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PCI Standards

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More than once we’ve talked about PCI compliance standards and PCI guidelines. Basically, PCI standards are one and the same with PCI compliance and PCI guidelines. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council has set forth a list of criteria were “standards” to which business owners must adhere in order to continue with e-commerce.

Are you in compliance with the current standards that are set in these times of needed security? You must ask this question daily. You and your business needs to be in charge of security for yourself and your customers.

Why has the PCI Council set forth a series of PCI standards? The answer is pretty clear cut — because identity theft has become one of the most rapidly growing and problematic issues to date. In fact, identity theft is a problem crime that’s growing at astronomical rates worldwide. As such, the development of PCI standards seeks only to protect businesses and consumers from would be ID thieves.

PCI standards vary from merchant to merchant based on specific merchant levels. These merchant levels are derived from a series of criteria that were compiled by the PCI Council. Depending upon which merchant level your business carries, you’re PCI standards may vary from that of a different merchant. However, if you plan to continue in e-commerce or you have aspirations of accepting credit card or debit card payments through your website, you will be required to know and adhere to your specific PCI standards.

Today, there is a wide variety of tools designed to help businesses comply to PCI standards. PCI scanners and PCI vulnerability tools are relatively easy to find and can end up saving merchants lots of money and heartache in the long run. In as much as PCI scanning can protect merchants from these scams, it can also protect and save you and your consumers a substantial amount of time and money over the long haul as well.

Statistics indicate that victims of identity theft spend around 600 hours trying to correct all of the problems caused by the crime. This is an increase of over 2000% in the last three years. With technology becoming more advanced, crime is becoming more advanced as well. As such, in order to stay ahead of the thieves, the PCI standards set forth by the PCI Council are becoming mandatory.

It’s also notable that the utilization of tools to help businesses adhere to the PCI standards set forth by the PCI Council is also an excellent marketing tool. In fact, many consumers agree that if a company can provide them constant and consistent safe and secure transactions, they will very likely become repeat customers. It stands to reason that protecting your customers is an act of good faith and also helps to instill confidence in the consumer that you are a reputable business owner, who cares about the client’s needs.

It is possible to learn more about PCI standards and what it takes to be PCI compliant. You will find that, especially as a merchant, questions are readily answered in order to help you best serve yourself and your customers. It’s also important to note that even if you are a sole proprietor, any transaction made over the Internet must adhere to PCI standards.

The time is now, and if not today then tomorrow. It is time to be in charge of your security and to be in compliance with the current standards set forth.


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