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Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance refers to the adherence of an outlined set of procedures and policies set by the PCI Data Security Standard. These standards were developed for all organizations that process, store, and transmit information related to debit, credit, and cash card transactions.
Created by the world’s largest card associations, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, PCI DSS outlines comprehensive data security measures and rules to prevent data leaks and subsequent misuse of cardholder information.
Since 2004, organizations involved in handling cardholder data have had to follow these standards to prevent data misuse and protect cardholder information.
Over the years, the standard has evolved to keep up with evolving threats. PCI DSS v4.0 came into effect on March 31, 2024, and full enforcement will happen a year later. Compliance with updated standards is mandatory for all card brands. However, some parts of the standard may only be applicable to certain organizations as requirements vary depending on how your business processes card transactions.
Credit card companies generally mandate PCI compliance. Legally, some US states (Minnesota, Washington, and Nevada) have incorporated PCI compliance into state laws, making PCI compliance mandatory for these states. However, compliance with PCI standards is not always mandatory by law. Although compliance is legally optional in other states and jurisdictions, failure to comply with PCI standards could result in fines, penalties, and stricter regulation by card providers and acquiring banks.
Any organization involved in processing card transactions and providing payment services should comply with PCI standards. Compliance is necessary if you are:
Failure to comply with PCI standards can result in higher risk of account compromise and may result in fines and penalties for your business.
PCI compliance is not only necessary for merchants accepting customer payments, businesses using accounts payable automation should also consider compliance with these standards when selecting their software provider.
Companies using automation for payment processing should ensure that their payment service provider is PCI compliant. Working with PCI-compliant providers reduces the risk of fraud for your organization. Card brands maintain a registry of service providers who are PCI-DSS compliant, you can also ask the provider to present their compliance documentation.
Specific requirements for every card brand can vary. However, organizations need to comply with 12 requirements identified by the PCI Security Standards Council.
Based on these guidelines, organizations can follow these steps:
Since PCI requires continuous compliance with updated standards, organizations have to conduct annual self-assessment or independent verification that your organization adheres to the standards. Validation requirements vary based on the card network and the transaction volume handled by your organization.
As organizations upgrade accounts payable systems to make vendor payments faster and more efficient, so should payment security measures. Combine AP automation with PCI-compliant payment partners to increase security against fraud, decrease the chances of data breaches, and protect your organization’s reputation.
Make SoftcoPay part of your accounts payable automation process to increase visibility into invoices while creating a faster but more seamless way to settle vendor invoices through secure channels that comply with PCI standards.