Security is key for credit cards

by Kathy King-Griswold

Griswold

e all appreciate the convenience of credit cards as shoppers. We have come to take them for granted in our buying habits and as we make financial plans for our households.

But as any credit card user is aware, handing over that rectangular piece of plastic requires a small leap of faith on the part of the holder. We trust that the store of information represented by a credit card will be husbanded well.

For the University, the option of credit cards as a payment method has long been part of the service we provide to patients, visitors, faculty, staff, and students. But it carries an important obligation on us to safeguard the information that cardholders are providing.

The issue of credit card security and protection from fraud has been heightened enormously in the past few years with the rise of e-commerce on the Internet.

And many credit card companies are taking serious notice as well. For example, Visa has notified vendors that if they fail to meet security guidelines for the way card information is handled by this May, the vendors will face severe penalties and perhaps be prohibited from processing credit cards.

While prompted by the online future, many of Visa's guidelines--and the recommendations of other credit card companies--apply to the responsibilities that go with credit card information in any format. And the guidelines underscore the advice that we try to emphasize to University units that accept credit cards.

Recommendations include:

• Make sure data is secure. While we all appreciate the ease of sending information by e-mail, for most users e-mail is not a secure method of transmitting data. In some instances, the information can be intercepted by unauthorized users.
• Monitor access to credit card data. Whether your unit processes cards with the tried-and-true carbonless imprinter, writes down orders over the telephone, or accepts orders by mail or fax, once that information is imprinted on a receipt or written on a piece of paper, it exists in a form that unscrupulous users can work with.
• Reduce access to a minimum. While converting from a trusty card imprinter to an electronic swipe terminal may seem expensive, the greater security and protection from fraud afforded by an electronic terminal pays off in other ways.

As the University explores options for online payment methods, the issue of security will be of paramount importance. And we have put together teams to make recommendations for how we manage the transition.

Regardless of whether such online commerce is in your department's future, as treasury manager I am more than happy to meet with University departments to discuss ways you can better manage financial transactions in your offices.

Feel free to contact me at x5-6968 or by e-mail at kking-griswold@admin.rochester.edu.

This column is one of an occasional series on administrative issues at the University.

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