Did you know that credit card fraud statistics show that within 2 seconds there’s a new victim of identity theft? Credit card fraud accounted for 393,207 of the nearly 1.4 million reports of identity theft in 2020. Consumers are paying their electric bills and mortgages and dentists, buying groceries and cars and having meals delivered to their doorsteps, all because they can make payments digitally.
Consumer demand is driving digital payments as payment-on-the-go is becoming more of a norm than an exception. As this trend continues to grow, so are the fraud attempts. A recent report published by SAS indicated that the industry has seen an increase of almost 35% in fraud attempts in 2020. What is the solution for safe transactions to make your customers feel confident their payment information is secure? Payment Card Industry compliance (or simply put – PCI compliance). There are 12 PCI compliance requirements set forth by the PCI SSC, we’ll dive into the requirements later, but first here is some more information about PCI compliance and what it means for your business.
PCI standards for compliance are developed and managed by the PCI Security Standards Council. Meeting PCI compliance requirements are mandated by credit card companies to help ensure the security of credit card transactions and include technical and operational standards that businesses need to follow to secure and protect credit card data provided by cardholders and transmitted through card processing transactions. Whether the consumers are making payments online, via POS terminals, or paying using text, compliance with PCI standards ensures that your customers are assured that their payment information is secure.
Now let’s get into the nuts and bolts of PCI compliance and why your business needs to understand the requirements.
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FAQs about PCI compliance requirements for businesses
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements that companies have to follow to keep their data safe. Every company that stores, processes, or transmits credit card information needs to ensure it’s secure.
The 12 PCI compliance requirements are a set of security controls that businesses are required to implement in order to protect credit card data and comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DS). The 12 PCI compliance requirements are as follows:
1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters
3. Protect stored cardholder data
4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
5. Use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to cardholder data by businesses need to know
8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data
10. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
11. Regularly test security systems and processes
12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel
Businesses that accept, store, transmit, or process cardholder data must comply with the PCI DSS. While not federally mandated in the United States, PCI DSS is mandated by the Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council. The council comprises major credit card brands and is an industry-standard.
The PCI DSS applies to ANY organization, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits, or stores any cardholder data. If your business uses an SMS payment service, PCI compliance is built into the offering.
Yes, Birdeye partners with Stripe payments for secure payments that are PCI-compliant so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Stripe’s platform meets the highest certification standards to help reduce compliance burdens for your business and keep payments safe.
Best-in-class security tools and practices
Birdeye Payments is built to meet the highest security standards and is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1 which is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry.
Make everyday payday with Birdeye
Birdeye helps businesses grow through happy customers. Over 150,000 businesses use Birdeye every day to attract new leads with accurate business listings, Reviews, and Referrals, convert them into customers with Webchat, and delight those customers with Surveys, Ticketing, and Insights – all in one place. With Birdeye payments, you can request payments in an ongoing conversation for higher, faster, and more consistent response rates and make it easier for your customers to pay, all while being backed with full PCI compliance. Accept more ways to pay from your customer including, credit, debit, ACH, Apple, Amazon, and Google pay. No matter how they pay, we’ll make sure the transaction is convenient for both you and your customer.
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About the Author
Jody Mayers
Originally published
