When it comes to choosing the right payment platform for your business, it is important you do exhaustive research before making a decision. This is because you don’t want any time lapse or delay when customers want to pay for services. Interestingly, there are thousands of payment platforms in Nigeria today that you may be in a limbo on which to choose. Not to worry, we share some tips.
Be aware of transactional fee
This is one of the most important things you must consider before choosing a payment platform. This is because you don’t want your customers complaining about the transactional fee for patronizing you. If the fee is outrageous, rest assured you will be overwhelmed with complaints and you may lose customers. So, use a platform that offers customers a favorable transactional fee.
Ensure most major payment types are accepted
For e-commerce companies especially, their payment platform must accept all payment types. No customer’s payment should be rejected because their payment type is not available. They will go to other e-commerce platforms where their payment type will be accepted.
Hack proof
This is money we are talking about. You don’t want your customers to lose their hard earned cash. So, any payment platform you want to choose must be hack proof and very secure.
Must be efficient
Payment platform offers different kind of experiences based on their technology. So, it must be able to process payment at the snap of your fingers. Jumia Travel urges you not use any platform that takes forever to process.
Inquire about payment turnaround
Business owners want to see cash hit their accounts as soon as possible because the sooner it is deposited, the quicker the transaction is processed. Also, know that turnaround time varies among payment services.
Demonetisation and the subsequent cash crunch has compelled people to use their debit or credit cards. Many are using payment wallets such as FreeCharge and Paytm to avoid using their cards all the time. Many of these first-time users are not fully aware of what is secure and what is not. This makes them an easy prey for hackers and people with malicious intent. According to Norton’s Cyber Security Insights Report (published in November 2016), 55% of users born between 1980 and 2000 have been victims of cyber crime.
Here are some tips that you can keep in mind if you are using one of the digital platforms for making your next cash transaction.
Be more cautious with public WiFi networks
Easy and fast access to internet through public WiFi networks such as at railway stations, airports and coffee shops attracts many users. Users need to keep a few things in mind before connecting to any public WiFi network. One of them is to make sure you know the right SSID (service set identifier) name of the WiFi network you are connecting to. Hackers often set up WiFi network with almost similar SSID names making users believe that there are two such networks and they can connect to any of them. Any communication made using such dubious networks will be at risk of malicious activity. It is safer to avoid WiFi networks that are not protected by a password.
Use VPN
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) not just sidesteps geographical restrictions on online content but can also add a layer of security to your online communications. It is widely used as a tool to secure web browsing sessions by enterprise as well as individual users. You can add a VPN on your smartphone or your WiFi network at home. For a smartphone, you will have to downloaded and install a VPN app. Most VPN apps charge a monthly subscription, while some like Opera VPN are completely free to use. Deploying a VPN in wireless router will transmit all online communication through an encrypted tunnel created by the VPN.
Use OTP during transactions
During online transactions made using a credit or debit card, banks ask users to enter their 3D secure PIN (personal identification number) or request for an OTP (one-time password). Using the latter will prompt the bank to send a six-digit number through a text message on the user’s registered mobile number. This is a unique number and is generated only for one transaction. Using a 3D secure PIN on a public WiFi can be risky. Paying through an OTP is still a safer option.
Identify secure webpages
Most websites rely on certain security protocols such as HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) to protect users and keep their transactions secure. These websites can be identified with a green sticker and through the browser url, where the link address will start with https instead of http or www.
Alternative to online transactions—Use NUPP for transaction
Another way of bypassing the risk of online fraud during transactions is using National Unified USSD Platform (NUPP) for sending money directly to the other person’s bank account. NUPP is based on USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology which uses GSM networks for communication with the user and the bank and this makes it free from the risk of online hacking. To use it, dial *99# in your phone and enter and type the three letters used to identify your bank or the IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) of your bank in the next pop-up page. This will open another page with options to pay using MMID (Mobile Money Identification Number) or IFSC.
If you are paying through MMID, enter the seven-digit MMID code and the beneficiary’s mobile number. In case you are using the IFSC, enter the IFSC code and the bank account number of the beneficiary and the amount that you are paying. To complete the transaction, you will be asked to enter your four-digit mobile banking PIN number issued by your bank. For every transaction, users will be charged a nominal fee of 50 paise.
As the popularity of online shopping increases in Kuwait, so does the likelihood of falling foul of cyber crooks, not necessarily because they are putting in extra effort during the festive season, but simply because more of us are doing more online shopping at this time of the year, and we’re on the lookout for the hottest deals.
Sophos has put together the following cyber security tips to help you focus on family, food and fun over during this season, rather than dealing with the headache of stolen credit card details or important documents lost to ransom ware.
1) Clean up your passwords before you start shopping
Don’t use the same password on more than one website. If the crooks get one password, they’ll immediately try it on all your other accounts. Make your passwords as long and complex as you can; in fact, consider using a password manager, which will come up with a unique password for each website automatically.
