D
on’t Take Chances with PCI Compliance
by Jackie Steed
If your business accepts or processes credit cards, it MUST comply with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards). All businesses and merchants that store, process and/ or transmit cardholder information are now REQUIRED to be PCI Compliant or be faced with hefty fines and devastating penalties.
PCI Compliance can be achieved with a simple self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that helps identify PCI vulnerabilities, yet only about 20% of all merchants have actually done so. This means a majority of merchants have not only failed to take the necessary steps toward PCI compliance, but are probably being penalized with PCI non-compliance fees. Although your processor should be guiding you towards becoming compliant, it is ultimately your responsibility.
The PCI Security Standards Council developed this set of security standards to protect cardholder data and reduce payment card compromises and data theft by helping secure sensitive information and reduce vulnerability to attacks.
Merchants are first in line for fines: A pizza restaurant that unknowingly stored 15,000 credit card numbers on their POS system was hacked by overseas criminals who stole the numbers. The restaurant was fined over $300,000 by a payment brand for PCI non-compliance and the breach. The fine put the restaurant out of business.
It was never revealed to the merchant to what extent the stolen cards were used, if at all. In other words, the process of ascertaining and levying these fines does not take into account the actual fraud committed. Instead, the fine is often calculated as a function of the cost of replacing the stolen card numbers, which is about $36 per card account.
By being PCI Compliant, you will take the first steps to protect your business from fraud and, in turn, not be liable to a security breach. Furthermore, customers feel more secure when they see a PCI Compliant logo on a website. This can increase business and ensure customer satisfaction. Don’t take chances. Spend 15 minutes of your time to complete the SAQ now! For more information please attend our monthly SBDC seminar, March 14th 9am at the Temecula Valley Entrepreneur’s Exchange, RSVP by calling (866) 509-7199 ext. 3058 as space is limited.
Jackie Steed is the Business Development Manager at The National Merchants Association (NMA), a nationwide Association dedicated to reducing the unnecessary fees involved with credit card processing. As a member of The National Merchants Association you not only save on your merchant processing, but you gain a partner in business development. To find out more, visit www.nationalmerchants.org or call (866) 509-7199.