Enabling secure online payments
Consumers should feel confident every time they pay online. Get the tools and information you need to make your transactions secure.
On this page
SSL protection
-
Many online transactions are protected by the security protocol SSL, short for Secure Sockets Layer.
- SSL provides you with sound privacy protection by encrypting the channel of communication between you and the consumer. Using a mathematical formula, SSL puts the information you exchange into a complex code. Think of it as a kind of armor over the information. Even if intercepted, your data would be extremely difficult to read.
How SSL works
-
SSL helps the consumer’s browser automatically scramble their information—such as a credit card number—before it gets sent to the merchant. After that, SSL allows only the merchant’s software to unscramble this data. Through SSL, you and your customers can complete transactions with the assurance that no one else can read or change their payment information as it travels over the Internet.
- Today SSL is considered more than enough security for consumers to do business with merchants they know and trust.
Identifying SSL
-
To find out if your transaction is guarded by SSL, look for the picture of the unbroken key or closed lock in your browser window (Netscape and Microsoft browsers all use SSL). Either indicator means SSL is activated. If you don’t see either sign, or if you see a broken key or an open lock, the SSL is not working to protect your transaction.
- Another quick way to see if SSL is guarding your transaction is to check the URL of the site you are visiting. It should change from “http” to “https” when processing secure transactions.
Email safety
- Electronic mail works independently of any security software, such as SSL, and is not protected by it. Email should probably never be used to send or receive sensitive personal information. Instead, when accepting payment information from a customer, always make sure to use a secure browser, and make sure the that your site uses a secure Internet technology.
Learn more
Get additional information about keeping your customers safe online.
