Credit Card Fraud, Security and PCI Compliance

Credit card and check fraud costs consumers, merchants and financial institutions $51 billion a year.* If you are already accepting credit cards, or plan to, you are probably well aware of all the advantages accepting credit cards provides for you, by building your business and giving your customers more payment options. The security of cardholder information is important to both your customers and your business.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created by the five major credit card companies as a guideline to help business owners implement the necessary hardware, software and other procedures to guard sensitive credit card and personal information. PCI DSS is a set of requirements for enhancing payment account data security. PCI compliance means that your business is exhibiting the best practices to prevent cardholder information or data security breaches.

One of the most significant PCI DSS requirements is that merchants may not store magnetic-stripe data after an authorization is obtained on a credit card. So magnetic-stripe data must be purged from your records, and from any system you use, after authorization. Generally, stand-alone dial-up terminals that communicate directly with networks do not store prohibited magnetic-stripe data after authorization. However, if you use payment processing software or have a third-party provider transmit cardholder data, you need to find out about your responsibilities.

The minimum requirement to become PCI compliant is to complete a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) on an annual basis and achieve a passing score. If you electronically store cardholder information or if your processing systems have any Internet connectivity, a quarterly scan by an approved scanning vendor is also required.

The length that a PCI compliance certificate is valid depends on whether your business requires a questionnaire and, where applicable, a scan. If your business requires only the questionnaire, the PCI certification is valid for one year. If your business also requires quarterly scans, the PCI certification is valid for three months, at which time your next quarterly scan will be due.

If your business fails to comply with PCI DSS, you should know that you risk substantial fines—and even risk losing your ability to process credit card payments. First Data Independent Sales (FDIS) has partnered with SecurityMetrics to help you evaluate the status of your account, to assist with any necessary remediation efforts and to certify your account’s PCI compliance. In addition to signing up online at http://securitymetrics.com/validation_type.adp, you can also call SecurityMetrics at 800-557-4684. You’ll need to identify yourself as a merchant of FDIS.

For more information on credit card acceptance and PCI compliance, please call your First Data Independent Sales (FDIS) representative at (800) 616-1899.

Based on your payment processing needs a customized quote is just a phone call away at 1-800-616-1899.  You can also email us at: info@fdis21.com with a brief description of your processing needs and we can come up with the best solution for you.

First Data Independent Sales (FDIS) is a leading provider of secure payment technology and services. So whether your business is brick-and-mortar, on the web, or mobile, FDIS allows you to offer your customers nearly every type of payment option, so you may never turn away a sale.

FDIS uses First Data’s processing engine. First Data makes buying and selling easier. Many of you do business with First Data everyday, although you may not realize it. Whether you're writing a check at the gas station, using your ATM/debit card to pay for groceries, buying a book online, getting cash out of an ATM, paying for dinner with your credit card or using a gift card to purchase something special, chances are your transaction is moved quickly and securely by First Data.

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