How many times have you used a digital payment method in the past week? Maybe you used a mobile checkout for your latest grocery order. Or maybe you used text-to-pay for your water bill. As these methods become more common, they cease to become a curiosity and become more of an expectation.
Businesses and lenders want to keep up with those expectations, winning borrower trust and satisfaction. But, at the same time, we have to keep up with a new set of risks. Digital payment security threats are more sophisticated. The regulations aimed at protecting consumers are more complex. Customer trust can be harder to earn…and easier to lose.
For any organization that accepts digital payments, protecting your transactions and staying compliant with industry regulations has to be at the front of your mind. On behalf of both your business and your customers, you need to understand both today’s threat landscape and the tools available to help you navigate it.
The speed and convenience of digital payments make them appealing. That same speed and convenience also make them vulnerable. Cybercriminals are quick to exploit any gaps in payment workflows, especially with new technologies or channels that may not have the same level of robust protection in place.
The most common risks include:
Criminals change tactics regularly, but their objectives are consistent. They want access to sensitive financial data. It’s your responsibility to be prepared to meet these challenges.
No organization wants the bad press that comes from a security incident (not to mention the direct consequences of the attack). The hit to your reputation alone can be crippling.
Then you have compliance. Businesses today are required to keep up with complex regulations intended to protect customer data and digital payments. Regulations can come at the federal level, or apply to certain industries or businesses that want to engage in specific transaction types. Let’s look at some of the most noteworthy regulations:
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the most widely recognized. It outlines the security controls businesses must implement when handling cardholder data, including encryption standards, network protections and access restrictions. Even if you don’t store card data directly, PCI DSS compliance is a requirement for your systems and vendors if you process card payments.
Regulation E, established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, focuses on shielding consumers from unauthorized electronic fund transfers. It outlines requirements for error resolution, consumer consent and disclosures. It’s especially relevant for lenders and firms offering recurring or automated payment options.
SOC 2 compliance, based on standards from the American Institute of CPAs, evaluates how well an organization manages customer data across five trust service principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. While SOC 2 is not specific to payments, partners or enterprise clients will often require certification.
Taken together, these three frameworks play a huge role in shaping how businesses design and operate their digital payment environments.
Strengthening your digital payments approach starts with strategy. Yes, you’ll likely include things like firewalls and data encryption, but you also need to build a secure, compliant system that’s flexible enough to grow with your business.
Here are a few practical ways to achieve that:
Using a unified platform reduces complexity and limits the number of third-party systems interacting with customer data. A major benefit of this more centralized approach is that it creates fewer potential entry points for attackers and simplifies the process of monitoring and auditing transactions.
Manual tracking of user access, transaction logs and consent records is both inefficient and error-prone. Automation tools can enforce policy-based controls and maintain realtime audit trails. This can help you meet regulatory requirements without overburdening your team.
Don’t think of encryption as an option or a “nice-to-have.” All sensitive data should be encrypted using contemporary standards, both as it moves through your systems and while it’s stored. Encryption alone doesn’t guarantee compliance, but you absolutely need to have it as part of a secure system.
Technology can block many attacks, but not all. People are still on the front line of every defense. Employees in particular play a critical role in payment security, especially when they’re interacting with customers or handling exception processes. Ongoing training ensures your team can recognize threats and follow proper procedures.
Your payment vendors are extensions of your infrastructure. Make sure that you choose partners who prioritize compliance and security. That should include reporting and built-in security features like tokenization, secure authentication and regular software updates.
Keeping payment systems secure while maintaining compliance is a real challenge. It’s not easy to balance the requirements for multiple payment types at the same time, so when you start offering in-person, online and mobile payments, the complexity multiplies. Using an integrated platform begins to reduce that burden, especially when you choose a platform that builds security directly into the transaction process.
Many companies rely on separate vendors or tools for each payment method. On the other hand, integrated solutions streamline the entire process. There are fewer manual touchpoints, and it becomes easier to consistently enforce compliance policies because there are fewer systems that need to talk to each other. An integrated system can also provide realtime monitoring and standardized data handling.
This built-in approach helps simplify audits and regulatory reporting as well. Your team can cut down on the time it spends tracking down documentation or reconciling disparate systems. Because these platforms are regularly updated to reflect changing standards, they support long-term compliance without the need for constant manual intervention.
If your business waits for an incident to happen before taking action, you’re at risk. To stay ahead, you need a system that evolves with you. That means working with partners who monitor the regulatory landscape and incorporate flexibility into their technology. It also means treating security and compliance as core features, not afterthoughts.
Every digital payment is a moment of trust between a business and its customer. When that experience is fast and secure, it leaves a positive impression. If something goes wrong (or feels risky) that trust can quickly erode.
Protecting that trust means more than checking compliance boxes. It means putting the right tools and partners in place for secure payment processing. With the right approach (and the right platform), businesses can meet regulatory requirements and give their customers confidence in every transaction.
Want to learn more about how REPAY can help you keep your digital payments secure while keeping up with compliance requirements? Contact us today! Our team is ready to help you.