The adult entertainment industry faces increased scrutiny, chargebacks, and fraud attempts. In this high-risk milieu, you need to do all you can to handle recurring payments for products and memberships, with special attention to their security. The following tips can help.
1. Partner with a high-risk processor
Not every company has the expertise in data safety and industry-specific regulations that you need. The entity that assists you in safely and discreetly processing payments needs to be an experienced and trustworthy high-risk payment processor.
The company should also provide additional features, including chargeback mitigation support and robust security features, including full PCI DSS compliance.
2. Install fraud prevention and detection
Once you have found the right payment processor for adult content, it can provide you with a full suite of anti-fraud measures. These use sophisticated systems to analyze transaction patterns, detecting suspicious activity as it is happening. Putting services in place that verify address and CVV, as well as 3-D Secure, will give you additional layers of security for recurring payments and other remote transactions. Your provider can also equip you with transaction monitoring software that continuously checks for unusual purchasing patterns.
3. Prioritize excellent communication and transparency
Setting up recurring payments is just the first step. Keeping these customers in the loop at all stages of the subscription and billing process is crucial.
Doing so clarifies what they are paying for, when the transactions will occur, and how long the agreement will remain in effect. It also specifies your policies about returns, account closures, late payments, and anything else that you deem important. Transparency provides a simple road map that minimizes misunderstandings and clarifies consequences.
Along with creating this initial agreement, there are other communication enhancers that you should employ. Use clear billing descriptors that people will recognize on their credit card statements. If you want to be discreet, let clients know how your name will appear on their bill at the outset. Whenever a purchase is made, send an email receipt immediately. Provide accessible customer support to promptly address billing inquiries or other issues.
4. Conduct robust internal security practices
Safeguarding recurring payments also involves ensuring that your in-house processes are ironclad. To that end, regularly offer training for all staff members regarding fraud detection, best practices, and information management. Only give access to customer payment data to those employees who really need it. Take steps to encrypt all data, either in transit or at rest.
It is also important to remain vigilant. Conduct regular audits and vulnerability assessments of your payment systems and infrastructure. If you are vague about how to remain in compliance or are not sure if your security measures are cutting-edge, don’t hesitate to hire an objective third-party assessor. Although this represents a financial investment, it could pay for itself many times over.
You spend a lot of time creating your exclusive content and enriching membership opportunities for your customers. By implementing these security-based steps, you can protect your content and the people who are paying to enjoy it.
