What Means to Be PCI Certified?
The first thing that you need to know is what PCI DSS means. The full name is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. And any business that has access to the card data of their clients must Be PCI compliant. So, if your business accepts payments made with bank cards, then it must be PCI certified.
The standard had appeared due to a collaboration between big payment card brands such as MasterCard American Express, Visa, and others. It is in your best interest to make everything in your power and become compliant with this standard. It has two main goals, which will help both your business and your customers.
• Increased security. Once you are compliant with this standard means that your anti-theft defenses are very high. This means that no one will be able to your business’s money. So, your protection will be top-notch, and you do not have to fear anyone that will try to hack your systems and steal private information.
• Protect your customers. The second and most important goal is to protect your customers. High security does not only mean that your business's private information is safe, but also the card data of your customers is also safe. You will be able to safely receive payments through bank cards without fearing that your clients’ information may be stolen by someone.
PCI compliance is an essential part of every business that receives payments through credit cards. It is also an evolving standard which you need to always be up to date with. Every change that it's made will make it better, and all businesses must follow it and continuously improve their defense. If you are not able to keep up with the changes then your compliance may be cut off. So, you must always keep an eye on the changes in this standard.
How Can Your Business Become PCI Compliant?
If your business stores, process, or transmits payment card data, then it is mandatory to become PCI compliant . To do that, you have two choices. You can either follow the process by yourself and invest a lot of time and effort to pass the tests. Or, you can use the services offered by a merchant service provider. Through this method, you will be helped by an expert in the field. This will make your job much easier, and you will not have to lose so much time and invest so much effort.
The process itself is made from two steps that you need to follow. As mentioned above, the standards evolve regularly. So, your security will also have to increase. So, these two steps will also be repeated again and again.
• Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). This is a questionnaire that you can complete online. It has the goal to find out if you take proper care and precaution. It will determine if the card data processed by your company is safe and protected. The simplest method is to have help from an expert in a payment processing company. This type of questionnaire must be completed yearly. This is necessary because changes may appear, and you need to always be prepared.
• Security scans if your systems are connected to the internet. Only two methods can be used to steal the data of your clients' cards. The first method is thorough direct access to your systems. And the second method is by hackers through the use of the internet. This means that your systems must be quarterly scanned by a PCI-Certified Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV). Top payment processing companies will also have partners that can conduct these scans.
What Are the Advantages That a PCI Certified Business Has?
Besides the increase in safety, becoming PCI certified will also offer you some extra advantages. If you can properly make use of your compliance, then you can grow your business much faster than you could ever do without having it. From all the extra advantages, there are 3 of them which will have the biggest effect on your business and they can be used to drastically increase the growth rate of your business.
• Reputation. It is known how big the impact of a business’s reputation over its growth is. If you have a negative reputation, then your business’s sales will drop, and it will be much harder to find new clients. On the other hand, if you have a positive reputation, then it will be easier to find new clients. You will also be able to keep your current clients for a longer period. The good news is that you can use your status as a compliant business to increase your reputation positively.
• Trustworthiness. Trustworthiness is one of the cornerstones of every successful business. It is one of the core values that every business needs to have. A client that trusts your business will always choose to do business with you instead of your competition. For this reason, one of your main goals should be that of gaining the trust of your potential clients. But it does not matter how trustworthy you are if your clients will not feel safe making payment to you through their cards. The best method to avoid this type of problem is to become compliant as fast as possible. Then, it will be easier to gain the trust of your client, and they will feel safe making payments with their bank cards.
• Higher sales. The main goal of any business is to make more money. And the essential method to do that is through sales. If you can become compliant, then you will also be able to receive payments through the biggest payment card brands. This means that the number of your potential clients will increase as well. In the long term, your sales will grow much faster than in the past, and you will be able to make a much higher profit than it will cost you to become compliant.
