If your business accepts credit cards, then you are likely aware of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS). …And if you’re not, you should be. PCI is a series of requirements mandating that all credit-card-accepting merchants transmit and store credit card data securely. Originating in 2006, PCI DSS is managed by the PCI Security Standards Council which includes agents from all major card brands (like AMEX, Discover, MasterCard and Visa). Every business that accepts credit cards MUST be compliant with PCI DSS.
PCI DSS contains four levels; these levels group merchants based on the number of credit card transactions they perform in a twelve month period. The levels are:
- Level 1: More than 6 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year
- Level 2: 1 to 6 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year
- Level 3: 20 thousand to 1 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year
- Level 4: 20 thousand or fewer Visa or MasterCard transactions per year
With the staggering numbers of security breaches, credit card fraud cases, identity theft, and data loss every year, it is the merchant’s responsibility to protect consumer data. If PCI is a critical part of your business, then steps should be taken to ensure secure credit card transactions and keep consumer confidence. Keeping up with PCI standards will show you are taking the necessary steps to keep your consumer data safe.
Determining an effective strategy for maintaining PCI compliance is critical to mitigating credit card processing security risks. The good news is that EarthLink Business can help you comply with PCI DSS! Our new PCI Compliance Validation service helps small, medium and large retailers meet PCI compliance requirements. As an added bonus we also offer data breach protection of up to $100,000 per location to reimburse merchants if customer credit card data is ever breached. EarthLink’s service provides simple tools to help your company validate your PCI compliance, including:
- Credit card data security policy
- Web-based PCI compliance training
- Quarterly Authorized Scan Vendor (ASV) scans
- Online data security self-assessment
- Access to an online knowledge base for PCI compliance
Don’t put your business at risk! Understand PCI DSS and reach out to your EarthLink representative today to find out more about how EarthLink Business can help!
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