Comply With the PCI DSS…Or Else!

You will find that there are many risks to face if you own an online business and aren't following the PCI DSS (otherwise known as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). In case you aren't aware, any business that processes payment cards on their website, must comply with the PCI DSS. The Payment Card Industry came up with these standards a couple of years ago to help ensure that payment cards and customer data is being handled and secured the same way all over the world. The deadline for becoming PCI compliant was in December of 2007, so if this is something you haven't done yet, you better get going.

There are some great benefits to your company when you are in compliance with the PCI DSS. These include things like, protection of customer data, a higher level of data security, increased protection against financial losses, maintain customer trust and reputation and many more. So, your business will benefit from being compliant, but you should know that despite these benefits, the most important reason you need to be in compliance, is because you face huge risks if you are not.

Businesses that are not in compliance with PCI DSS may face steep fines of as much as $500,000. In addition, they may face expensive litigation costs. From an operational standpoint, level 2, 3 or 4 businesses that suffer security breaches, could possibly have their merchant level raised to level 1. This bad for business in terms of cost, because compliance in the level 1 tier is more demanding. In addition to major fines, businesses that aren't in compliance also risk negative publicity and a bad reputation, which causes the loss of customer confidence and trust.

I hope that if you are looking for information on compliance, that this article will help you. Know that that as a website owner, it is super important to follow the PCI DSS. Don't take the risk, make sure you are compliant.