Online payments go as far back as the early ‘90s. The more the Internet becomes part of our life, the more often we make online transactions and enjoy online shopping that does not involve any cash.
The peak of online payments could be the period of lockdowns when even those of us who were the most reluctant to try them, ended up having no other choice but to do it.
But what is it that makes people reluctant to use online payment methods? For most of them, research shows, the main reason is security. But there is a solution for this. Before their protection becomes more efficient, here are things you as a user can do, to make sure your transactions are as secure as possible.
Use credit cards, they are still the safest
Because credit cards have the longest history as an online payment method, they are protected by each country’s law and they also have the strongest financial institutions’ support. Other than that, the credit card issuers, such as MasterCard and Visa, offer additional layers of security provided by different steps of payment authentication.
Most often in use is SMS verification: once you write the data necessary for the payment to be made, an SMS will be sent to your phone. This message contains a code with which you conclude the transaction and confirm that it is really you who initiated the transaction from the card, since you also have the phone with you, to prove it.
Opt for an e-wallet if you want your security to be more up to you
E-wallets or digital wallets are like online accounts that you use to store your money and make transactions with it. They are a very often choice for online shopping and possibly the best way to deposit cash winnings from casino. One safety feature of these wallets is probably the fact they are usually connected to your credit card, so they have the same security features, such as 3D authentication.
These days, usually there is a special app for using your digital wallet. In a security sense, this is an additional layer of protection, since you can choose a PIN code or a password, or even better fingerprint or facial recognition is necessary to make a payment through the app. This way you make sure your payments are safe even if your phone gets stolen.
Other than this, you can also make sure you:
- Are not using the same code for unlocking your phone and your payment app
- Download some security apps to your phone thus making it generally more secure
- Double-check your online transactions using the receipts you get for them
This is why we could say that when using this type of payment, there are many security features we the users are responsible for and we can control. Relying on yourself for an additional level of protection can be very productive.
Have transactions only with trustworthy websites
Whether you’re shopping online or playing in an online casino, it is important that you are certain the website you are doing it on is a reliable one. Payment methods matter, of course, and they can increase your safety a lot, but you also must make sure you are dealing with a trustworthy service provider. For example you may use this online payment method.
There are many things you can do to make sure that the website you are dealing with is safe. You can do these three things:
- Check if the website has all the necessary safety features, like SSL certification; This certification will protect your sensitive information like your address and other account details.
- Check if its address starts with HTTPS, not HTTP. If it is, it, first of all, means that the website is using the secured protocol mentioned above, but it also has other features that improve your user experience;
- Choose not to make payments when using public Wi-Fi; You cannot be certain whether it is using encryption or not, which means your data is at risk. The parameters we mentioned above should regardlessly protect you even on a public network, but we still recommend avoiding it, especially when planning a money transaction, if possible.
On top of the above-mentioned, you should check for the company data of the website you are planning a transaction with. See also their money return policies. And it never hurts to check their rating and read reviews previous customers wrote.
To conclude
Our safety online is being improved as we speak. But unfortunately, the online predators that are out for an average Internet user’s personal information and money are also getting better at what they do. This is why it is important that we get as much information as possible and protect ourselves. At least until safety is on a perfect level of functionality, the way cryptocurrencies suggest it might be.