PCI compliance entails meeting all Payment Card Industry standards for protecting cardholder data. PCI standards entail ensuring your business protects its customers and that you can contact how you manage their data.
All businesses that accept credit cards must meet PCI compliance rules. You must meet these standards regardless of the level of compliance you must follow. Your merchant service provider can help you meet all the rules you need to follow for your success.
PCI compliance is critical for all businesses to complete. There are six fields you must support when attaining PCI compliance:
Your network must include a firewall to prevent unauthorized parties from accessing cardholder data. You must also use unique passwords for all accounts instead of whatever default passwords you will utilize.
The protection effort includes protecting all cardholder data, including all addresses, numbers, and other identifying factors. The data you do manage should also be encrypted when going over a public network. You’ll also have rules on what pieces of data you can collect.
Your software systems must be routinely updated to ensure all security vulnerabilities stay in check. You will also require antivirus programs that can help identify potential security threats and keep viruses and other outside problems from entering your system.
All employees must have unique IDs for accessing cardholder data. But the data you collect should be restricted on a need-to-know basis. There should also be physical restrictions on how people can access the card data you hold.
Regular testing helps find possible threats in your business. You can test your security setups to see if they are intact or if there are any problems. You can also produce logs that list how people access cardholder data and network resources.
Your business also requires a defined policy for how you’ll handle data security efforts. All data protection plans must work based on what your business knows will fit.
All six fields of work are divided based on how you’ll handle your data and how you will protect your system. You must meet all of these fields if you want to reach compliance.
Failing to comply with any of these will make your business vulnerable to data breaches and theft. You may also be liable for any losses you experience in such a concern.
Your business will fall under one of four PCI compliance levels:
All businesses must also file an Attestation of Compliance and receive an annual network scan from a certified provider. Many merchant account providers can offer these scans, although some of them can serve quarterly scans for further protection and analysis.
Check your credit card reports and processing data to review where you fall when managing your work. You likely won’t reach Level 1 unless you run a multinational business that has hundreds of locations. But those who do get to that point will require extra help in maintaining their PCI points, especially since they’re more likely to receive business than others.
Your merchant services provider can help you review your PCI compliance efforts to help you see what works for your business. A provider can assist you in many ways:
You could be subject to non-compliance fees if you don’t meet all PCI standards. You’d have to pay that fee until you can meet proper compliance. Most providers will not charge you extra for a PCI compliance fee after you fix your issues.
Remember that PCI compliance is not a one-off thing you can do and forget. You’ll need to keep your business compliant throughout its operation.
Various vulnerabilities may appear in your system after a while. Some rules for how you can protect data may also change, especially if PCI rules shift at some point.
You can keep your business compliant by using a few points:
Be prepared to look at how your business will work when you’re aiming to meet PCI compliance. A compliant business will be easier for people to trust and support.
