Merchant Information

Whatever you require — from fraud management and risk control tools to custom reporting services.

Card Security

Comply with the highest security standards available in the industry to keep your business safe and protect your cardholders' valuable information.

At Decimal Factor** , we want to help you maintain and comply with the highest security standards available in the industry to keep your business safe and protect your cardholders' valuable information. As such, we are fully compliant with the PCI Security Standard Council's DSS — a multifaceted and rigorous security standard—and are accredited by Visa and MasterCard's own compliance standards. We have specialists working to meet the highest security standards our industry demands, and who are dedicated to fighting card fraud.

We offer the highest level of security protocols and processors to help combat fraud, but merchants are the frontline of defense when it comes to fraud. There are a number of things you can do to maximise the security of payments and keep fraudsters at bay.

Security for card not present transactions

Fraud is a risk when you cannot see either the card or the cardholder, but the credit card industry developed several methods in order to reduce the risk of fraud.

Security code

Credit card holders who order via telephone, mail, fax or on the internet need to have their credit card number, the expiry date — and in addition the security code on the back of the card (MasterCard security code CVC2 / Visa security code CVV2).

This additional safety feature ensures that the credit card is held by the buyer in order to reduce the usage of stolen or counterfeit cards. The security code is neither embossed on the front site of the credit card nor does the magnetic stripe contain the information.

Learn more :

CVV2 FAQ

Visa Guide to CNP

UK Visa CVV Mandate

Verified by Visa / MasterCard SecureCode

In order to increase safety for payments by credit card on the internet the card associations Visa and MasterCard developed the security standards Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode.

Both methods are based on 3D Secure technology and verifies online payment with a credit card by the legitimate card holder through a password interrogation process. The password requirement of an online purchase replaces the cardholder's signature at a POS purchase.

By offering 3D Secure, when Visa or MasterCard payments are used online, merchants profit from a liability shift and receive proof for an authorised purchase which restricts his liability in case of a chargeback.

PCI Compliance

Mitigate risk by maintaining compliance and providing verification and certification as required by the industry.

Maintain your business with PCI compliance

As cases of consumer fraud, identify theft and security breaches continue to make the news, adherence to the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are progressing toward ensuring security for cardholder data. And, while many merchants work to meet mandated certification and validation of their systems, the technological and financial risks of non-compliance continue to burden businesses of all sizes.

The fallout of non-compliance has a domino effect on your business, as the financial implications of a breach can destroy merchants of any size. You can mitigate risk by maintaining compliance and providing verification and certification as required by the industry. By following the standardised PCI DSS procedures, you can:

Protect your customers' personal data
Boost customer confidence through a higher level of data security
Insulate your organisation from financial losses and remediation costs
Maintain customer trust, and safeguard the reputation of your brand

Take stock

A framework for safeguarding sensitive data for all credit card brands, PCI applies to all acceptance environments, including retail (face-to-face), mail- or telephone-order, and e-commerce. Business of all types and sizes are impacted, so now is the time to understand what you can do to obtain PCI compliance.

The questions below can help you analyse your compliance needs. The first three questions are essential components in a PCI compliant environment and, when not up-to-date, account for the greatest opportunity for compromise.

Is virus protection up-to-date and provided by a reputable company?
Are the latest software revisions, such as security patches, in place for the operating system?
Is adequate firewall protection installed and up-to-date?
What vendor provides your point-of-sale payment software? Has software been created internally? Does the payment application store card numbers, track data, or PIN data?
How many people in your organisation have access to cardholder data?
Are passwords changed frequently, and do they differ from default passwords?
Are back office procedures compliant? These include procedures such as storing paper reports under lock and key and limiting personnel access?
Where is sensitive data stored? How many people can access it?
Are mobile computing devices, such as laptops, PDA's, and those with wireless access also PCI compliant?

Security Tips

As a merchant you can minimise the risk of chargebacks as a result of fraudulent activities.

As a merchant you can minimise the risk of chargebacks as a result of fraudulent activities. Here are some valuable tips:

General information

Check the signature: Only give the card back to the card holder once you have compared the signatures from your terminal slip with the signature on the card.
Check the signature field: If the surface of the signature field is damaged the card will say "Void" underneath the surface. That card is not valid. Please stop the card payment process.
Compare the embossment data on a credit card with the data from your terminal slip: Do the cardholder's name, credit card number and expiry date match?
Don't forget the UV test: Are the typical holograms visible on the credit card, and does your UV device detect the data?

Card not present card transactions (e-commerce/mail-order)

Watch for unusual or illogical orders, as well as unusual payment amounts.
Be careful when a customer asks to divide payment across several credit cards or when several card numbers are associated with a single name.
Be careful if a customer indicates upfront that there might be a problem with the credit card.
Be careful if ordering party insists on shipment as fast as possible, regardless of cost, or if the customer insists on obtaining tracking ID for the delivery carrier.

Card present transaction

Check for authenticity of cards.

*New Vision Telecom is a Premier Introducers of Merchant Services, a service offered by Decimal Factor Limited.
** Decimal Factor operates in association with, and this offer is made through, Elavon Financial Services Limited, a company registered in Ireland. Elavon © 2009 is a trademark Elavon Inc, in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved. Visa®, MasterCard®, JCB®, Maestro®, Diner's® and American Express® ® are trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.