2) Update your devices
When patches come out, most of them fix security holes that the crooks either already know about or will find out about soon. Don’t put off security updates because “later will be fine”. Follow our advice: patch early, patch often.
3) Back up your files
Whether you’re taking your laptop on holiday, or staying at home with your faithful desktop this festive season, don’t forget to back up your precious documents on all of your devices. That way if your files are lost, stolen, “reconfigured” by a teenaged “expert”, or, worst of all, held for extortion by ransom ware, you can still get your data back.
4) Watch out for booby-trapped ATMs when shopping on the High Street
Watch out for modified ATMs when you withdraw money. Crooks often glue fake parts onto or around ATMs in the hope of covertly reading both your card data and your PIN. If you see an ATM with any components that look as though they don’t belong, report it to the bank and the police. That way you protect yourself and everyone else too.
5) Beware of login links in emails
With so many emails flying around over the festive shopping period, it’s a popular time for cyber crooks to use fake ‘phishing’ emails to trick you into handing over personal data. When an email urges you to click on a link to login to your account and change your password, or some similar sort of subterfuge, it’s probably crooks trying to trick you onto a fake site that will look exactly like the real thing, except that the crooks get your password, not the real website. If you want to check a transaction on one of your accounts, open your browser and browse to the website yourself.
6) Look for the padlock in the URL bar when shopping online
A padlock in the address bar and a URL that starts with “HTTPS” means the website uses an encrypted or secure connection. All major websites, not just financial institutions, use HTTPS these days, so if you see a site that’s asking for personal information but doesn’t have the padlock, you can be sure it’s a fake.
7) Watch out for bogus courier emails
During this time, you may very well get products delivered to your home, so you’ll be expecting a visit from a courier company. Crooks know this and send fake emails about bogus delivery problems, hoping to draw you into their web. If you want to contact a courier company to check on a delivery, look up their phone number or email address yourself – don’t use any links or information from an email.
8) Don’t email your credit card details
Sometimes you’ll try to buy that special gift , but your credit card won’t go through. In perfectly good faith, the seller may ask you to email through your card details to try again later. But that email could end up in the hands of cyber crooks, even if the seller handles it with care once they’ve received it. Remember: if in doubt, don’t give it out!
9) Turn off Flash on your devices
Want to do one single, simple thing to improve your security, now and forever? Turn off Flash, or uninstall it altogether if you can. Booby-trapped Flash files are still a popular way of spreading malware, and with fewer and fewer sites actually requiring Flash, it’s safer to do without it altogether.
10) Change default passwords before using any new home video devices
Whether it’s a new baby monitor, home surveillance system, or any other internet-enabled camera, it probably has a default password. If you don’t change the password then you are making it easy for a cybercriminal to hack in and watch whatever you’re filming. That could be you, your house, your baby, or something else that you’d prefer to keep away from prying eyes.
11) Think before you share on social media
Maybe it sounds obvious, but over sharing on social media is a bad idea, and there is no better time to remind you of this than the party season. Whether it’s photos of other people, your credit card details, the fact that you’re holding a really amazing party on Friday night or anything else, stop and think before you share. Once you post it, you’ll never be able to take it back.
12) Upgrade the software on any new devices before using them
Even “new” computers and hardware devices usually need updates right away. After all, between when they were made and when you first use them, the crooks have had time to find new security holes to attack. If you want to protect your new devices, always patch before using them, even if it’s Christmas Day and you’re dying to try out your brand new present.
Finally, make sure your computers at home are secure. Sophos Home is free and allows you to protect up to 10 Windows and Mac computers from malware, ransom ware, phishing and more. You can have different settings for adults and kids, and the web filter lets you block ads. It’s an easy-to-use solution that takes minutes to download and get started. And remember, when 2017 comes around, all of these tips will still be valid. In other words, as much as we’re urging you not to let your computer security guard down over the festive season, we’re also encouraging you to keep your security guard up every day. Cyber security is for life, not just for this season.
E-commerce or shopping online provides a exit. Given the near universal accessibility to Internet connectivity, consumers save your time and efforts by internet shopping. More and more merchants are realising the enormous potential from the medium of Internet and therefore are gearing up to present products and services.As the potential of internet shopping is being grasped, the potential for loss are going up too, particularly for consumers. Sadly, many online shoppers disregard the pitfalls , nor follow even minimum risk protection norms. If anything, buying online frauds tend to be more dangerous, because in the event the security is breached, fraudsters can siphon off a lot of cash without the victim realising it.Here are some safety tips for online shopping.
Safety tips for online shopping are:
1.Link Of A Website: Avoid gonna an shopping online site by having a link or pop-ups, howsoever interesting the offers are. Always type the web page address into your address bar. Be wary of tempting offers, because they may be from fraudsters who’ve created a fake site.
