From June 30th businesses that sell goods over the internet will be governed by the new Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

The standard, put together by Visa and MasterCard, hopes to battle the continuing problem of credit card and ID fraud.

Indeed, customer confidence is dropping over the safety of credit cards, especially when used to buy online.

It comes after several high-profile cases highlighted the need for more security.

Credit card information of 1.2 million federal workers was mislaid by the Bank of America, and 310,000 customers’ personal details were accessed by ID criminals at a subsidiary of data broker LexisNexis.

The new regulations will mean that online retailers will be required to install and maintain a firewall to protect data as well as encrypting the transmission of cardholder data and sensitive information.

In addition, all traders will be expected to use and update anti-virus software.

Non-compliance with the new regulations will lead to heavy fines and may result in the retailer losing the right to offer Visa or MasterCard as forms of payment – something which would greatly affect their business.

To read more about credit cards click here.

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