Credit Card Processing PCI Compliance: What can you do to protect cardholder data and meet security standards?
There is no easier way to become PCI Compliant than working with the experts at APS Payments. Back in the old days, criminals would rob banks and trains full of cold hard cash. These days, criminals try to steal credit and payment card data from exposed networks among other modern-day tactics that leave companies and card holders vulnerable. They are constantly searching for victims. Thankfully, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was developed in accordance to credit card processing PCI Compliance standards with several layers of protection against theft. Here are 12 steps you can take to protect your cardholder data and facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures on a global scale.
For more information referenced in this blog, please review this document: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/PCI_DSS_v3-2.pdf. PCI DSS provides a set of security standards to follow in order to protect payment account data. PCI DSS applies to all entities involved in payment card processing—including merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers, and service providers. PCI DSS also applies to all other entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data (CHD) and/or sensitive authentication data (SAD).
12 High Level Steps Toward Credit Card Processing PCI Compliance:
- Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
- Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other
security parameters - Protect stored cardholder data
- Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
- Protect all systems against malware and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
- Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
- Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
- Identify and authenticate access to system components
- Restrict physical access to cardholder data
- Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
- Regularly test security systems and processes
- Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel
For more details on these 12 steps, follow the PCI DSS requirements and testing procedures outlined on page 20-115 of the PCI DSS document provided here:
This document, PCI Data Security Standard Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures, combines the 12 PCI DSS requirements and corresponding testing procedures into a security assessment tool. It is designed for use during PCI DSS compliance assessments as part of an entity’s validation process.
To get your business protected with credit card processing PCI Compliance, you can also hire an expert like the team at APS Payments. We help remove the headache of compliance and work on your behalf to reduce any fees you’ve collected.
Contact APS Payments today to find out how they can keep your company PCI compliant and help you streamline your payments.
APS Payments enables you to cut costs and offers the following streamlined credit card processing features:
- Convenient 24 hour access to payment processing and reporting
- Automated recurring billing
- Improved cash flow
- Fraud detection and prevention (volume thresholds, risk parameters)
- Reduce invoicing costs
- No additional licensing fees
- Virtual Terminals (no integration needed, no software to install, simply use your web browser to securely log in to process transactions)
- Credit card tokenization for secure access to future customer transactions
- Real-time Payment Gateway
- Level 3 supported gateway for US accounts, (significant savings for business to government or business to business transactions)
- Batch processing when real time approvals are not required
- PCI-DSS compliant at no additional cost
- Some of the lowest American Express fees in the entire industry!
- Next Day Funding including American Express making reconciliation process easier
