The Value of the PCI Security Standard

Do you own a small business that processes less than 20,000 card payment transactions a year? If so, you may be wondering if you are required to comply with the PCI Security Standard. The answer is a thunderous "yes". I have written a few lenses about PCI, but in case you haven't seen them, here is the definition of the PCI Security Standard. The PCI Security Standard, also referred to as PCI Data Security Standard or PCI DSS, is a somewhat complicated set of principles that consist of requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network structure, software design and other significant security measures. The PCI Security Standard was set up to help businesses efficiently guard the personal credit card information of their clients. This is so important for business owners, because by protecting your client's personal information, you're building customer trust which is one of the most vital things for a successful online business.

There are twelve main requirements in the PCI security standard. These fall under six categories which are:
Build and maintain a secure network
Protect cardholder data
Maintain a vulnerability management program
Implement strong access control measures
Regularly monitor and test networks
Maintain an information security policy
This gives you some idea of what the PCI security standard is and how it can help you keep your customer information safe. Remember, it is required to comply if you accept any kind of credit card transactions at your business.

These requirements change somewhat depending on the merchant level that your business falls under. If you are not sure what merchant level you are, you should start by finding that out. When considering making your business compliant with the PCI Security Standard, you should know that the deadline for complying for most merchants has already passed. But compliance is mandated by the payment card brands and not the PCI Security Standards Council (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org), so the best thing to do is first check with your acquirer and/or merchant bank to see if any other specific deadlines apply to you.

This information may seem somewhat redundant, and I realize that I have written about it a lot. But you really need to know that complying with the PCI Security Standard is very important, and in return, will help you receive more business.