Arguably, the convenience of using credit cards for online payment is exchanged for security vulnerabilities.
The convenience is irresistible, and only folks who are extremely security conscious could get it jettisoned.
People are always looking for slightest opportunities to avoid moving cash. The preference is still to take credit cards and use them for any possible monetary transactions.
However, there occasions when there would be no need to use credit cards just to avert any potential security vulnerability.
The security of a credit card should supersede convenience, that way safety and security are guaranteed.
Online Shopping
Almost every website has one or two items to sell to customers. To avoid the hassles associated with the physical payment, some of these sites have payment gateways which make it easier for online payment.
“You don’t use a debit card online,” says Susan Tiffany, retired director of consumer periodicals for the Credit Union National Association. Since your card links directly to a checking account, “you have potential vulnerability” if you have problems with a purchase or the card number gets hijacked.
It is always better to look for websites that accept other payment options such as PayPal and others. These online payment platforms have more secured payment gateway systems.
Hotel and Guest House
As a fact, it is better to pay using notes than using your credit cards. The reason hinges on online safety, and that’s enough reason to comply.
Using your credit card to foot hotel bills will require you to insert your card, which would be without your hold for some minutes.
Some even go to the extent of booking for reservations through the website. They make either part of full payment using their cards, a total act of online security immaturity.
Linda Foley, Founder, Identity Theft Resource Center, says hotels aren’t immune to hackers and data breaches, and several name-brand establishments have suffered the problem recently.
Do you want your card information “to sit in a system for four months, waiting for you to arrive?” she asks. “I would not.”
No matter how you are becoming confident with online payment, you should bear in mind that the moment your card isn’t with you is enough moment to get you hacked.
Restaurant
The security implications of using our card in a hotel are similar to that of a restaurant. No matter how inconvenient it may look like, paying with our notes is a cool thing to do.
Inserting your card into a Point of Sale (POS) terminal is not a wise decision, just don’t think of it.
“For those few minutes that you let your debit card out of your sight, it could easily be run through an illegal handheld reader,” says Barry Bridges, a Writer, and Editor for The Simple Dollar.
