Every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month reminds businesses and individuals around the world to stay vigilant, informed, and proactive against ever-evolving digital threats. At SUNRATE, safeguarding our partners and customers goes far beyond one month of awareness — it’s embedded in everything we build and deliver.?

As a global payments and treasury management platform, we power borderless businesses with a foundation of trust, compliance, and security. From API encryption to risk controls, card issuance to settlement flows, here are some useful tips to stay cyber-smart with security-first architecture and privacy-by-design principles.??

Tip 1: Keep Your Cards and Accounts Secure?

? Use dynamic card design & face selection
If you manage multiple card types, assign specific card face IDs to distinguish usage. If none is selected, the system safely defaults to a pre-configured design.

? Create strong PINs for physical cards
For offline transactions, always use a 4- or 6-digit PIN that follows best-practice rules — no repeated digits, personal info, or reused numbers.

? Monitor card lifecycle activities
Track every stage of your card’s lifecycle — from Submitted → Activated → Frozen → Expired → Cancelled. Platforms like SUNRATE automatically send secure notifications for all status changes, which is something you can benefit from.

Tip 2: Manage Risk Like a Pro

? Rotate your keys & use unique keys per session
Never reuse AES keys; periodically rotate your RSA key pair according to your policy.

? Set transaction & spending limits
Define per-transaction limits, minimum spend thresholds, or cumulative velocity limits to keep budgets in check and prevent misuse.

? Apply smart risk rules
Deny or allow specific currencies, transaction dates, or times according to your company’s policies. You can whitelist trusted merchants and block high-risk ones.

? Handle authorisations securely
Platforms like SUNRATE supports authorisation release flows and fallback handling for non-force-post transactions, ensuring every purchase or withdrawal is tracked and verified.

Tip 3: Ensure Transparency in Settlements

? Keep up with instant settlement updates
You can leverage real-time settlement callbacks that notify you whenever a clearing record is updated — complete with transaction details such as amounts, currencies, and settlement dates. For instance, events like /callBack/cardClearing ensure your ERP or finance system is automatically synchronised with your payment activity, reducing manual work and the risk of mismatched entries.?

? Understand your ledger at a glance ?
It will be easier to reconcile and monitor all activities through a clear and structured ledger, where every transaction is tagged and categorised — from card issuance fees to shipping fees and settlements. This allows your finance team to quickly identify cost breakdowns, monitor fee impact, and streamline audit processes with minimal effort.?

? Reduce reconciliation overhead
By integrating SUNRATE’s callback APIs with your internal accounting systems, you can automate data collection and reconciliation. This not only speeds up month-end closing but also helps detect anomalies early — keeping your cash flow clear and predictable.

Tip 4: Tokenisation & Masked Data Handling

? Leverage secure randomised tokens
You can leverage secure, randomised tokens which ensure that full card numbers (PANs) and other sensitive information are never exposed or stored in plaintext. This greatly reduces the risk of data leaks or unauthorised access.

? Rely on securely vaulted storage
Platforms like SUNRATE provide a securely vaulted environment, where all card data is stored as non-sensitive tokens during processing — minimising exposure and enhancing protection across every stage of a transaction.

? Minimise risk with masked information
Using masked card information in notifications and reports, allowing only authorised users to view essential details without compromising privacy.

? Stay globally compliant with ease
Ensure that every transaction aligns with global best practices including international payment standards such as PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and regional financial compliance frameworks, which helps you stay audit-ready across multiple jurisdictions.

Tip 5: Strengthen Your API Security

? Use bank-level encryption??

Platforms like SUNRATE’s encompass built-in encryption protocols that comply with banking standards. All data in motion is protected, mitigating the risk of interception or man-in-the-middle attacks.??

? Authenticate & sign every request??

Ensure integrity and non-repudiation by using SUNRATE’s signature-based authentication, verifying that each request comes from a trusted source. (Request signing is a key part of SUNRATE’s security model.)??

? Test safely via sandbox environments??

With SUNRATE’s sandbox setup, you’ll be able to validate integration flows and edge cases in a safe environment before going live.??
? Validate inputs and guard against API misuse?

Strict request validation (type checks, allowed values, boundary logic) can be enforced to prevent abuse. As SUNRATE supports custom interfaces, you can tailor validation rules to your own business logic.?

As digital threats continue to evolve, staying cyber-smart is no longer optional — it’s essential. By adopting robust security practices and leveraging advanced features like tokenisation, real-time settlement updates, and API encryption, you can safeguard your business from emerging risks.?

To get started and partner with a solutions provider that can help your business optimise payments and help you scale both locally and globally, open a SUNRATE account today or contact our sales team.?