Paysera review

Is Paysera Secure?

Paysera is a perfectly legitimate company, but it is not immune to cyberattacks. No corporate entity really is, but you obviously wouldn’t want to trust your money with a platform that makes no effort to protect it in the event of a breach. So what’s Paysera like?

Being that it is a licensed institution, Paysera is overseen, regulated, and audited by the Bank of Lithuania. Customer funds are kept separately from company funds, which means they cannot be loaned, invested, or anything like that. Plus, they are kept in various credit institutions across the European Union.

Paysera is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) too. This is an international security standard administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council that sets guidelines for companies that handle credit card information.

All communications between Paysera and its customers are encrypted, and the company’s systems are regularly audited for security flaws and issues. If you happen to come across a vulnerability, however, you can report it via Paysera’s bug bounty program (make sure you’re eligible to participate first, and follow the guidelines outlined on the website).

Paysera uses the so-called Know Your Customer (KYC) principle to protect users and comply with anti-fraud regulations. This protection mechanism is commonplace in the banking industry, and revolves around verifying an individual’s activities. In practical terms, this means Paysera will occasionally ask you to submit documents confirming your place of residence, source of funds, and such.

Paysera employs various clever methods to verify your identity. For example, you can’t use the mobile app without setting up a five-digit PIN code. And whenever you want to log into your account on a computer, you have to confirm you are the owner of the account by launching the mobile app, and entering a temporary code. If you want to change personal information or update your address, you have to do the same. The constant authentication requests and warnings can even be annoying sometimes, but knowing this is being done to protect your funds makes it tolerable.

Since it is based in Lithuania, Paysera has to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other similar regulations, as stated in its privacy policy. It’s not too aggressive in terms of data collection, and pretty much just gathers the data it needs to function. And of course, like virtually all payment companies, Paysera retains the right to transfer client information to law enforcement if asked to do so.

How to Secure Your Paysera Account

Paysera takes security seriously, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to. Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to protect your account.

• Set Up a Strong Password: Everyone knows how important using complicated passwords is nowadays, but it still bears repeating. Make sure you come up with a unique, unbreakable password you haven’t used anywhere else, and change it periodically.

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: Paysera does have pretty strong protections in place by default, but it doesn’t hurt to enable a few optional ones—this will make it much more difficult for threat actors to breach your account.

• Be Mindful of Phishing Scams: Whether carried out via email, a scam site, or through social media, phishing scams are a common threat. Paysera warns users against googling “Paysera” to find the platform, because cybercriminals are setting up fake websites and abusing Google Ads to launch attacks. Instead of doing that, go directly to the website and check the URL.

• Vet the Social Media Accounts You Interact With: According to Paysera itself, scammers are impersonating it on social media, and setting up fake accounts claiming to be customer support. Always make sure the account you’re messaging on Twitter or elsewhere is actually run by Paysera, and only contact them through official channels.

• Don’t Answer Phone Calls Claiming to Be From Paysera: Another thing Paysera has warned against is phone calls. The company almost never calls its clients, so if you receive a phone call from someone claiming to represent it, it is most likely a scam of some kind, especially if you’re being asked to share personal information (e.g. your credit card number).

Paysera Is Safe, But You Still Need to Protect Yourself

Paysera is a great payment solution that offers an array of interesting features. It is legitimate and safe, but that doesn’t mean you should leave the security of your account to chance.

And if you feel like Paysera isn’t for you, or just need another safe way to make purchases over the internet, there are several alternative online payment methods to consider.