PCI compliance and PCI DSS are used interchangeably. PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. The company in charge of PCI DSS standard’s creation is the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council that was formed in December 2004. PCI compliance is an information security standard that businesses must adhere to when they accept payments made by customers through major card companies such as MasterCard and Visa. The standard consists of six milestones that outline the requirements that the businesses must meet in order to be PCI compliant. PCI compliance’s goal is to ensure that any business that transmits, processes, or stores cardholder’s data is able to meet the minimum security levels.
Is PCI DSS Compliance Mandatory?
PCI compliance ensures the cardholders, as well as the card issuers and retailers, are protected. In the U.S. it’s not mandatory as per the federal law. But it must be noted that there are some state laws that make it compulsory for businesses to be PCI DSS compliant. Examples include Washington and Nevada which passed state laws in the year 2010 and 2009 respectively about mandatory PCI compliance from businesses that operated a business in the states. Even if the state laws do not make it compulsory, sometimes the credit card schemes can. There are major credit card schemes that require your business to be PCI compliant after your business expands to a certain level.
If your business is not PCI compliant it can mean that you’re liable if any damages occur due to a breach. It can be a few hundred dollars worth of damage or thousands of dollars. There are chances that if you’re not PCI compliant then you might have to face a lot of trouble from credit card organizations and banks as well. Depending on the breach, you might have to face a lot of problems if you’re not PCI DSS compliant.
Why Is POS PCI Compliance Vital?
Shape Security’s analysis in the year 2018 found that up to a whopping 90% of traffic to online stores was a fraud. When big retailers are found to have suffered a data breach, it not only affects their credibility as a brand but it can have a huge impact on sales in the future as well. Whether you run a small business or a large one, PCI compliance is the need of the hour. If big retailers like Forever 21 have been the target in the past then it means every store that sells online is in their radar and that only means you have to be extra careful with regards to the protection of data. The problem is that security breaches continually take place which means retailers are more at risk.
POS PCI compliance is something that you must consider if you want to stay safe from having to pay thousands of dollars in damage due to data theft. But there’s something more important at the core of all this that many retailers don’t give much thought to. The part that retailers often ignore is the connection between the backend and your POS equipment. While you can have various security measures such as your software being up to date and the computers being up to date, what about the hardware? Since the transaction involves physical equipment, it’s necessary to ensure that the terminal is PCI DSS Compliant as well.
Shopify offers a POS solution that’s PCI compliant. Shopify is Level 1 PCI compliant which means it provides the highest form of protection possible. Level 1 PCI DSS compliance is used by banks to provide protection to the customers. Shopify POS makes it easy for you to accept payments from your customers through an iPad and you can rest assured that the data they enter when they pay is extremely safe. This provides security to you and your customers at the same time. When your POS is PCI DSS compliant it ensures that every single transaction is fully protected.
If you want to save yourself from any cyber-attack then you should be PCI compliant. While it may seem overwhelming at first, it’s well worth an investment because it can save you a lot down the line. PCI DSS compliance is extremely important for your business, as it provides you with fundamental protection at the most basic level. In addition, making sure that your POS is PCI compliant will ensure that you can accept payments safely. Your customers, your brand, and your credibility as a brand will be protected when you’re PCI DSS compliant.
