One of the main issues for people who purchase goods and services on a regular basis by way of online payments is that the payment process is quite complex and requires an individual to put in a lot of details such as names, addresses, card numbers, expiration dates, security codes, etc. Thus, the payment process becomes a pain for most users.

Since the payment forms are similar to UI elements of a site, they need to be well designed and as a result, the designers spend a lot of time in testing and tweaking the systems so as to get the highest possible conversions for paying customers. Thus, when they need to add 15 – 20 fields for secure payment gateways, it defeats the entire purpose of making the designs user friendly. In simple words, the easier it is for one to transfer money, the more it will be used. This is one of the main reasons for the immense popularity of Paypal since it makes transferring money to anyone in the world a walk in the park.

The best way to secure online payments is by employing anti fraud measures. One such measure is the Address Verification Systems. In this system, the shopping cart system can link the address provided by the user with that mentioned in the records of the credit card company to match them. However, this system is quite weak as one can find out someone else’s address quite easily. Another method of security is the CVV number. This is also quite easy to find since it’s printed on the back of the credit card.

Another way to secure payments is by tracking user behaviour. Most of the top online portals employ this method by which they track and ensure stability in user behaviour. For example, if a bunch of automated bots proceeds directly to the check out page and pay for items, the system red flags the transaction. Similarly, if the IP is from the USA and the card is from the UK, another red flag is raised. Thus, while preventing fraud is an extremely difficult process, programs such as Geo-location, IP tracking, intelligence tracking, DRM, AVS and Tor detection make the process easier.

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