PCI Compliance
Compliance is a crucial part of payment processing. Every company that processes credit cards must work hard to ensure they are up to date and in line with all compliance requirements, or else they face both legal penalties and serious security risks. With those security risks come the possibility of breaches, financial losses, reputation hits, and more.
PCI-DSS is the industry standard. At BAMS, we require customers to become PCI-DSS compliant within 90 days of approval. To learn more, please visit the PCI Security website here.
What is the PCI DSS?
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an industry-wide compliance requirement created for anyone who stores, processes or transmits payment card data (such as accepting credit card payments).
The PCI DSS was created in collaboration with the different payment card brands: American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard and Visa. The requirements are designed to reduce payment card compromises and data theft by helping you secure your sensitive information and reduce your vulnerability to attacks.
How do I become compliant with the PCI DSS?
As a merchant who stores, process or transmits payment card data, you are required to be PCI DSS Compliant by the payment brands and BAMS. One of our experts will help your business become certified upon receipt of your terminal or virtual gateway. We will walk you through these two easy steps to PCI DSS Compliance:
- An annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) to determine if you are taking proper precautions to protect your payment card data, similar to an insurance questionnaire, done via internet by visiting the website below.*
*If you do not have access to the internet, one of our experts will provide you with a copy of your SAQ to sign and submit for PCI Compliance.
- Quarterly security scans if your systems are connected to the Internet. The scans look for weaknesses that an attacker might use to access your systems. A PCI-Certified Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), such as BAMS partner, ControlScan, must conduct these scans.
