Selecting a point-of-sale (POS) system for your business is a key decision in how successful your business is. While factors of a POS system such as cost, features, and limitations are certainly worth considering, most business owners overlook one of the most important factors: security. If you don't have a secure POS system, what other features your system does or does not have really don't matter.

The problem with choosing a secure POS system is business regulations are complex and everything keeps changing when it comes to forms of payments customers like to use. Whether you have a small business or a large business, choosing a POS system and dealing with POS security is just a monster you are going to have to tackle for the sake of your customer. Fortunately, there are pieces of information that can make choosing a secure option a little easier.

Is the POS System PCI Ready?

The very first thing you need to check is whether the POS system you are considering meets all of the current regulations for accepting major credit cards. For example, not having a POS system that supports EMV chip-enabled credit cards will cause your business to lose out on a lot of money as you will have no way to scan and take money from customers who have EMV chip-enabled cards. It is also important to make sure the POS system you are considering complies with all of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) version 3.1 standards.

The reason it is important to make sure your POS system is compliant with current PCI standards is because should the financial/credit card information of your customers ever get leaked, you could end up being on the hook for all of the financial damages the leak caused your customers. With the PCI standards, your customer's data will be less vulnerable. It is the best way to increase the security of your POS system while decreasing the chance of fraud.

Is The POS System Isolated?

Ideally, you want a POS system that is isolated and runs completely separate from the rest of your business. This means the computer that manages your inventory and scheduling should not be connected to your POS system. By making sure it is isolated from all other aspects of your business, you can limit which employees have access to the system. This access control will make the system significantly more secure.

Is There a Maintenance and Update Schedule?

Make sure you talk to the provider of the POS system about the maintenance and update schedule of the POS system. You need to understand how the provider of the system handles updates to make sure the system is updated of regulations or standards regarding credit cards change. You also want to make sure routine maintenance is done on the system to check for any potential problems within the system.

As you can see, there are a lot of questions you need to ask and answer when selecting a secure POS system for your business.