Data Breach Protection That Guards Your Business and Your Customers

An added layer of support for merchants focused on protecting cardholder data.

Risk Mitigation That Starts Before an Incident Happens

Your customers trust you with their payment data. A single cardholder data breach can trigger investigation costs, legal fees, card brand fines, and lost business that often add up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Recent research shows the average global cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million in 2024, and even small businesses typically face $120,000-$1.24 million in response and recovery costs for a serious incident.

Host Merchant Services helps reduce this risk by supporting merchants through PCI DSS compliance. Merchants who successfully complete PCI compliance may qualify for up to $100,000 in data breach protection, helping offset certain costs associated with a covered incident.

Protect Your Business from Forensics, Fines, and Downtime Costs

Payment card data is a prime target for cybercriminals. A breach can expose card numbers and personal information and trigger a chain of costly obligations:

For small businesses, the financial impact is still severe. Recent analysis based on industry data estimates $120,000 to $1.24 million as a typical range for the total cost of responding to a serious incident, once you add up direct losses, response work, and lost revenue.

On top of that, industry experts note that card brands can levy PCI DSS-related fines from roughly $100,000 to $500,000, plus additional expenses like card re-issuance and credit monitoring, following a card data breach.

Having dedicated data breach insurance and PCI compliance support helps merchants reduce exposure to these costs and strengthen overall security.

Breach Coverage and PCI Validation, Available with Host Merchant Services Accounts

Host Merchant Services integrates PCI compliance support and access to data breach protection into its merchant account program, helping merchants reduce payment security risk.

PCI compliance support

Host Merchant Services provides PCI DSS compliance support to help merchants validate and maintain adherence to card industry security requirements for accepting, transmitting, and storing cardholder data.

Up to $100,000 in data breach protection for compliant merchants

Merchants who successfully complete PCI compliance may qualify for up to $100,000 in data breach protection. This coverage is intended to help offset certain costs associated with a qualifying data breach, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

No PCI non-compliance fees from Host Merchant Services

Unlike many processors that assess separate PCI non-compliance penalties, Host Merchant Services does not charge PCI non-compliance fees. PCI support is included as part of the merchant program.

PCI compliance support combined with potential breach protection provides a meaningful safeguard when a single incident can result in substantial costs related to investigations, fines, customer notification, and business disruption.

Activate Built-In Breach Protection Today!

Talk with our team about how this protection applies to your specific setup, tech stack, and industry. Confirm your enrollment and start operating with full compliance support and automatic $100,000 breach coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this $100,000 breach coverage replace my cyber insurance?

No. It’s a focused layer that helps with certain card-related breach costs, not a full cyber policy. Most merchants use it alongside general liability or cyber insurance to reduce out-of-pocket exposure if card data is compromised.

What specific value do I get from staying enrolled?

Staying enrolled helps ensure you remain aligned with PCI compliance requirements and eligible for available data breach protection. Merchants who complete PCI compliance may qualify for up to $100,000 in breach protection, which can help cover certain response costs that are difficult to delay or negotiate after an incident. Ongoing PCI support also helps reduce risk and can shorten the scope and duration of investigations if a breach occurs.

What’s the practical downside of opting out?

If a card data incident happens, you’ll rely solely on your own reserves or separate insurance for fines, forensics, and notifications. In other words, you remove a built-in financial buffer that’s already aligned with how card brands handle breaches.

How does the PCI component help me day to day?

We walk you through PCI questionnaires, scans, and remediation so you don’t have to figure it out alone. That saves time, reduces guesswork, and helps you prove you’re taking reasonable security steps if there’s ever an investigation.

I use tokenization and never see card numbers. Do I still benefit?

Yes. Attacks can still target your checkout, POS, or integrations and be treated as a cardholder data breach. This coverage is designed to step in for those card-related incidents, even when you’re using modern, low-touch payment setups.

How do I confirm my status or change my decision later?

You can contact Host Merchant Services support to verify whether your account is currently enrolled. If you later decide to opt out or re-enroll, a quick request through support or the form on this page will update your account settings.