Payment Security

At The Spirit Co, it is our top priority to ensure that our customers’ transaction data is kept secure at all times. For that reason, we work closely with Sage Pay.

Transaction security

All transaction information passed between merchant sites and Sage Pay’s systems is encrypted using 128-bit SSL certificates. No cardholder information is ever passed unencrypted and any messages sent to our servers from Sage Pay are signed using MD5 hashing to prevent tampering. You can be completely assured that nothing you pass to ours or Sage Pay’s servers can be examined, used or modified by any third parties attempting to gain access to sensitive information.

Encryption and Data Storage

Once on our systems, all sensitive data is secured using the same internationally recognised 256-bit encryption standards used by, among others, the US Government. The encryption keys are held on state-of-the-art, tamper proof systems in the same family as those used to secure VeriSign's Global Root certificate, making them all but impossible to extract. The data we hold is extremely secure and we are regularly audited by the banks and banking authorities to ensure it remains so.

System security

Our payment provider’s systems are scanned quarterly by Trustwave which are an independent Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) for the payment card brands.

Sage pay is also audited annually under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and is a fully approved Level 1 payment services provider, which is the highest level of compliance. Sage is also active members of the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) that defines card industry global regulation.

View Sage’s PCI DSS certificate

Links to banks

Sage Pay has multiple private links into the banking network that are completely separate from the Internet and which do not cross any publicly accessible networks. Any cardholder information sent to the banks and any authorisation message coming back is secure and cannot be tampered with.

Internal security

Sage Pay is controlled by Iris Scanners, which are the latest and most precise biometric security devices available for identification. As used by; chemical plants, airports, police stations, prisons and other facilities where security is paramount. No one can enter or leave the building without a valid security pass.

Staff validation

All employees at Sage Pay are Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked prior to employment and no unauthorized individual has access to or is able to decrypt transaction information or cardholder data. Their systems only allow access to their most senior staff and only in extenuating circumstances (such as investigations of Card Fraud by the Police). All transaction information and customer card information is secure even from theirs and our own employees.

Disaster recovery

Sage Pay operates on twin data centres to ensure optimal system security and up-time and has a full disaster recovery and business continuation policy.