A combination of PCI DSS compliance, 3D secure authorisation and other security measures makes RMS PAY the gold standard for payment gateway technology in the hospitality industry.
When it comes to payments, security is of the utmost concern and importance. Employing good security practices helps protect your property and the guests who stay there. However, without good security, both parties risk receiving financial losses.
RMS PAY is loaded with payment security features to help you mitigate the risks of fraud.
In this article:
What is payment security?
Payment security means keeping financial transactions safe from unauthorised access, data breaches, and fraud. Businesses need to protect payments to maintain customer trust, prevent financial losses, and follow rules and standards.
Your payment security can come under threat in many ways, but RMS PAY is loaded with features that help combat fraud attempts and deter fraudsters from attacking your property.
PCI compliance
PCI Compliance stems from the technical and operational requirements set by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. Some of the standards they’ve designed for you - the merchant - are called Data Security Standards (DSS) and they typically apply to entities involved in payment card processing. Our software is digitally secure, inherently complying with PCI DSS, so you don’t have to worry about that aspect. But there are other practices involved in using the software that you need to keep in mind, to ensure you stay in line with security standards.
3D Security
3D Secure authentication is an additional layer of verification for online credit and debit card transactions. It's designed to protect against unauthorised use of card details by adding an extra authentication step during the online payment process. When you make a purchase online, you may be asked to enter a password or code that's sent to your mobile phone to verify your identity or verify the transaction in your mobile banking app. This helps reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions and provides added security for both consumers and merchants.
Here’s how you might do that with RMS PAY.
- If a guest calls up looking to book a room at your property, you could send them an SMS payment link which initiates 3D secure authentication.
- If the guest is legitimate, they should have no problem clicking the link and following instructions to complete the payment.
- Untrustworthy guests (aka potential fraudsters) may have an excuse as to why they can’t follow the SMS link and verify the payment.
Chargebacks and Disputes
You might hear the terms chargeback and dispute used interchangeably when referring to transactions. A chargeback is a payment reversal by the cardholder’s bank, whereas a dispute is a customer complaint on a transaction. This usually happens if the guest didn't authorise the charge, or they suspect fraud, but sometimes raising a dispute can be a fraudulent act in itself.
Here’s an example.
- A suspect guest calls up and asks to pay with their credit card details over the phone.
- They then check in at your property, have a fantastic experience and check out.
- Later, they dispute the charge for their stay, and you lose that money.
How could you fix this using best practices and RMS PAY?
- Decline to take their card details over the phone and issue an SMS pay link instead.
- Take a card payment using the RMS PAY terminal in-person and take a pre-authorisation from the token created with the terminal.
- Ask them to pay online and, using the guest portal, request that the guest upload ID.
While you may not be able to eliminate chargebacks from happening, using these methods should significantly reduce the amount you receive.
