What's PCI Compliance?
What’s PCI compliance? The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance includes 12 security standards created by the PCI Security Standards Council to help small businesses with protecting customer credit card data. These 12 PCI security standards are enforced by the major card networks including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
Below are the 12 PCI standards required for accepting credit cards:
- Install a firewall configuration
- Ensure secure password protection
- Protect stored cardholder data
- Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across public networks
- Regularly update anti-virus programs
- Develop and maintain secure applications
- Restrict access to cardholder data
- Assign unique ID’s to each person
- Restrict physical access to cardholder data
- Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
- Test systems regularly
- Maintain a consistent security policy for employees
PCI Compliance for Small Businesses.
There are many reasons why you should be PCI Compliant. First and foremost, you want to avoid data breaches. 90% of data breaches happen to small businesses. Data breaches are a significant issue that cause irreparable harm to a business’s reputation and customer relations. When a small business is significantly affected, it leads to a large financial burden. Therefore, one high-profile data breach will destroy your business and reputation.
Secondly, it’s important to prioritize your customers. PCI Compliance builds the right security to protect your customer data. Your customers expect you to have their best interest in mind when it comes to their financial security. Lastly, you will be penalized with a non-PCI compliance fee by your merchant processor if you’re not complaint.
Understanding your Risk Level as a Merchant
Am I at risk? In today’s world, businesses that accept credit cards are at risk of a data breach. Data breaches happen all the time to small businesses and large corporations. Without the proper security measurements, your customers card data could become prey for potential criminals. The fallout of your small business becoming exposed to a data breach would be devastating to your reputation. In fact, a survey of 1,015 small and medium businesses (NCSA) found that over 60% of those breached closed in 6 months.
Your risk factor is increased by the complexity of your payment systems, your payment methods offered, and the transaction volume. There are 3 ways to accept payments as a business owner. Each payment method has unique data vulnerabilities and risk factors. A merchant can accept payments online, in-person, or by phone. Extra features such as Wi-Fi, remote access software, or internet connected devices such as cameras or call recording systems add to your list of potential vulnerabilities.
PCI Compliance for in-person payments
Accepting payments face-to-face with a payment terminal requires a well encrypted payment system. A payment terminal includes a device that accepts a card number with a swipe, insert, tap, or manual entry. These devices are a Point-of-Sale (POS), credit card machine, or EMV/chip enabled terminal. The PCI scope includes the entire process for collecting credit card payments. A stand-alone payment terminal, an electronic cash register, or other devices connected to a payment terminal are part of this process.
Therefore, payment terminals that are PCI-listed P2PE include the best assurance about the quality of the encryption.
PCI Compliance for online payments
A business that sells products or services online is categorized as an e-commerce merchant. This includes an e-commerce website, a shopping page, or a payment page. An ecommerce payment system includes the entire process where a customer selects a product or service from your website and purchases with a credit card. Your payment system can be entirely outsourced to a third party or managed exclusively by your business. A payment system outsourced via a third party is the safest option. This is because they are more likely to be a PCI DSS validated third party.
The Different Levels of PCI Compliance
The number of transactions that your business processes determines your PCI compliance level.
- Level 1 PCI Compliance- merchants that process more than 6 million Visa transactions per year across all channels, or are global merchants identified as Level 1.
- Level 2 PCI Compliance – merchants that process between 1 million and 6 million Visa transactions per year across all channels.
- Level 3 PCI Compliance – merchants that process 20,000 to 1 million e-commerce Visa transactions per year.
- Level 4 PCI Compliance – merchants that process fewer than 20,000 e-commerce Visa transactions, or those processing up to 1 million total annual Visa transactions.
How do I become PCI Compliant?
To meet the standard PCI Compliance requirements, a small business must fill out a self-assessment form each year. This form varies depending on how you accept payments (online, in-person, or by phone) and the size of your business. Larger businesses will need to hire a third-party auditor to assess them.
Find out which assessment is required for your business.
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