PCI DSS, also known as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is a standard of security established for any business that processes credit cards. Whether you have a Point Of Sale system, process over a phone, process through a credit card terminal or have an e-commerce website taking orders, PCI establishes a series of best practices and minimum-security protocols that must be observed for your business type.
Guidelines set by the card brands to ensure merchants are taking the proper steps to safeguard cardholder information have been adopted. Merchants are now liable for any loss of cardholder data, and they are looking at huge fines if their businesses experiences a breach while not maintaining PCI Compliance.
Payment processing companies gladly bill merchants for PCI DSS, but most fail to educate their merchants on its importance. Merchants often end up paying “Non PCI Validation” or “Non Compliance” fees in excess of $1,200 each year.
We have conducted a study with new merchants who have obtained our services in 2020. Our results showed:
- 88% of merchants never were not PCI Compliant with their previous provider.
- 67% stated their previous providers failed to communicate the importance of PCI Compliance.
- 21% failed at their attempts to complete the PCI Compliance process. Their frustration let them to simply pay the Non PCI Validation fees.
Payment processing companies have the resources to assist you in becoming fully compliant, regardless of your business size or how you process.
We strongly recommended business owners take PCI DSS seriously, as they are liable should a data breach originating from their merchant account occur.
To learn more about PCI DSS click here.
Sincerely,
Israel Zuela – Founder, Instapay Services, LLC