What does an increase in keyed transactions compared to swiped transactions often suggest?

An increase in keyed transactions compared to swiped transactions often suggests a risk of fraud or changes in the business model. Keyed transactions, which involve manually entering card details rather than using a card reader or a swipe, are generally considered less secure than swiped transactions. This increased risk can be due to several factors, including the possibility of employees manually entering card information to process transactions that should otherwise be swiped or situations where a merchant may not have live card-reading terminals available.

Additionally, a shift toward more keyed transactions may indicate a business is adapting its model, perhaps moving away from in-person sales to e-commerce or mobile payments, creating new vulnerabilities that did not exist previously. This shift can signal that the business faces challenges related to payment security and the potential for increased fraud, as keyed entries are more susceptible to various types of fraudulent activity compared to transactions that involve physical cards. Thus, monitoring the ratio of keyed to swiped transactions is crucial for assessing the security landscape of a merchant's payment processing methods.