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Using an ewallet makes online shopping so much easier and secure because all of your information is stored in a central location, you can use it at many different online stores and make instant payments without having to re-enter all of your details every time you want to buy something. 

But you still have to be vigilant whenever you share your personal and financial information anywhere online, be it with an established or up-and-coming merchant and/or payment processor. However, don’t expect the merchant to do all of the security work for you – you have agency! There are things that you can do to make your online experience safer and more relaxing.

Here are 5 things you can do to keep your ewallet safe:

1. Do your research. Before you use just any ewallet, take a look at what people are saying online. Visit forums, and company Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to see if people are happy with a given electronic wallet and its level of security. Always make an informed choice where any kind of transaction is involved. It’s not enough to go with just any service because an online store happens to offer it as a payment option.
2. Create a complex, unique password. This sounds complicated but it actually isn’t. Just make sure that you use a variety of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and other characters (if this option is supported). This will make it hard for anyone to guess your password and gain access to your ewallet, and hence your money and your sensitive information. Avoid using birthdays and other special dates and names of loved ones in your password as this information is not only easy to guess, but is often even easier to find online through your various social networking pages.
3. Change your password regularly. You should do this at least once a month as it lowers your chances of your ewallet getting hacked. If changing it once a month is too labour-intensive for you or just too much of a hassle, then aim for every couple of months. You should do this with every online account you have, as well as for your bank account PIN. Every little bit of effort counts, and you will ultimately benefit.
4. Don’t share your passwords, PINs or other financial information. You would be surprised to find out that a lot of people share this highly sensitive information with others. Some people even write this information down on paper, further posing a safety risk to themselves. But whether you share it with a close family member or a virtual stranger, the risks are the same: sharing your passwords, personal identification numbers, and any other kind of personal or financial information with others can seriously compromise your security. Furthermore, if you share these details with others, you are responsible for any problems you may encounter down the road.

Always using your common sense can ensure a secure and seamless ewallet transaction every time. Don’t assume that just because an e-commerce site says it’s safe to transact with them that you don’t have to do anything further to shop safely online. There are a lot of precautions you can take, and the above-mentioned points are just the tip of the iceberg.