Payment security breaches are rampant these days. And event organizers are quite concerned with these.
In the recent past, there are a number of event companies that have faced and announced security breaches as a result of which unauthorized charges were made in various locations. This happened precisely because the systems were installed with malicious malware. The companies had to apologize and post information on the respective websites about the location and dates affected.
That is why this is an attempt to take care of the situation so that event planners can deal with the situation before and after the infraction.
- Have clauses in contracts that offer legal protection – Legal protection is necessary. This is most vital in cases where the event planner is not involved in transactions managed with other event planners. That is why when the customer shares their credit card details with you, you need to make sure there is a contract on what their expectations should be. In such circumstances, creating a clear contract guideline on which event partner is responsible for which transaction is a great insurance policy that can eliminate any liability or confusion if there is a security breach.
- Alert customers at that time and place – Even if a particular customer did not do business in the respective time period of the occurrence of the security breach, the event planners must inform them about the incident and that too, in writing. Planners should also include information on how the provider is approaching the problem and remind customers who has responsibility. There must be a clear understanding of what the possible breach of contract is.
- Have customers provide account information directly to event partners who handle specific tasks: If possible, event planners can choose to have a customer provide payment information directly to vendors, such as venues or caterers. This really gives the event planner relief if the account information is compromised.
- Find out the event policies of potential event partners: Before hiring vendors such as restaurants and hotels, planners should research and review their policy against security breaches involving account numbers and other confidential customer information. Ask them questions like what kind of security protection and protocols they use to secure the transaction and how they are preparing to resist any malware that infects their systems. You should also ask what will happen if a security breach occurs. It is better to consider another place if the current one cannot offer you a clear answer.
- Consider alternative payment options: There are a number of electronic payment services that are emerging these days. Experts say there is too much faith attached to a plastic magnetic stripe card. Electronic payments are more encrypted and therefore harder to copy and cheat than a piece of plastic.
The above are some of the ways that companies offering event planning solutions can handle payment security breaches. If you face it with the above in mind, you can divert all your energy to organize a big event instead of worrying about other things.