The Federal Reserve has recently released a progress report highlighting accomplishments and anticipated steps regarding the ongoing initiatives to enhance the speed, efficiency, and security of the US payment system.
According to Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome H. Powell, central banks, financial institutions, and technology providers are focused on protecting payment systems and transactions as sophisticated cyber threats have increased in size and scale across the globe.
The faster payments become, the more difficult it is to protect them and the easier it is for cyber criminals to take advantage of vulnerabilities. The industry has taken steps in this regard by introducing regulations.
Regulations are formal, enforceable security policies developed to prevent fraud and protect organizations and individuals. However, regulations don’t always serve as a remedy the industry would expect them to be. How can these regulations be described?
- Uncertain
There are many ambiguities associated with the implementation of payments regulations. This makes them lack the necessary effectiveness.
- Out of Date
Regulatory bodies need longer time to write and agree to a common set of rules. As a result, these regulations become out of date by the time they are made public.
- Narrow Perspective
The committees establishing regulations usually include financial-services professionals with little representation from corporates, and corporates are increasingly becoming the major users of payments. As a result, the created rules lack the necessary representation of everyone’s needs.
True security can be achieved only when organizations go beyond what is required of them and aim at securing each and every payment. Organizations should focus on stopping fraudulent transactions before they happen, otherwise they can hardly get them back.
It’s critical for merchants to turn to a reliable and trustworthy payment processor like emerchantbroker.com for a safe and low-cost high risk merchant account. EMB is voted the #1 high risk processor in the US and boasts an A+ rating with the BBB. In partnership with Verifi and Ethoca, EMB offers unmatched chargeback prevention and protection services to merchants of any type. Moreover, EMB is rated A by Card Payment Options and is named one of Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Companies of 2016.
Regulations shouldn’t be taken as the only means of protection. Even if an organization meets the minimum standards, this isn’t enough to keep payments safe and stop creative criminals. Going beyond the minimum is a must if you need to avoid the financial losses and reputational damage brought about by fraud.