With credit card payments continuing to grow across modern economies (as part of the digitalisation of financial services), including the U.S., the use of safe, efficient in-store payment terminals have become an increasingly important part of the retailer’s point-of-sale transaction strategy.
Unfortunately, card payments and terminals are open to various fraudulent practices. In addition, supply chain issues have made new, safe payment terminals increasingly hard to acquire, and global shortages of computer chips have hit the payments industry just as they have hit motor vehicles and other technology sectors.
The increasingly electronic environment of retail stores combined with the pursuit of secondhand terminals during the current supply shortage has opened new doors to potential fraud. To mitigate in-store payment risks, the company iQmetrix believes there are some measures that retailers can consider. These thoughts have been distilled to Digital Journal for review.
Keep fraud at bay with regular monitoring
The iQmetrix observation is that employees can be the first line of defence for a retailer’s cybersecurity. Unfortunately, many untrained, unprepared employees fall prey to various schemes. It is no secret financial technology is regularly the target of fraud – small programs that copy card data alongside key loggers can be well hidden inside or outside a terminal. Retailers should implement routine auditing, a practice that ensures no skimmers have been attached to terminals to capture sensitive information like PIN numbers or account details.
Further iQmetrix advice is that upgrading to an EMV chip or NFC Technology provides an added layer of security, as EMV chip terminals can read encrypted data stored on the credit card – and can decline a counterfeit one. NFC terminals can authorize payment from a contactless card or tokenized payment data on a phone, so actual card data isn’t stored in a machine. Regularly checking the business’ wi-fi network for rogue devices can also keep retailers one step ahead of fraudsters.
Secondhand payment terminals may cost you more
A further issue is with secondhand devices. Here iQmetrix notes that a brand new, out-of-the-box payment terminal will be fully compliant with software and cybersecurity protocols commissioned by the retailer.
Installing proprietary software on a used machine requires a fee and keeping up with a chain of ownership is needed to ensure other parties don’t have access to the software. Fraudsters have also been known to forge tamper-proof tape and seals – most retailers won’t know the terminal is compromised until money has gone through it. In short, retailers using secondhand terminals must know everything about the terminal and be prepared to pay fees before it can be safely used.
