With every passing day, cybercriminals are becoming more adept at breaching websites and systems, compromising customer data and the reputations of the businesses that engage in ecommerce. Taking aggressive action to foil these bad actors is important for any company selling products online, but it is especially crucial for those working in international markets who process payments using multi currency payment processing.

For all businesses — regardless of the payment method they accept or the customer base to whom they appeal — data security measures have been created and adopted for the purpose of protecting the sensitive data that is transmitted from customer to merchant. These guidelines contain four important elements: privacy, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.

Privacy is a concept that involves ensuring that you as a merchant keep your customer’s information to yourself. This is done through the use of firewalls and anti-virus software that keep intruders and malware out. Additionally, 3-D Secure (3DS) software should be harnessed to authenticate and verify that the payment is not fraudulent.

Integrity is a principle that refers to safeguarding the status of the customer’s data. Doing so helps to ensure that it remains intact, unmodified and protected from the intrusion of cybercriminals.

Authentication is one of the key foundations of trust because it helps both merchants and customers to gain assurance that they are who they claim to be. In the international payments arena where fraud is even more difficult to detect and prosecute, adherence to authentication is especially necessary. For you as the seller, this principle dictates that you accurately represent your products and brand and keep every promise you make to your customers. Buyers must in turn be willing to prove their identity through such means as 3DS.

Finally, non-repudiation is another word for non-deniability. Simply put, this concept requires that both parties involved in a transaction complete it in its entirety.

When you accept international currencies, data security’s importance is magnified. Taking steps to promote it enhances your credibility, thus leading to higher levels of trust and a greater willingness to take the leap of spending money with an international business. Additionally, it tends to lead to better-designed and more easily navigable websites, which contain the company policies, certifications, forms, and product documentation people need to access without extra clutter or confusion. Furthermore, adhering to data security protocols promotes good website and business housekeeping procedures such as regularly updating software and removing broken links. Finally, paying attention to data security helps to inoculate you against the possibility of a ransomware attack. In this increasingly frequent type of cybercrime, bad actors usurp your security defenses and encrypt your customer data via malware. They then inform you that the only way to remedy the situation is by paying off the criminals. While ransomware attacks can happen even to companies with strong security fortresses, implementing the most up-to-date systems and backing up your data with two or more secure third-party off-site providers can markedly reduce the likelihood that you will be a victim.

The realm of payment processing is wide, spanning every aspect of how you handle your international financial transactions. Specifically, it covers capturing payment details, transmitting them securely and processing the purchase in a way that provides maximum protection against breach. To that end, you are required to adhere to a host of compliance standards that safeguard both your brand and company and the customers you are dedicated to serving. This is especially true when currency exchanges from one monetary denomination to another are implemented.

Government regulations.

Understanding the measures that have been put in place for this purpose is a must for any business, including those that provide customers with the option to pay in their local currencies. All of them help companies with adhering to both Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements, two of the most important payment processing components.

KYC requires that you collect and verify customer information to establish identity, assess potential risks, and ensure regulatory compliance. AML protocols are in place to detect and stop money laundering and the financing of other illegal activities. To adhere to AML standards, companies must set up internal controls, monitor for suspicious activities, and conduct thorough due diligence on both users and payment transactions.

Fortunately, compliance requirements have been developed and refined to assist companies in protecting their customer and internal data. There are three major compliance protocols that virtually every seller must learn about and follow.

First, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was set forth by major financial institutions including Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JCB International to protect cardholders and fight fraud, unauthorized access, and data compromise. Any company that accepts, processes, stores, or transmits credit card information must follow this set of requirements. How you will be expected to comply with PCI DSS depends on your business type and the number of transactions you process annually. Failure to adhere to PCI DSS can result in reputational damage, fines and penalties, and even increased transaction fees from your merchant account provider.

Second, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced by the European Union in 2018, defines personal data, requires companies to obtain informed consent before collecting, processing, or storing personal data, and enhances the scope of customer rights pertaining to their data (including rights to access and correct data as well as the right to be forgotten and to have data portability). Additionally, businesses must be able to demonstrate transparency and accountability in their data protection measures. Furthermore, it sets up requirements for cross-border foreign exchange data transfers occurring outside the EU. Breaching the regulation can result in fines of up to 4% of a business’s local global turnover or 20 million euros, whichever is greater.

Third, the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is an EU-based directive that pertains to payment services within the EU and the European Economic Area. It is intended to protect consumers while at the same time promoting security, innovation, and competition. To that end, PSD2 introduced strong customer authentication (SCA) to further specify customer identity and guard against fraud. It enhances competition and innovation by giving authorized third-party providers access to customers’ payment information. Finally, it holds companies liable for fraud if they fail to adhere to the standard and requires that businesses prominently display details about their global payment transaction fees and charges in order to promote transparency. This directive’s ultimate aim is to facilitate cross border transactions by harmonizing the formerly scattered array of payment rules that exist across the EU.

Compliance with international security standards.

When you accept payments in different currencies and work with an international payment processor, it is critical that you learn about and follow not only PCI DSS but also GDPR, PSD2, and any other stipulations or protocols imposed by the nations in which you do business. Of course, before you can even think about compliance issues for your business that accepts multi-currency global payments, you must partner with a provider equipped to offer you a multi-currency processing account that lets you accept payments in local currencies and get paid in U.S. dollars. Both you and your shoppers win: You don’t need to go through the trouble of initiating a business presence in that country and your customers will not be hit with extra payments.

Best of all, you may even find that you have a higher conversion rate because of the enhanced trust and loyalty that your stringent measures inspire in your international customers. The bottom line is that international security standards compliance benefits you, protects your customers and keeps you in accordance with mandatory rules and regulations.