailers face because criminal elements and dishonest employees are becoming more and more brazen each year.

As technology becomes more advanced to stop them, the fraudsters themselves have evolved, using advanced hacking techniques and other methods to outsmart and steal, creating chaos and a nightmare scenario for affected businesses everywhere in the world where security is easily breached.

Deter and Capture with a Reliable POS System

One simple solution has been utilized by law enforcement for years – the silent, all seeing CCTV camera. Strategically placed video cameras add a layer of security to your establishment that can catch any crook looking to do your business harm. You can even catch dishonest and destructive employees like the countless ones caught on video doing juvenile acts and destroying property.

One of the ideal spots to position a surveillance camera would be directly behind the POS terminal and the inventory room. The camera should have color and magnification (zoom) capabilities, so you can easily distinguish what transactions are going on based on the color of the pos interface being used. Having the zoom function will also let you see the amount tendered and what credit cards or debit cards were used for the transaction.

In the event an employee makes a fraudulent transaction, such as a sale or return, the timestamp on the videos will show which employee committed the crime and the time of day. Having video evidence is also a surefire way to make sure these criminals pay the price. It’s hard to deny something caught on video.

Smartphone Payments are Safer

Another way to secure your store from fraud is by accepting smartphone payments such as Apple Pay, Paypal Mobile, Google Wallet and Android Pay. Apple Pay is only available for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 users because it uses a Secure Element, or a physical chip installed on the two devices, plus the payment system needs fingerprint authentication that’s only available in the newer iPhone models. You can also use the new Apple Watch, but only if you’re using the new iPhone 6.

With the two layers of added security, it’s even safer than ever to use your Smartphone for payments. Android Pay works in a similar way, but since Android is installed on so many units Google doesn’t have any control over, the search giant has made Android Pay as backward compatible as possible. It only uses fingerprint scanning when the hardware allows it, and when it doesn’t, users can use a PIN code instead.

Android Pay also doesn’t store anything on the phone and everything is saved in the cloud. Another layer of safety Smartphone payments provide is that these systems do not store any identifiable information about you and your credit cards on the phone. Even the retailer you’re paying won’t be able to see any information about you and your card when you pay.

In the event your phone is lost or stolen, thieves won’t be able to use any of the data on it to use the cards to make bogus transactions, unlike when you lose your wallet with all your credit cards in it. Even when a criminal hacks into the phone, everything is encrypted soall they’re going to get is gibberish.

Mobile Payments Under the Radar

With all the advancements in mobile payments, it is still one of the most under-utilized forms of payments today because a lot of people don’t know how it works and they’re still pretty paranoid about the security features. It seems there’s security in familiarity, and people would rather opt for the familiar rather than use something significantly better and safer.

There will undoubtedly be a time when every customer will adopt integrated mobile payments as the standard way to pay, and coupled with all the security features that phone manufacturers roll out with every new release, that time may be closer than you think.