2. Look For The Image Of A Lock At The Bottom Right Corner: To make sure your site is safe, search for the image of the closed now you should the browser window. Click on the icon and be sure the security certification is displayed. You are prone to identity theft when you’re entering your details on a spoofed site.
3.Check Privacy Policy: Are you sure the seller of your website the place you have given personal details isn’t sharing them others for cash? Check the Privacy Policy on the website to ensure that what the property owner will and won’t do with specifics about you.
4.Be Wary Of e-mails: You may get an e-mail that looks like it is from the vendor that you have shopped online. You could be asked for your very own information to “verify” the accounts or “clear-up” errors which may have occurred. Before responding, reconfirm with the vendor. Call up and ensure if necessary, or send a mail and act only as soon as you get a response.
5.Secured Programs: If the purchases are by having a debit or debit card, then make certain that you sign-up for that “verified by VISA” and/or “Master secured code program(s)”. Each transaction will be authorised only by you.
6.Anti-Spyware/Trojan Software: Make without doubt the latest version of antivirus, anti-spyware or anti-Trojan programs were installed on your PC or laptop and they are regularly updated.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the Super Bowl for e-commerceOpens a New Window.. The holiday season kicks into gear for businesses with the biggest online shopping days of the year during Cyber Week. The window from Black Friday to Christmas can make or break the sales and revenue for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) all the way up to large businesses such as Nordstrom and Target. For every business, though, success or failureOpens a New Window. comes down to how well your website holds up to the influx of holiday user traffic.
When customers are entering and browsing your website, adding products to their cart, and checking out, every second counts. Digital performance management company SOASTAOpens a New Window.said the sweet spot—the website load time that corresponds to peak conversions—could be two seconds or less in 2016. Between Cyber Week 2014 and 2015, SOASTA analyzed 1.5 billion beacons worth of user session data. SOASTA found that peak conversion load time shrank from 3.8 to 2.4 seconds, and also found that, in 2015, slower pages experienced up to a 58 percent increase in bounce rate. The numbers go on and on, but the correlation is simple: website problems in those key moments equal lost revenue.
To make sure their website is prepared, businesses need to do the legwork before and during the rush. I spoke to Gus Robertson, CEO of application delivery and scalable web infrastructure provider NGINXOpens a New Window. (pronounced “engine-x”) about how businesses should prepare. We discussed the mechanisms that should be in place to prime for the best and plan for the worst during Cyber Week.
NGINX and its open-source softwareOpens a New Window. have been around since the early days of the internet. According to the company, NGINX software powers more than 55 percent of the internet in one form or another. Robertson said he’s seen the internet evolve from simple webpages into complex, web-based applications that deliver user experiences (UXes) to a wide range of devices and screen sizes. At the same time, more and more retail revenue every year comes from the web.
“We’re seeing this transition where e-commerce transactions are becoming equally [as], if not more, important than brick-and-mortar sales in physical stores,” said Robertson. “When your website goes down, you shut down a large chunk of your business opportunity. Don’t let your best and busiest day become your worst day. There are very basic things you can do to make sure you’re as well-protected and prepared as possible.”
Robertson laid out 10 tips to help your business test its website and make a game plan for the rush. This way, you’ll be prepared and know how to respond if something on your website goes wrong at the worst time on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
1. Monitor Your Website Robertson said it’s a no-brainer for businesses to have a website monitoringor application performance managementOpens a New Window. (APM) solution in place. These kinds of tools give you complete visibility into not only the front end of your website, but a holistic look at the entire web application and compute resources.
“We’re dealing with very different application architectures than we were a couple years ago. When something goes wrong, you need to look not just at the infrastructure itself and things like response time, but the cause,” said Robertson. “Customers of ours use tools like New RelicOpens a New Window., AppDynamicsOpens a New Window., and DatadogOpens a New Window. to find out not just what’s faulting or not performing on the back end, but the UX on the front end. Several seconds of delay could mean a user goes to your competitor’s site and buys the product there instead.”
2. Preemptive Load Testing Load testing means putting demand on a website by using simulated traffic to see how many concurrent users it can handle. Robertson stressed that load testing should be done early and often, not just on normal traffic but by pushing the website to its limits to handle peak traffic levels.
“You need to load test at normal traffic—what you expect it to be—and then [on] the maximum traffic you could ever potentially expect,” said Robertson. “You need to see how that load testing impacts performance, but also the back-end resiliency of your site as that traffic comes in.”
3. Performance Testing As you load test, Robertson said it’s also important to think about the UX. Load and performance testing go hand in hand because your website need to be able to not only handle many users without crashing, but then it needs to deliver fast-loading pages and a responsive interface to keep those customers happy and engaged in the shopping experience.
