Preparing your ecommerce site for Black Friday & Cyber Monday

As you enter into one of the busiest times of year there’s a lot to think about. Things like – how’s your website security and are you set up to take secure online payments?

We understand it may not be at the top of your mind, but it’s something Australian shoppers care about:

• 97% said they consider privacy important when choosing a digital service
• 84% think fraud and data security breaches are the biggest privacy risks

Here are five things your customers look for to know your site is secure for payment, and the features and tools you can implement to reinforce your online credibility.

1. Get a TLS/SSL certificate

This is your first and best security practice. Non-negotiable!

TLS (Transport Layer Security), and its predecessor SSL (Secure Sockets Layers) certificates establish an encrypted connection between two computers via the internet. This security protocol stops hackers from intercepting and stealing your customers’ sensitive payment information.

If your website has a TLS or SSL certificate, you will see a padlock next to your URL in the address bar. If it doesn’t, ask your hosting provider to install one as soon as possible.

2. Verify your business is legit

Online shopping scams accounted for a loss of $7.4 million in 2020. As more people turn to shopping online, consumers are regularly reminded how to protect themselves from scams — which means you need to ensure your online store displays the right legitimacy cues.

These simple website elements can build your online credibility and keep potential shoppers interested:

• Physical address
• Phone number or email address
• Shipping and returns policy
• Privacy policy
• Reviews

3. Level-up your checkout with anti-fraud tools & features

When it comes to security, the checkout and payment stages are the highest risks for the customer. This is when they need the most reassurance.

Eway’s secure site seal

Bank logos and security guarantees can help ease any concerns and give customers the confidence they need to proceed. Another essential security cue is providing a secure site seal. This visual cue indicates to your customers that your site can be trusted and will protect their information.

Eway’s secure site seal helps merchants show that their business has been verified via a stringent application process with a bank, and their payment gateway (Eway) is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Network tokenisation & 3D Secure authentication

While it’s not a tangible factor your customers will look at to validate how secure your site is, Eway’s network tokenisation and 3D Secure 2.0 authentication tools help you provide a frictionless checkout experience to reduce cart abandonment — without compromising a safe and secure payment.

• Network tokenisation removes friction in your checkout experience by securely encrypting and saving your customers’ payment information.
• 3D Secure 2.0 authentication enhances your security while making customers’ experiences even easier. 3D Secure 2.0 uses data from various sources to calculate a risk score for each transaction. Low-risk transactions proceed as usual, and high-risk cardholders are requested to verify their identity with a one-time password or another quick verification task.

Read more: Features to look for in an online payment gateway

4. Keep your social media accounts alive and kicking

With social media influencing 71% of purchasing decisions, having a social media presence is a no-brainer. You should include links to your social media accounts on your website and ensure those accounts are updated regularly. Let’s face it, it’s not a good look when the last time you published a post was 3 years ago!

Apply the same logic to your site’s content. Invest in high-quality, up-to-date website copy and product descriptions.

5. Provide social proof with customer reviews and testimonials

Customer reviews are powerful — not only do they vouch for the quality of your product or service, but they also verify that your business exists at all. What’s more, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a recommendation from a friend.

Encourage reviews on Google, your social media accounts and via email. Add a plugin or widget to your website that feeds in your most recent reviews and average star rating.

Provide your customers with secure online shopping with Eway

Secure payments are not a nice-to-have — they’re a necessity. We are a leading online payment provider that prides itself on making it as easy as possible for you to control how, when, and where you take online payments.

With award-winning built-in fraud protection, simple pricing, and a passionate support team on hand 24/7, accepting payments has never been easier.

Get in touch with our team today to learn how you can provide your own frictionless and secure checkout experience.