From adjustments to legislation and enforcement in transaction processing security to the advancement of point of sale systems, retailers and financial services firms have had to maintain pace with rapidly moving trends to protect themselves and drive revenues. The U.S. has been an aggressive pursuer of advanced payment processing technologies, while countries in Europe and Asia are also embracing the tools more quickly than ever before. 

Not all of the news in this arena has been promising, though, as security concerns have appeared to take up significant portions of discussions related back to payment processing innovation and advancement. Keeping up with trends that are taking place overseas can help companies operating in domestic markets become more intelligent and successful with globalized sales and marketing endeavors. 

Irish processing concerns
The Independent recently reported that a new report conducted by Microsoft showed that a wealth of Irish companies might end up nullifying their cybersecurity insurance contracts because of changes in the operating system it provides. This has been somewhat of a common news story for all corporate computing matters given the fact that so many firms were still using antiquated versions of the highly popular software, but this is among the first to relate back to transaction processing. 

According to the news provider, Microsoft will be ending its security support of Windows Server 2003, which Irish retailers are still using in massive numbers. 

“We believe that there are 23,000 servers in approximately 3,000 Irish companies still running Windows Server 2003,” Art Coughlan of Microsoft Ireland told the source. “No updates or security patches will be developed or released after July 14. The use of outdated, unsupported software leaves entire systems vulnerable to business and financial losses and organizations open to legal repercussions.”

Keeping up with system upgrades and overhauls is critical to maintaining security for payment data. 

Down under, soaring high
A recent report released by Roy Morgan Research revealed that as much as 45 percent of 20,000 surveyed businesses in Australia are already accepting advanced electronic payments through several different platforms. According to the research, more are expected to do so soon, and chances are that the majority of new innovations in transaction processing will take place in digital environments. 

Retailers and financial services firms must keep up with these trends to avoid falling behind the competition.