“You want to deliver the best user experience you can for the customer that’s trying to interact with your site and have a relationship with your company,” said Robertson. “A high-performance web application should be getting the customer to the right information through the site without a lot of hassle. That’s what the customer experience is about.”
4. Test Critical User Workflows Part of that performance testing is going beyond load times to actually test the user flows that will receive the most metaphorical foot traffic on your website. Robertson said testing things such as the hottest product pages, shopping cart management, and, most importantly, the seamlessness of the checkout process is a key step in successfully driving online sales.
“Businesses are load testing the front of the site but not necessarily the back-end [application programming interface or] API that connects you to the payment gateway,” said Robertson. “You have X amount of people in the front of the application but that doesn’t tell you if it will work the whole way through. If people are trying to check out from their shopping cart and they can’t, you’re done. You’ve lost that conversion.”
5. Put Scaling Tools in Place Regardless of how you’ve architected your web application underneath (we’ll get to that later), NGINX has made its name on being able to quickly scale and allocate web resources where they’re needed. Robertson discussed a variety of tools you can put into place on your website to give you some flexibility when high traffic comes in.
“We like to think of NGINX as the shock absorber at the front end of an application,” said Robertson. “We do the HTTP heavy lifting. There are all these tools you can put in the front of the app like load balancers, caching mechanisms, or a [content delivery network or] CDN that can help you auto-scale and prioritize certain traffic. So, if users are coming back into a workflow and you have to trade off one traffic source versus another, you could prioritize something like shopping cart checkout to maximize conversions over the resources that are going toward powering the product search bar.”
6. Set Up Traffic Cops Scaling tools such as load balancers and CDNs are one element of NGINX’s “shock absorption,” but the company also sets up what it calls “traffic cops” for websites. These traffic cops stop security breaches and faux pas such as Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. Robertson said “edge services” such as CDNs, DDoS mitigation services, and firewalls can help divert malicious traffic to let the real user traffic through to your website.
“DDoS [attacks] can happen from external bad agents that can take your site down, but you can also accidentally DDoS yourself by having one server pinging another and taking it down,” explained Robertson. “Traffic cops mean setting up things like weight limits, pre-set IP addresses, blocking and whitelisting external applications. [There are] a number of mechanisms NGINX can put in place to ensure that service isn’t interrupted and you don’t allow one to DDoS another. Then, on the front end, you have a [web application firewall or] WAF looking for things like external DDoS and SQL injection attacks.”
7. Make a Failure Plan No business wants to see their website go down during Cyber Week but it happens every year, even to high-profile retailers. Because of this, every business needs to plan for the worst. Robertson said that starts with having a Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) solution in place to have a backup website tested and ready to go if your main website goes down.
“Make sure your DR site is sitting there as an insurance plan, but also be sure to activate and test it beforehand,” said Robertson. “When you’re load testing the main site, do the same to your DR site so that, if something does go wrong, you can move the site quickly to that infrastructure.
8. Social Damage Control The other half of your backup plan is to know your customer service and outreach strategy and, in 2016, that means social media managementOpens a New Window.. Social media is the front line for customer interaction with your brand. If your website goes down, then the first places customers will look for answers are your company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
“If things do go wrong, think about how you would respond on social media and how your representatives would go about informing customers and keeping them up to date,” said Robertson.
9. Consider Website Architecture One of the longer-term conversations your business should be discussing when it comes to your website is about how it’s architected and whether it’s time for a change. We’ve written about how applications of all kinds are moving away from monolithic architectures and toward more modular microservicesOpens a New Window.. Robertson said that, ultimately, the front-end tools NGINX provides are no substitute for a dynamically scaling, microservices-based web app.
“Microservices is the way we’re seeing large web properties getting the ability to really scale,” said Robertson. “If you’ve written a monolith, you can’t rearchitect between now and the holiday shopping rush. But you should be looking at your architecture and thinking about how you can eventually transition. The benefit of a microservice is that you can auto-scale individual components as traffic is hitting them. So, if the image library is getting hit, you scale that or any other service in the app. It’s this application architecture valve to adjust for inbound traffic that, around this time of year, can be excessive.”
10. C-Suite Buy-In When a website goes down on Black Friday, the fallout from that doesn’t just impact the IT team that’s running the website. The CEO or CTO of the company then has to answer to shareholders or to a board of directors about why the website went down and how much potential revenue was lost. Business and technology issues are inextricably linked for online businesses, and Robertson said management and other executives need to know and understand them.
“If you’re a CEO and 20 percent of your business is coming from the website, asking the same questions of your CIO is as important as the CIO asking them to their team,” said Robertson. “This is high-level, but it’s important for executives to know enough about the technology in their company and on their sites to ask the right questions and have a good answer for the shareholders if they’re unfortunate enough to need one.”
