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PCI Compliance

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of rules to ensure the security of debit and credit card transactions for merchants and service providers. It is designed to protect the confidentiality of cardholders' private payment card information. Businesses must comply with PCI DSS's operational and technical requirements to maintain secure environments and safeguard cardholder data, which in turn helps maintain customer trust and preserve their reputation as trustworthy entities.

Any enterprise processing, transmitting, or storing individuals’ card data, no matter the size or number of transactions effectuated annually, must be PCI compliant.

PCI Compliance levels​

There are four PCI levels where your business might fall depending on the volume of card transactions you handle per year:

  • Level 1: Businesses processing over 6 million transactions per year
  • Level 2: Businesses processing 1 million to 6 million transactions per year
  • Level 3: Businesses processing 20,000 to 1 million transactions per year
  • Level 4: Businesses processing less than 20,000 transactions per year

While Level 1 businesses must undergo an internal audit performed by an authorized Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) once a year, other level merchants usually have to submit an Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).

How to become PCI Compliant​

There are rules called PCI compliance guidelines to keep credit card information safe. These rules have 12 main requirements, but depending on the level of compliance needed, there could be over 400 security controls to follow. These rules cover different areas to handle and store card data securely. Companies also have to be audited yearly to ensure they follow these rules.

Risks of noncompliance​

It is important to note that PCI DSS compliance is not a legal mandate or government regulation but an industry requirement. However, noncompliance with PCI standards can result in negative consequences for your business, such as:

  • Fines and Penalties: If your company suffers a data breach while noncompliant, your company will be responsible for compensation costs alongside other potential fines.
  • Data Breach Compensation Costs: If your company suffers a data breach while noncompliant, your company will be responsible for compensation costs alongside other potential fines.
  • Legal Action: If PCI noncompliance leads to a data breach, customers may choose to take legal action. Lawsuits, or multiple lawsuits, are possible in any data breach.
  • Damaged Reputation: Once your company has experienced a data breach, the customers affected may never have the same level of trust in your company again.
  • Revenue Loss: Not only does PCI noncompliance come with financial costs, but any damage to your brand’s reputation can dramatically decrease revenue generation

PCI compliance can be a lengthy and expensive process. However, for companies that store their cardholder data outside their own internal systems, you can dramatically reduce the scope of your PCI audits and easily attain compliance.

How Deets helps you be PCI Compliant​

Using our solutions, the transaction and cardholder data are tokenized. Therefore, merchants do not store or transmit card data through their system, dealing only with non-sensitive data. Thus reducing the PCI compliance scope for your business and your merchants, saving costs, and offering customers a more secure payment experience.