What is PCI Compliance?
PCI Compliance is maintaining adherence to the PCI DSS standard that was developed by major credit card companies as a “guideline to help prevent credit card fraud” ("PCI DSS"). Credit card fraud has taken the spotlight in the past several years due to the massive growth of e-commerce and online transaction processing. With the proliferation of e-businesses, it has become easier than ever to commit fraud over the internet.
Major credit card issuers such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and JCB International joined together to create a standard known as PCI DSS or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. In order to process credit card payments merchants and vendors are required to be
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In September of 2006 the PCI Data Security Standard was updated to version 1.1 which is currently in-use today. The PCI Security Council works to promote the broad industry adoption of this standard, and also generates tools to assist companies in complying with these standards. Some of the tools are guidelines, scanning requirements, and even a self-assessment questionnaire.
Before the PCI Security Council and Data Security Standard existed, each of the five credit card issuers had their own internal extensive compliance policies. But vendors or merchants who wanted to process more than one type of credit card would have to comply with requirements defined by each card issuer. By coming together under the umbrella of the PCI Security Council these major brands were able to codify their corporate standards into a public standard, and place pressure on organizations that process credit transactions to protect cardholder data against fraud and theft.
The founding organizations not only developed this standard, but also incorporated these standards into their own data security compliance programs. All five organizations share equally in governing the council; have equal input regarding issues; and all the organizations share responsibility for maintaining the PCI Data Security Standard.
Case Study: TJX Companies
In March of 2007, just last year, TJX Companies, owner of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s revealed the extent of damage of a number of
If you have ever bought something over the internet and used a credit card you may not have thought how secure is my information? Is this vendor someone I can trust with my credit card number? Will they inform me if my information is lost or stolen by them? These questions and many more can be answered by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS compliance requirements are strictly enforced by the payment card brands to all merchants who transmit, store, or process credit card information. The main goals or objectives of PCI DSS are: build and maintain a secure network that is PCI compliant; protect cardholder data; maintain a vulnerability management program; implement strong access control measures; regularly
The Commission then prepares draft standards using information from technical advisory panels, focus groups, experts and other stakeholders. The draft accreditation standards are reviewed by field-specific Professional and Technical Advisory Committees, which are experts from the outside. The certification and accreditation standards are reviewed by Standards & Survey Procedures Committee. Then, the draft standards are distributed nationally for review and made available for comment on the page of the Joint Commission
PCI DSS is not a law. Instead, it is a standard that was jointly created by several credit card companies. Any organization that accepts credit card payments over the Internet needs to comply with PCI DSS..
Anti-fraud programs are now implemented under the Sarbanes-Oxley by all companies registered to conduct business in the United States. Such programs are closely monitored, evaluated and audited annually by the regulatory agencies to ensure and enforce compliance with the law.
On April 27, 2014 Michael’s CEO Chuck Rubin reported that criminals used highly sophisticated malware to infect some of the point-of-sale (POS) systems resulting in the theft of card related information including payments numbers & expiration dates (Michaels, 2014). The term POS system is used to describe the technology used by consumers to provide their payment information in exchange for a good or service. The primary stakeholders for today’s POS systems are consumers, merchants, acquirer, card brand companies,
U.S. consumers remain addicted to credit. Consumer debt continues to rise to record levels and a significant number of households have lost control of their finances. Credit cards can be a useful financial tool when used appropriately. However, research clearly indicates that consumers are not using credit cards wisely and consumers do not understand the terms and conditions of the credit card contract. Adding to this public dilemma, the practices of numerous credit card issuers have been described as predatory. The Credit CARD Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, also known as the Credit CARD Act of 2009, is the first major reform of the credit card industry since the Truth in Lending Act of 1968. The Credit CARD Act of
1. Relate a real-world case study on the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) standard noncompliance and its implications.
The major credit card companies formed the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. This council was created to combat lack of security, hackers, and misuse of cardholder information. The council
Filed in 2005, Visa Interchange challenged on antitrust grounds the legality of three credit card practices: the mandatory default interchange fees that merchants must pay for every transaction; the Honor all Cards/Issuers rules that require merchants who accept Visa and MasterCard-branded credit cards to accept all cards of that brand; and, anti-steering restraints that prohibit merchants from using price signals at the point of sale to steer customers to less costly forms of payment (e.g., discounting and surcharging). A following is a summary of those original allegations:
The major routes of fraud which is contrary for merchants who sale and ship products are the mail and the internet as they affect legitimate mail-order and Internet merchants. The card should be present (called CNP, card not present) so the merchant can trust the issuer (or someone purporting to be so) issuers present their information in any way they
In response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the United States government was charged with reforming many financial systems. One area of concern was credit cards. Namely, many Americans faced financial troubles with credit debt and other credit card related issues. In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act). The goal of the Credit CARD Act was to protect consumers from dubious credit card issuers. The legislation enacted intends to make the credit card system more transparent and supervised in addition to certain consumer protections. The Credit CARD Act was a major shift in the way credit card issuers were allowed to operate, and most—if not all—credit card issuing
Purchase team members showed strong support for P-card program at UVic and believed that additional transactions (AGR) could be brought soon under the umbrella of P-Cards. They were found supportive to the requirements of changes to P-Card program and have initiated some work towards new features
The PCI DSS means the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard which controls what happens if there is a data breach. It depends depends on how many credit card numbers were breached, what was the source of the breach, how detailed the level of investigation required, and what was the merchant’s PCI compliance status. If you are a validated PCI compliant merchant and are using a PCI compliant online ordering system then the chance of your being breached is considerably
Visa Inc. (VN) operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network and manages the world’s most recognized global financial services brand. Visa has more branded credit and debit cards in circulation, more transactions and greater total volume than any of their competitors. They facilitate global commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. They provide financial institutions, their primary customers, with product platforms encompassing consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments. Visa Net, their secure, centralized, global processing platform, enables them to provide financial institutions and
Visa is a company with high market share and as the first card network in the United States, they are already experienced in this industry. Internally, the company has already created a system that sticks or rather an operating system that makes them the top player in this industry. However, externally, there is inevitable change and opportunities that the company should address.