It’s a dodgy world out there on the Internet. Few malicious individuals around the world are constantly trying to gain access to governmental and business organizations’ systems to extract and use valuable data. Several years ago, the major card-issuing brands Like -VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, JCB etc, got together to form the Payment Card Industry ( now –PCI ) Standards Council.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a worldwide information security standard, formed by the Council that provide a stringent actionable structure for developing a tough payment card data security process.
This applies to all organizations that process, transmit or store cardholder data from any card branded by one of the Council’s brand members.
In this article we will exclusively address the PCI requirements related to ecommerce transactions.
Building your own e-commerce shopping cart, do you need PCI Compliance?
Any entity which carries out transactions to receive payments from customers, who use their credit cards, needs to be PCI compliant. Even if your e-commerce cart uses a 3rd party service like PayPal, Google Checkout, you still need to be PCI compliant because your business (not necessarily your website) receives payments via credit card.
Should you worry About PCI Compliance?
Yes, you should! Some IT Specialists browbeat that making your Websites PCI Compliant is a mere drop in the ocean when it comes to Website and Data Security. There’s nothing in this world that could be called completely secure or assure that would not fail. What PCI does, it creates a Guttering Mechanism around your dream house. Will this guarantee that the water will never drip on your walls? NO. But it will surely protect your house from the torment of both rain and water. PCI is only a stepping stone for the security of your online business.
What if you are not PCI compliant?
If you do not meet the PCI standards for obedience and the protection of your shopping cart gets compromised, you will face penalties and fines ranging from $5,000 to $500,000.
These costs only denote the initial damages caused by the non-compliance.
If you are looking to save a few quid, you run the risk of losing your merchant account. This only means that you won’t be able to accept credit card payments at all. You will be noted in the in the Visa/MasterCard Terminated Merchant File (TMF), this will make you illegible to obtain any other merchant account at least for a good few years.
The TMF is an online BLACKLIST which is almost impossible to be removed from. This list maintains a match File which stores your name, business name, business address and home address. So you won’t just be able to apply for a new license under any other family member or business partner because it will flash as the same business and location. This is like a Curse to your shopping cart.
What Level of PCI Compliance do you need?
As per the PCI compliant, your e-shopping cart that accepts, processes, or stores credit card data should look after the privacy and confidentiality of this information. The Main reason PCI was introduced was to increase the control of cardholder data to reduce credit card theft and fraudulence. Even though the success stories of PCI are ever-increasing, some websites are still under-prepared or less armed. You need an extremely vigilant e-commerce shopping cart developed and handled by team of skilled developers that guarantee 100% support round the clock.
In order to achieve this, your e-commerce cart needs to be aligned to following steps:-
1. Build and Maintain a Secure Network
2. Protect cardholder data
3. Maintain a strong Vulnerability Management Program
4. Schedule regular Scans to Ensure Data Security
5. Implement strong access control Measures
6. Strictly monitor And Test Networks
How do I become PCI Compliant?
- Start off by a Self-Assessment Questionnaire :It will help you self-asses your Information Technology and payment processing environment as per the standards.
- Go through a Vulnerability Scan :According to how you process payments and the Internet connection, network vulnerability scanning may also be required.
- The Questionnaire and Scan will help you identify any weakness or vulnerabilities of your existing system. Passing these two test, will enable you to become complaint to PCI in no time.
Do you offer the best checkout experience?
The Best e-commerce shopping cart ensures a great checkout experience!
AvactisNext is a next generation product designed for every e-shopping cart with full PCI DSS-compliant for all offline and online payment methods. It strictly adheres to all the above mentioned steps for a successful integration into your e-commerce business models. One doesn’t need to compromise on the quality or the accountability of the overall check-out procedure. To enable a great online shopping experience, Visit us at http://www.avactis.com/pci_compliance.php.
Kalpana Dogra
Digital Marketing Executive-”AvactisNext’
[email protected]
