Q: What is PCI?
A: The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Essentially any merchant that has a Merchant ID (MID).
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was launched on September 7, 2006 to manage the ongoing evolution of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards with focus on improving payment account security throughout the transaction process. The PCI DSS is administered and managed by the PCI SSC (www.pcisecuritystandards.org), an independent body that was created by the major payment card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB.).
It is important to note that the payment brands and acquirers are responsible for enforcing compliance, not the PCI council.
A copy of the PCI DSS is available here.
Q: To whom does PCI apply?
A: PCI applies to ANY organization or merchant, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits or stores any cardholder data. Said another way, if any customer of that organization ever pays the merchant directly using a credit card or debit card, then the PCI DSS requirements apply.
Q: Where can I find the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)?
A: The current PCI DSS documents can be found on the PCI Security Standards Council Website
Q: What are the PCI compliance ‘levels’ and how are they determined?
A: All merchants will fall into one of the four merchant levels based on Visa transaction volume over a 12-month period. Transaction volume is based on the aggregate number of Visa transactions (inclusive of credit, debit and prepaid) from a merchant Doing Business As (‘DBA’). In cases where a merchant corporation has more than one DBA, Visa acquirers must consider the aggregate volume of transactions stored, processed or transmitted by the corporate entity to determine the validation level. If data is not aggregated, such that the corporate entity does not store, process or transmit cardholder data on behalf of multiple DBAs, acquirers will continue to consider the DBA’s individual transaction volume to determine the validation level.
Merchant levels as defined by Visa:
| Merchant Level | Description |
| 1 | Any merchant — regardless of acceptance channel — processing over 6M Visa transactions per year. Any merchant that Visa, at its sole discretion, determines should meet the Level 1 merchant requirements to minimize risk to the Visa system. |
| 2 | Any merchant — regardless of acceptance channel — processing 1M to 6M Visa transactions per year. |
| 3 | Any merchant processing 20,000 to 1M Visa e-commerce transactions per year. |
| 4 | Any merchant processing fewer than 20,000 Visa e-commerce transactions per year, and all other merchants — regardless of acceptance channel — processing up to 1M Visa transactions per year. |
* Any merchant that has suffered a hack that resulted in an account data compromise may be escalated to a higher validation level.
Source: http://usa.visa.com/merchants/risk_management/cisp_merchants.html
Q: What does a small-to-medium sized business (Level 4 merchant) have to do in order to satisfy the PCI DSS v3.0 requirements?
A: To satisfy the requirements of PCI, a merchant must complete the following steps:
- Determine which Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) your business should use to validate compliance. See the chart below to help you select.
(Click chart to enlarge.)
- Complete the Self-Assessment Questionnaire according to the instructions it contains.
- Complete and obtain evidence of a passing vulnerability scan with a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV). Notescanning does not apply to all merchants. It is required for SAQ A-EP, SAQ B-IP, SAQ C, SAQ D-Merchant and SAQ D-Service Provider.
- Complete the relevant Attestation of Compliance in its entirety (located in the SAQ tool).
- Submit the SAQ, evidence of a passing scan (if applicable), and the Attestation of Compliance, along with any other requested documentation, to your acquirer.
Q: If I only accept credit cards over the phone, does PCI still apply to me?
A: Yes. All business that store, process or transmit payment cardholder data must be PCI Compliant.
Q: Do organizations using third-party processors have to be PCI compliant?
A: Yes. Merely using a third-party company does not exclude a company from PCI compliance. It may cut down on their risk exposure and consequently reduce the effort to validate compliance. However, it does not mean they can ignore PCI.
Q: My business has multiple locations, is each location required to validate PCI Compliance?
A: If your business locations process under the same Tax ID, then typically you are only required to validate once annually for all locations. And, submit quarterly passing network scans by an PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), if applicable.
Q: Are debit card transactions in scope for PCI?
A: In-scope cards include any debit, credit, and pre-paid cards branded with one of the five card association/brand logos that participate in the PCI SSC – American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, and Visa International.
Q: Am I PCI compliant if I have an SSL certificate?
A: No. SSL certificates do not secure a Web server from malicious attacks or intrusions. High assurance SSL certificates provide the first tier of customer security and reassurance such as the below.
- A secure connection between the customer’s browser and the web server
- Validation that the Website operators are a legitimate, legally accountable organization
Q: What are the penalties for non-compliance?
A: The payment brands may, at their discretion, fine an acquiring bank $5,000 to $100,000 per month for PCI compliance violations. The banks will most likely pass this fine along until it eventually hits the merchant. Furthermore, the bank will also most likely either terminate your relationship or increase transaction fees. Penalties are not openly discussed nor widely publicized, but they can be catastrophic to a small business.
It is important to be familiar with your merchant account agreement, which should outline your exposure.
Q: What is defined as ‘cardholder data’?
A: The PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) defines ‘cardholder data’ as the full Primary Account Number (PAN) or the full PAN along with any of the following elements:
- Cardholder name
- Expiration date
- Service code
Sensitive Authentication Data, which must also be protected, includes full magnetic stripe data, CAV2, CVC2, CVV2, CID, PINs, PIN blocks and more.
Q: Do I need vulnerability scanning to validate compliance?
A: If you qualify for certain Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs) or you electronically store cardholder data post authorization, then a quarterly scan by a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) is required to maintain compliance. If you qualify for any of the following SAQs under version 3.0 of the PCI DSS, then you are required to have a passing ASV scan:
- SAQ A-EP
- SAQ B-IP
- SAQ C
- SAQ D-Merchant
- SAQ D-Service Provider
Q: What is a vulnerability scan?
A: A vulnerability scan involves an automated tool that checks a merchant or service provider’s systems for vulnerabilities. The tool will conduct a non-intrusive scan to remotely review networks and Web applications based on the external-facing Internet protocol (IP) addresses provided by the merchant or service provider. The scan identifies vulnerabilities in operating systems, services and devices that could be used by hackers to target the company’s private network. As provided by an Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV’s) such as ControlScan, the scan does not require the merchant or service provider to install any software on their systems, and no denial-of-service attacks will be performed.
Q: How often do I have to have a vulnerability scan?
A: Every 90 days/once per quarter, those who fit the above criteria are required to submit a passing scan. Merchants and service providers should submit compliance documentation (successful scan reports) according to the timetable determined by their acquirer. Scans must be conducted by a PCI SSC Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) such asControlScan.
Q: What if my business refuses to cooperate?
A: PCI is not, in itself, a law. The standard was created by the major card brands Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX and JCB. At their acquirers’/service providers’ discretion, merchants that do not comply with PCI DSS may be subject to fines, card replacement costs, costly forensic audits, brand damage, etc., should a breach event occur.
For a little upfront effort and cost to comply with PCI, you greatly help reduce your risk from facing these extremely unpleasant and costly consequences.
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