How are Online Transactions Affecting Businesses?
Even before the pandemic sped up the industry, there had been a steady growth in online business transactions. With over 10,000 fintech startups registered in the US alone, there’s a huge market for online business solutions and the resultant payment solutions necessary to enable the transactions.
A cultural shift has seen the world embrace more cashless solutions as business transactions have moved into the digital space. As Generation Z and millennials before them experience increased disposable income, businesses have been forced to adapt. Some of the most profitable American companies have been those providing business transactions that are available digitally; think Apple, Amazon and Walmart. Keeping with the trend, cryptocurrencies and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are looking like less of the future and more of the present.
This ease of completing business transactions and the payment processes attached to them have led to increased business volumes globally. Digital business transactions have lowered the associated costs of business and reduced the bureaucracies that previously hampered international trade. Order a meal, product, or service on your phone, and have it delivered to your doorstep without having to talk to anyone directly, or sometimes at all. There are more opportunities for trade and financial activity with people living continents away from each other.
A challenge with this boom in business transactions has been the privacy and safety of data. Many platforms offer seamless transactions, with pre-saved passwords and history saved to ensure that recommendations, purchases, and deliveries are faster. Data, the identities, credentials, and histories associated with millions of clients, is a key asset. So important an asset that there are companies and individuals ready to pay millions for it. The sheer number and value of the data mean that security breaches can lead to losses far beyond reputation and trust; financial ruin is a likelihood.
With the risks attached, businesses entrusted with client data must ensure they operate within laws that protect their clients. Failure to safeguard their clients’ data has seen leading tech giants like Amazon and Meta fined hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Even on a smaller scale, lawsuits can be filed and end up costing your business lost revenue in fines.
Another more serious effect of data breaches associated with business transactions is the loss of client trust. Consumer trust, the feeling that your business will act in their best interest is a priceless asset in your business. It can keep generations as loyal clients of a brand, and once it is lost, it is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to get back.
As a practical precaution, businesses and brands can encrypt passwords, back up data and employ the use of anti-virus and malware protectors. Additionally, they should ensure their handling of client data is done legally, which ensures that they avoid lawsuits and best of all, have the surety that they are protecting the data entrusted to them.
More and more businesses will go online, remember the 10,000 registered start-ups, and lead to an even bigger boom in business transactions, which then calls for stricter data privacy and safety solutions.
Have Questions About Your Obligations on Data Handling or Usage? Take Action by Contacting a Los Angeles Business Transaction Attorney Today!
If you need help determining the legalities surrounding client data usage, it is in your best interest to retain the services of a reputable business transaction attorney such as the Omni Legal Group. Omni Legal Group is a premier Business, Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226 or visit www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.