Payments security is still a hot topic in the press, and that’s not about to change anytime soon.

Everyone’s talking about credit card and point of sale fraud in the US, and companies are taking every opportunity to ride the current wave and introduce new technology to help eliminate these problems. We’ve discussed the emergence of EMV and Apple Pay among others, but let’s back up a bit and explore the role of the PCI Security Standards Council in maintaining security for merchants and consumers everywhere. Even if you aren’t exactly familiar with PCI compliance, it should certainly be something that you look for when choosing your POS software and equipment. Here’s everything that you need to know about PCI compliance, and what ShopKeep does to ensure that your business is safe.

What is PCI compliance?

PCI compliance is the term used to indicate that a business complies with the payments security requirements established by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

I know, that sounds very confusing, but it’s actually very simple. In 2006, the top payment card companies, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB, formed a group called the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) to create and enforce a universal security standard for payments, for all businesses to follow. This security standard known as the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), ensures that all companies that process, store, or transmit any credit card information follow certain protocols to help maintain a secure environment. That means that every company from your processor and your point of sale software maker, to your payments hardware manufacturer is held to this same exact security standard. A copy of this written standard is available for anyone to view right on the PCI SSC website.

Why is it important for your business?

The standard was established to make sure that all companies that have a hand in your payments process are held accountable for their role in contributing to breaches. More importantly, it helps business owners and consumers know that the companies that they engage with are taking the necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of their personal information, and that of their customers.