Grant @ myposdepot
The issue of merchants becoming “PCI Compliant” has raised a lot of questions surrounding what a merchant must do to become compliant in the payment card industry. Compliance rules and regulations have a lot to do with the type of business a merchant has and how they accept credit cards. Some of the benefits of following the standards set by PCI compliance include the following:
- Being compliant with the PCI DSS demonstrates that your customers’ private information is protected, so they can entrust their credit card payments to you without needing to worry about the security of their data.
- Compliance with PCI DSS enhances your business reputation and is held in high regard by banks and credit card companies — the very same corporations that help you do business and help you to gain customers trust.
- Following the PCI security standards helps you to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to enhance the shopping experience for your customers – and a genuine desire to protect their data by preventing security breaches.
The following 12 components form part of the PCI compliance checklist outlined by the PCI Security Standards Council. This checklist aims to establish and maintain a secure, impenetrable network focusing on security of payment brands users.
- Install and keep updated a firewall between the public network and the payment card data
- Change vendor-supplied passwords that come with network and payment processing equipment
- Protect any customer data stored for business purposes or regulatory purposes
- Encrypt all transmissions of customer data over any public network
- Maintain antivirus software in all of your computers
- Deploy only secure card processing applications and systems
- Limit access to the customer payment data to as few people as possible on the “need-to-know” basis within your business
- Use building entry authentication such as visitor and employees badges with identification to limit access to stored data
- Keep restricted physical access to business computers and customer data
- Regularly test security applications and any PCI security processes that you have in place
- Keep all employees informed about your information security policies
Generally, a merchant will implement what is necessary to ensure these requirements are adhered to. Evaluation of the PCI security processes and the compliance checklist will help to ensure that your business is providing a secure environment and protecting customer data efficiently.
Grant Rowlands
National Account Executive
P: (866) 480-2433
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