PCI DSS

Any company that uses and handles credit or debit payment information from consumers needs to comply with PCI DSS, short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. These standards cover technical and operational practices for handling cardholder data. Maintaining payment security is becoming more and more crucial as cybercrime becomes increasingly prevalent in our world.

Any business or organization that accepts and/or processes credit and debit cardholder information should already be familiar with PCI DSS v. 3.2.1. Merchants are expected – and required – to meet this standard. This has been the case since 2018.

Companies that use and transmit credit and debit card information must meet the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) regulations. These standards were created and are regulated by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). The council is composed of the five major credit card companies: Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JBC.

If you accept credit or debit cards at your business you are required to follow specific regulations. Known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS ) these regulations were created by Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JCB International. The goal of being in compliance with the regulations is to protect credit and debit card information from fraud and data breaches.

Criminals prey on ATMs, gas station pumps, merchant Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals and any other device that will provide them with the debit card information. Once they have the right information, they duplicate the cards and use them multiple times at the common point of purchase (CPP) to drain customers’ accounts.

Do you own a business? If you do, it is probably associated with a CPP (Common Point of Purchase). This doesn’t mean that fraudulent purchases were made at your business, only that it was the target of a security breach. This could mean that your customers’ credit card information was compromised.

Most merchants are aware the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) requirements are changing and go into effect at the end of 2020. The majority of organizations understand that advancing technology means the standards need to be updated. However, the lack of information is making it difficult for them to prepare for the upcoming annual audit.

Whether you run a small, medium, or large business, credit card transactions are a common instrument with which customers purchase your products and services. Unfortunately, most small businesses are susceptible to cybercrime because of the low quality of their cybersecurity defenses.