With changing times, our way of doing things is also evolving. This is also being seen in the field of business transactions. More and more people are treading towards making payments through a digital payment system instead of cash. This has made life much easier and also does a lot for the flow of money. As per an Economic Times article, close to 47% of people have switched to online payments after the emergence of COVID, in view of adhering to the social distancing norms. In such a scenario, as more people are shifting towards digital payments, the risk of cyber threats has also increased manifold. Therefore, the need for a secure payment gateway online to make digital transactions in a safe and secure manner has also risen.
5 Things to Keep in Mind while Making Digital Payments
Online payments are vulnerable to identity thefts and cyber attacks. Many people have been scammed and have suffered huge losses. To ensure this does not happen, you must consider the following pointers that would safeguard your transactions from falling into the hands of unlawful elements:
Be Wary of Unsecured Apps:
While making payments through a payment gateway, always ensure that the application you are using is legitimate. To do this, stay on guard about the apps you are downloading from Play Store and App Store. The best way to ensure an app’s credibility is to look at the number of times it has been downloaded on the Play Store or App Store. You can also check if the app is verified and read reviews to know about its credibility. Payment gateways such as Zaakpay are completely secure and reliable when it comes to online transactions.
Avoid Using Public Networks
Wi-Fi has made it easier to conduct transactions even when you are out and about. You can connect to any public network and make digital payments on the go. However, the ease of transaction also comes with a price. Wi-Fi networks are not always completely secure, especially when they are in a public place. Wi-Fi networks are known to broadcast data to all the devices connected in their range. This means that your account details can be shared with other people, which is never ideal. Your internet banking account details or passwords are at risk of being exposed to hackers and scammers. The best way to make sure that does not happen is to avoid using public networks to make payments digitally. It is better to use your own data or a secured Wi-Fi network for your digital transactions.
Do Not Save Your Card Details
It is very common to save your card details on a payment gateway. It saves time and effort to enter every detail every time you make a payment. However, a majority of you might already know why saving your card information can be destructive for you. Your card information is not saved on its own, and you are the only one who can permit a platform to do so. Therefore, you should not save your details just because it is convenient. Always make sure to enter all your details from scratch to avoid scammers getting a hold of your personal information. It might take a little time but would save you from being robbed online.
Never Share Your Passwords
Passwords are there for a reason, to provide your account security from threats. Internet banking accounts have been a great help for us, and they make our lives easier. However, the safety and security of your internet banking accounts must be of paramount importance. Always ensure to create strong and long passwords for your bank accounts. This makes it tougher for hackers to manipulate them and gain access to your bank account.
Another important thing is that your passwords must not be shared with anyone. This is the best way to make sure your accounts are secure. Sharing private information such as passwords may not seem like a big deal at times, but it can have serious repercussions later. Changing your passwords from time to time is also a good way to safeguard your bank account information. Accounts that have had the same password for years are the most susceptible to fall under cyber attacks. This way, you would be able to use a digital payment system most efficiently and safely.
Use a Dedicated Card For All Payments
It is always better to use a single card for all your payments. This way, even if your card’s information gets leaked to harmful entities, only that particular card would get hacked. This may sound absurd, but it is better to minimize the damage if you cannot control being hacked by cyber attackers. Using multiple cards for digital payments can put all your cards at risk, and you may end up losing a lot more.
Conclusion
In conclusion, keeping the points mentioned above in mind, you would not let cybercriminals access your personal or financial information online. In 2021, 44 billion digital transactions were recorded, which is a much higher number than the previous couple of years. This means that the security and safety of transactions are much more needed today than it was before. By adhering to the points above, you would not leave a data trace online and hence would not be the target of people with malicious intentions.
