If you’re developing a mobile app with paid features, your first step is to ensure that your users can actually, you know, pay for stuff. This means that you will need to incorporate an extensive in-app purchases (IAP) architecture into your development process.
Some developers make the mistake of assuming that all they need to do is attach a third-party payment gateway to their app and that’s it. However, this assumption can come with serious security costs for both your company and your customers. If you want to guarantee secure, trustworthy payments and microtransactions via your app, make sure to follow this handy checklist.
Choose your gateway wisely
If you are opting for a third-party payment gateway, as the vast majority of app developers do, then you must choose your gateways(s) carefully. When shopping around for payment provider partners, you might be tempted to go for the ones that offer the lowest commissions and the easiest integration with your product. However, your bottom line should never be your top priority – the safety of your customers should be.
For example, some of the most popular slots currently offering various range of casino games , opt-in for third party payment gateways.
To that end, take some time to research the security credentials of prospective payment partners in-depth. Check that they offer all the prerequisites such as SSL encryption. Most important is to make sure that any payment providers you add to your product are widely used, well-known, and enjoy a strong reputation among users. This is why apps that handle significant transaction volumes such as AirBnb only offer payments via a small number of well-known providers such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal, as you can see here.
Check for PCI
On the topic of payment gateways, you should not be deferring solely to your own judgment when selecting a provider for your app. You should also be checking that any payment gateway you plan to use is licensed and approved by an authoritative standards body. For the vast majority of merchants, this means referencing your providers with the PCI SSC, or Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.
This industry body regulates the payment gateway sector, issues official guidelines for app-based checkouts, and approves acceptable protocols for storing customer payment data. Any and all payment gateways that are safe and trustworthy will have the stamp of approval of the PCI SSC, which regularly audits the industry and issues warnings about providers deemed to be untrustworthy.
Seek independent verification
Independent verification is not only important for the payment gateways that you choose, but also for your app. Depending on the industry that your application serves, there will be a relevant third-party authorization body that can conduct testing on your behalf and give your app the seal of approval, telling customers that you are safe to use.
For example, let’s look at the online casino app market, where users will regularly make app-based transactions to make deposits and withdraw winnings. For example, the Betway app shows its credentials online by highlighting that its transaction and cash deposit architecture are independently vetted and approved by both eCOGRA and IBAS – two authoritative bodies for the iGaming industry. You can read more here about these independent verification processes.
Penetration testing is vital
It is not enough to choose a trustworthy payment system and get that system green-lit by an industry regulator. You also need to conduct extensive penetration testing on your app’s payment system before you release the app to market. When assessing the security of your payment system, the most effective method is to engage in ethical hacking of your product.
This will help you and your DevOps team to quickly identify any loopholes that might exist with the payments architecture. You can also ensure that the code governing your app is secure and that there are no opportunities for cybercriminals to breach your defenses and steal consumer information. Remember, a little bit of extra testing always goes a long way.
Product IDs
If you’re implementing IAPs for the first time for say, an e-commerce app, you will need a full list of product IDs that can be used to initiate legitimate purchases. Product IDs are numerical codes that match the products in your inventory to the listing in your app. This ensures that your customer always gets exactly what they order from their smartphone.
They are universally used by major e-commerce players such as Amazon, as explained here, to prevent mistakes when selecting orders from vast warehouses full of inventory. However, that is not the only purpose of product IDs. When an order is placed on your app, it is important that your payment system is able to scan and recognize the product ID so that the payment can go through safely.
Server security
The focus should not only be focused on the security of your app software. If your app data is stored on a server, you must make sure that you follow airtight server security protocols, otherwise, your customers could be vulnerable to a serious data breach. As recommended by Server Watch, the most impactful thing you can do is constantly update your OS and your product, while ensuring that users do the same.
This way, your server software will always be in-sync with the product, keeping your users safe. You should also back up your app data frequently so that a server breach will not completely eliminate your control over your users’ safety and data. With secure servers, your product is secure and your customers are safe.
If you offer in-app transactions, make sure that you have completed this IAP security checklist. By doing so, you can avoid wasting time, money, and stress further down the line.
