Any business that accepts credit cards, whether they accept them in person or over the internet, needs to be concerned with the safety of their customer’s credit card details. When your business begins credit card processing to accept cards as payment from your customers, you need to make sure you are meeting all of the requirements to be PCI compliant.
PCI compliance is a set of requirements set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It’s required of all United States companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information, and ensures a secure environment for the storage or transmission of credit details.
If you operate any part of your business online, you’re automatically considered a medium to high risk merchant and will need to take additional steps to ensure your customers information remains private and safe from prying eyes. All merchants accepting credit cards, online or in person, must become PCI compliant, and regardless of how many credit cards you process per month.
Here’s how to ensure your credit card processing meets requirements:
Become PCI Compliant
Step One: Fill out a self-assessment questionnaire, in order to determine what type of business you own and the appropriate PCI compliance steps you’ll need to take.
Step Two: If it’s determined that your business requires a vulnerability scan (merchants with external facing IP addresses), complete and obtain a document of evidence that you’ve passed the vulnerability scan with a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor. You’ll need to do this if you store your customers credit card information electronically, or if your credit card processing is done over the internet. Scan at least once each quarter.
Step Three: Complete Attestation of Compliance.
Step Four: Submit evidence of your passing vulnerability scan and your Attestation of Compliance to your acquirer.
PCI Compliance Improves Business Reputation
Having a successful business is more than just providing quality products or services and exceptional customer service. In fact, some will say that having a good business reputation is more important than what your business is actually selling!
Businesses which maintain PCI Compliance are taking the first steps to ensuring their customers information is safe, but you’ll want to go even further than that. If there are any security breaches within your system that affect your customers, even if you are PCI compliant, you may be liable. You’ll want to take all precautions to prevent security violations to maintain your good business reputation. If you aren’t sure how to set up a strong security system to keep customer credit card data safe, if you’re not sure what scans and how often to run them or how frequently you need to update your records – hire an expert to handle these aspects for you.
Becoming PCI Compliant may seem like it takes a long time and is expensive to implement – but if you compare the potential problems of security breaches and expense of fines for not being compliant – the financial and time investment is well worth it.
PCI compliance is a set of requirements set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It’s required of all United States companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information, and ensures a secure environment for the storage or transmission of credit details.
If you operate any part of your business online, you’re automatically considered a medium to high risk merchant and will need to take additional steps to ensure your customers information remains private and safe from prying eyes. All merchants accepting credit cards, online or in person, must become PCI compliant, and regardless of how many credit cards you process per month.
Here’s how to ensure your credit card processing meets requirements:
Become PCI Compliant
Step One: Fill out a self-assessment questionnaire, in order to determine what type of business you own and the appropriate PCI compliance steps you’ll need to take.
Step Two: If it’s determined that your business requires a vulnerability scan (merchants with external facing IP addresses), complete and obtain a document of evidence that you’ve passed the vulnerability scan with a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor. You’ll need to do this if you store your customers credit card information electronically, or if your credit card processing is done over the internet. Scan at least once each quarter.
Step Three: Complete Attestation of Compliance.
Step Four: Submit evidence of your passing vulnerability scan and your Attestation of Compliance to your acquirer.
PCI Compliance Improves Business Reputation
Having a successful business is more than just providing quality products or services and exceptional customer service. In fact, some will say that having a good business reputation is more important than what your business is actually selling!
Businesses which maintain PCI Compliance are taking the first steps to ensuring their customers information is safe, but you’ll want to go even further than that. If there are any security breaches within your system that affect your customers, even if you are PCI compliant, you may be liable. You’ll want to take all precautions to prevent security violations to maintain your good business reputation. If you aren’t sure how to set up a strong security system to keep customer credit card data safe, if you’re not sure what scans and how often to run them or how frequently you need to update your records – hire an expert to handle these aspects for you.
Becoming PCI Compliant may seem like it takes a long time and is expensive to implement – but if you compare the potential problems of security breaches and expense of fines for not being compliant – the financial and time investment is well worth it.
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