PCI COMPLIANCE
Billions of cashless transactions are carried out across the world on a daily basis. It is important to keep these transactions safe and secure; hence each transaction must be PCI compliant. Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance is important for all stakeholders in the e-commerce industry. All websites that accept credit and debit cards have a duty to protect information entered by users while making payment. In 2015, a data breech affected a company called CVS, a photo ordering and processing company. Credit card information of users were obtained by a third-party company hosting CVSphoto.com Though the company refused to disclose the number of affected users, vital information of its customers was exposed. When a data breach like this occurs, many of the stolen customer data are used for fraudulent activities if the breech is not quickly detected.
Due to the rise in credit card theft and fraud, MasterCard, Visa, and other card issuers partnered to develop a comprehensive blueprint to ensure increased security for credit card providers, banks and other financial institutions. The blueprint metamorphosed to the PCI Compliance Security Standards. The PCI Compliance is now a standard for quality in the e-commerce sector and failure to comply attracts huge penalties in the form of fines and sanctions, this is one key reason while e-commerce sites must be PCI-compliant. PCI compliance builds trust in the company and reduces risks associated with credit card transactions, it tells your customers that measures are taken to ensure data integrity and protection.
When a website or brand is PCI Compliant, clients will be at ease even when giving out vital information. This will increase customer base and loyalty to the company.
PCI DATA SECURITY STANDARD
The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of regulations created to ensure all cash-less transaction is safe. The PCI DSS has 12 requirements grouped into six areas.
Build and maintain a secure network
- Install and maintain firewall configuration to protect the data of a cardholder
- Avoid using defaults supplied by vendors for password of systems and other parameters.
Protect data of cardholders
- Protect stored card holder data
- Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open and public networks
Maintain a vulnerability management program
- Regularly use and update anti-virus software or program
- Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
Implement strong access control measures
- Restrict access to card holder data by business need to know
- Attach a unique ID to each person with computer access
- Restrict physical access to card holder data
Regularly monitor and test networks
- Track and monitor all access to network resources and card holder data
- Regularly test security systems and processes
Maintain an information security policy
- Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel.
- The PCI DSS general requirements apply to all merchants regardless of volume of transaction.
WHY PCI COMPLIANCE?
According to results from FICO, a credit score firm shows that theft of credit card information from Automated Teller Machines (ATM’s) is at its highest in the past two decades. The firm also reported that from January to April 2015, theft of debit card data was up 174 percent over the same period in 2014 at ATM’s attached to banks. An astonishing 317 percent was recorded for data theft at ATM’s not attached to banks.
So what can merchants and financial institutions do? PCI compliance gives a step-by-step breakdown of guidelines all banks, financial institutions and all merchants who process, store or transmit credit or debit card information need to follow to ensure safe transactions. PCI compliance suggests how data loss can be prevented, detected and how it can be handled if a breach occurs. Clients need to be sure their information is safe while using their card to pay on any platform. With the increasing rate of fraud in the e-commerce industry, PCI compliance is a must.
WHO NEEDS PCI COMPLIANCE?
A greater percentage of daily transactions all over the world are carried out on the internet. The percentage keeps increasing as more internet penetration sweeps across the world. Credit card companies all around the world such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover processes billions of transactions daily. During the course of each transaction, they receive huge amount of vital and confidential information from clients all over the world that need to be stored, processed and transmitted securely. PCI compliance helps payment processing companies to maintain safety standards throughout their numerous daily transactions. So PCI compliance is ideal not just for large companies, but for any e-commerce business online that wants to ensure brand trust and integrity. It instils a sense of confidence in customers, helping them to better trust your brand.
Are you planning to start an online business? Or you just launched an online store and you want to introduce an online payment option. You have to be PCI compliant before carrying out daily transactions.
The PCI DSS is highly technical and favors the large businesses more. But we are here to help you. At Xieles Support, we have a payment gateway that is PCI compliant so you don’t need to worry about being PCI compliant. When you choose us, our payment option takes care of it. Xieles Support’s experts utilizes secure systems with the highest PCI level to protect and secure data. Even when the information is entered on your page, it will be protected and kept safely.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE NOT PCI COMPLIANT?
There are serious penalties and consequences for being Non-PCI compliant. Non-compliant companies or merchants face a fine that can be up to $100,000 fine on a monthly basis. Beyond that, a fraud resulting from data breaches makes issuing banks lose lots of money. So a company that fails to secure data of clients through PCI compliance will pay for the losses. The reputation of non-compliant companies is at stake. Clients will not want to associate with a brand that can’t keep their credit card information safe. Financial institutions also need to be sure that a merchant can prevent any form of data breaches before allowing them process card payments. Due to all these bottlenecks, merchants prefer to partner with payment providers that are PCI compliant. Our payment gateway is flexible and can manage payment transactions regardless of the volume of transactions or size of the company. Want your website to be PCI compliant, then contact us today. We will handle your requests and help you all the way.