More and more exempt organizations are accepting credit card payments from their donors and members. Since many of those paying with this convenient method have a tendency to spend more than they would with cash, check, or wire, this can aid in increasing your organization's revenue. However, it's important to remember the risks that credit card payments can create for your organization.
When members or donors provide you with their credit card information, they have an expectation that you will keep that credit information secure in order to prevent criminals from stealing that information and exploiting it. In today's economy, criminals have become more desperate in their attempts to make a quick dollar from whatever means possible. We have also seen professional hackers collecting credit card data from systems that are obsolete or unprotected.
Visa estimates that 85% of data breaches occur at the small business level. Don't let your organization become another statistic. Be proactive in your approach to protect your organization from data loss. Sit down with all of your employees to determine what makes sense for your particular situation. Discuss what data you collect, who has access to it, and how and where the data is stored. If you store member or donor data on paper, always make sure that it is stored in a secure area, under lock and key. Don't store data that you don't need.
Once you have had this conversation with employees, write it down. Take the time to document the checklist that you created, the security measures that you are taking, and an explanation of why these measures make sense for your organization.
The top five reasons breaches happen are:
1. There are no firewalls in place
2. Known vulnerabilities not patched
3. No anti-virus protection
4. Default passwords
5. Device tampering
Members and donors expect their information to be protected and furthermore, it is the law.
For more information on protecting your data and to take the self-assessment to determine your requirements, please visit www.pcisecuritystandards.org. More information can also be found at www.visa.com and www.mastercard.com.
This article was provided by Tanya Taylor, Middle Market Account Executive of Chase Paymentech. Ms. Taylor is a guest writer for Legacy Advisor. She can be reached at tanya.taylor@chasepaymentech.com or 847-322-5047.