When it comes to payment processing in today’s market, the real question is NOT “will I accept credit cards?” The real question is “who will I trust to protect my customers’ identities and keep my business compliant?” Credit card and identity theft is today’s high-tech crime, and causes untold damages across the country.
Due to this, a set of security standards have been developed by the payment processing industry. These standards outline the latest defenses against both outside intrusion (hackers) as well as carelessness from within (by employees). These standards are called PCI-DSS- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. PCI-DSS is a common security standard adopted by the major credit card brands, such as VISA, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. PCI-DSS is designed to protect credit card data based on 12 fundamental security controls.
PCI Credit Card Compliance By complying with the PCI-DSS standards, you can decrease the risk that your customers’ identities and credit card numbers will be stolen as a result of doing business with you. All processors such as ourselves have to maintain strict adherence to these standards in order to minimize the risk of a breach. The major card brands mandate that ALL MERCHANTS comply with PCI-DSS standards. Non-compliance results in serious fines- some with minimum thresholds of $50,000 per incidence! Fines of that magnitude can put you out of business. It’s just not worth the risk.
As a merchant accepting credit cards, you MUST comply, or face serious fines and penalties or risk losing your ability to accept credit card payment altogether.
You can find more information about PCI-DSS Compliance at the PCI Security Standards Council web site.