Secure Your Swipe: Exploring The Benefits of Credit Cards

Using a credit card regularly can streamline operations and safeguard your business against fraud. When you choose credit cards over other payment methods for your and your employees’ business expenses, you earn rewards that you can put back into your business, gain greater fraud protection and leverage greater liquidity, as you can retain funds for a longer period.

Many major credit cards offer $0 fraud liability to their credit card holders, meaning if you fall victim to a scam, the card company will cover your loss. Still, it’s important to stay vigilant to maintain the security of your business accounts. As there is often a 60-day window to report fraudulent transactions, be sure to review your statement on a regular basis.

To avoid falling victim to business credit card fraud, update your company’s passwords regularly and try to avoid making purchases or logging in to your credit card account while using public Wi-Fi. As a general rule, only give out your corporate card number over the phone when you initiate the call.

Common Types of Credit Card Fraud

From sophisticated online scams to physical card skimming devices, fraudsters are constantly devising new methods to exploit business owners. Here are three of the most common credit card scams:

• Online Shopping Scams: Fraudsters may send links to fake websites that look legitimate, but are crafted to fool individuals into providing their credit card or other personal information. Scammers may advertise low-cost business travel fare or limited-time deals on fraudulent vendor websites to create a sense of urgency.
• Phishing Scams: Phishing scams can appear in the form of emails, texts or social media messages appearing to be from a legitimate source, such as a bank or government organization. The messages typically ask the recipient to click on a link or provide personal information, such as their credit card number or login credentials.
• Card Skimmers: Skimmers steal credit card information by placing a device on or near a legitimate card reader, such as an ATM or gas pump. The device reads the credit card information and stores it, allowing the fraudster to retrieve the data later and make fraudulent purchases.

For a walkthrough of Enterprise Bank & Trust’s Online Security measures and available features, visit our Security page.

Take Advantage of Fraud Prevention Tools

Enterprise offers a variety of fraud prevention tools and technologies to help protect your business from credit card fraud:

• Dual Control Authorization: An authorization process that requires two employees to be involved in approving a transaction (e.g., one person receives the request for funds and a second person authorizes the release of funds), thus reducing risk from an outside attack or collusion among employees. Enterprise helps you build strong policies to assist with fraud prevention and detection utilizing dual controls.
• Two-Factor Authentication: An electronic authentication process that requires two methods to verify your identity in order to grant access to online banking or other secured portals. These factors can include something you know (such as a username and password) plus something you have (like a smartphone app) to approve login access requests to ensure you are the only one capable of logging in to your account.
• Fraud Monitoring Software: Enterprise works daily with our card processors and Visa to mitigate and stop fraud. Enterprise identifies scammers by utilizing cloud-based predictive technology solutions to stop fraud before it happens. When a potential fraudulent transaction is discovered, a temporary block is placed on the card and a notification is sent to the cardholder to confirm the validity of the transaction. The block does not stop the authorization attempt by the fraudster, but it minimizes the potential loss by declining the blocked merchant’s transaction from being approved.
• Chip-Activated Terminals: Chip cards and chip-activated terminals work together to protect in-store payments. A unique one-time code is generated behind the scenes for the transaction to be approved, a feature that effectively reduces counterfeit fraud.
• Contactless Cards: Contactless payments with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology are faster and more secure than inserting or swiping the card. When a card is tapped, the actual account number is not used, instead, a one-time code is sent in the payment information.

As a business owner, understanding the common tactics employed by fraudsters and implementing proactive measures is essential to safeguarding your company’s finances in this digital age. To learn more about how your business can combat fraud, browse our fraud prevention resources.

Credit Card Benefits

A business credit card can offer many conveniences that can simplify daily business operations. From flexible credit line options to travel benefits for your team, low introductory APR, cash back programs and more, there are a variety of credit card offerings to choose from based on your business’s financial needs and spending. Explore Enterprise’s business credit card benefits to find the best fit for you.