Do you know what PCI DSS Compliance means? If not, don’t worry. Many business owners don’t know a lot about it, as well.
However, let me tell you now: With the business landscape we have at this moment—PCI Compliance is something that we business owners should have a deeper understanding of.
Why?
Because PCI DSS Compliance actually has a lot of implications on your business. In fact, it may even lead to significant profits—or losses—on your part.
Yes, this topic is a serious one…and we need to take it seriously.
What is PCI DSS Compliance?
PCI DSS compliance means complying with Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS).
These standards are actually designed for one thing: To combat the ongoing increase of credit card fraud due to data breach.
Yes—if you read the papers, you’ll see that a lot of businesses out there have been made victims of credit card fraud.
What makes matters worse, is that the number of victims seems to keep on rising.
In fact, some experts suggest that being a victim of credit card fraud is not a matter of “if” anymore. With the way things have gone, being victimized by credit card fraudsters has now become a matter of “when.”
Think about it: Some of the biggest businesses today (tip: Google “Target credit card fraud”) have lost lots and lots of money because of this problem. And if nothing is done about it, chances are it can lead to more problems soon.
Incidentally, that’s why PCI DSS compliance has been put into place.
For businesses, PCI DSS is a security standard that can help them avoid the untoward risks associated with data breach.
Do you accept credit or debit card payments? Do you have online transactions? Are you storing or transmitting your customers’ credit card information?
If your answer is “yes” to any or all of these questions then, all the more, you should ensure that you’re PCI DSS compliant.
If you are a business that accepts payments electronically or via credit cards (or similar payment methods), you need to make sure that you comply with the PCI Council’s standards.
Otherwise, you might be penalized. Worse, you might be made to pay for your customers’ losses. And considering how expensive and financially burdensome being an entrepreneur is today, that’s certainly not good news.
Why Do Businesses Need to Be PCI DSS Compliant?
Because, being part of the business world, you need to take part in minimizing this increasing problem of credit card fraud and data breach.
These PCI DSS standards have set various security features, in order to find out if a particular credit card transaction is actually legitimate or not. In effect, it allows you to stop the problem, when it happens.
One of the more notable features of PCI DSS compliance is the use of EMV readers. These readers are designed to read “smart cards,” which is a new type of credit card that has been embedded with various security features designed to determine if credit card fraud is taking place.
Businesses that don’t have the required EMV readers who end up accepting payments from stolen or counterfeit credit cards are usually made to answer for the loss of the actual owner, and are usually penalized with a hefty fine.
So, if you are business owner, and you accept payments (which you obviously do), then you should take the necessary steps to be PCI compliant. Otherwise, you might end up losing a lot of money (instead of earning more).
Are you PCI DSS Compliant?
Tell me: Have you taken the PCI DSS compliance measures to protect your business from hackers and credit card fraudsters?
If not, then please do take the time to comply with these standards.
Your business depends on it.
Now, if you’re a bit overwhelmed and getting confused on what to do—don’t worry. We at RedFynn are equipped with the expertise and experience to help you out on this matter.
Yes, we have helped quite a number businesses get their PCI DSS compliance “badge,” and we’ll be more than willing to help you out as well.
We even have a dedicated PCI consultant, just for you.
Just give us a call at (888) 510-9871 and we’ll be glad work this out with you.
We also deal with business growth and fine tuning, so if you have any questions about merchant services, payment processing, cash on demand, EMV compliance, accounting, or even loyalty programs, just let us know.
We have an A+ BBB rating for a reason!
