Payments Data: Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset

In this episode of PayFAQ: The Embedded Payments Podcast brought to you by Payrix, host Bob Butler speaks with Zac Lutton, Head of Risk for Payrix in Australia about protecting your payment data and what to be mindful of if you are wanting to process payments in the Australian market.

Zac’s background includes working in banking and payments for the last 20 years focused on financial crime. During this time, he’s witnessed every type of threat and illegal activity and his aim is to allow payments to flow in the most risk-free manner possible.  

According to Zac, “the main goal is for merchants to be able to take a wide range of payments in the safest and most compliant way possible.”

As software companies have gotten more involved in payments, educating those software providers on navigating the regulations on how to protect themselves and their clients has become paramount. 

The most important part of creating a secure payments ecosystem and customer experience is protecting your payments data. Especially critical are bank account numbers and credit card information which must be stored, vaulted and encrypted correctly. As a business or SaaS company, you must adhere to the basic principles of how you collect data, how you secure the data and knowing what they can do with their data.  

Zac goes on to talk about the regulations in Australia and New Zealand including PCI, privacy policies and government regulatory compliance (including Australian Taxation Office, Australian Securities, and Investments Commission and AUSTRAC).