Merchant Account PCI Compliance
The payment industry is complex, and business owners need more than the basics to manage a merchant account effectively. Its also important to keep up-to-date with the latest regulations from compliance agencies, and understand how rulings impact your merchant account.
What is the PCI Security Standards Council and What Do they Do?
The PCI Security Standards Council was formed in 2006 by five major payment brands including American Express, Discover Financial, JCB, Mastercard International and Visa Inc. They create a standard body and security framework for how to protect cardholder data based on its transmission — whether its processed, stored or just transmitted over a network. In addition, they create security programs to protect cardholder data.
The council felt it would be easier for merchants with a set of rules and industry-accepted best practices, and offer additional data and financial protections. Each individual payment type still has a specific compliance program, but the PCI Council offers the merchant an opportunity to voice their opinions and ideas about those requirements how they comply directly with merchant or payment banks.
What do Merchants Need to Know?
Each business model has different security and compliance requirements. For example, if a merchant outsources all processing to a third party, the third party must demonstrate compliance with the merchant bank, and merchants then have a limited scope of operation.
However, if a merchant develops their own applications for online credit card processing and manages their own network to transfer sensitive data, they are obligated to work within stricter PCI Data Security Standards.
The PCI council offers a list of approved commercial products to reduce compliance efforts, and merchants should check the list to be sure their programs meet Payment Application Data Security Standards. This saves merchants time and the headache of spending money to retro-fit applications for compliance.
Most importantly, merchants must always think about data security. It makes sense to outsource to a service provider with a security skill set and fundamental understanding of the payment process. This saves time and money, and the need to create a dedicated IT department.
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Are you shopping for a better rate? Let us save you money!
Most merchants are unaware that interchange rates are adjusted as much as 2x per year. Over the course of several years, those adjustments can hike up a merchant’s rate and cost the merchant thousands in processing fees. Contact us via the form above, or call us today at 888-383-8056. Chances are, we can save you up to 25% over your existing rates and fees!
Why do businesses choose to work with The Transaction Group?
- We aim for 100% customer satisfaction. We understand that the customer comes first. At the end of the day, if the customer is not happy, we’re not happy.
- We offer a FREE rate analysis to every business. In most cases, we can save a business up to 25% on existing rates and fees. But if we can’t beat a customer’s rate, we’re upfront from the start. We don’t waste the customer’s time.
- We are reliable and always available. If a customer has any concerns, we’re available even after business hours. We’ll address any issues immediately.
- We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all.We provide solutions based on the specific requirements of each and every business. What’s best for one small business may not work for another.
- We have a fast & easy setup process. In most cases, we offer a fast and easy approval and set up. While some high risk businesses can have longer underwriting times, we keep the customer informed throughout the process and work for fast approvals.
- We have solutions for every business type. From low-risk card-present credit card processing solutions to payment processing solutions for high risk e-commerce stores, we’ve got it all.
