When you run a small business, you know how important it is to provide your customers with the option to use credit or debit cards. That’s because you want your customers to be able to pay the way they want to. Many customers use payment cards to shop online and make impulse buys, and you want to capture those sales. However, accepting payment cards as a small business is no easy feat. You need to open a merchant account and work with a payment processor. The best small business credit card processing should be PCI compliant to provide you with data security.
What Is PCI?
PCI compliant is a phrase you’ll hear a lot when you’re opening a merchant account. If you’re just about to start taking credit card payments there are a few things you should know about the letters PCI. PCI stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and is often referred to as PCI DSS or simply PCI. This standard is mandated by card brands like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. PCI was created to reduce fraud and increase security standards.
It might be surprising but not all payment processors follow PCI compliance. Some assume that you as the business will fulfill compliance.That’s why the best small business credit card processing companies will fulfill PCI compliance for you.
What Are the Requirements?
PCI specifies 12 requirements for compliance. These are grouped into six categories called control objectives. The objectives are: build and maintain a secure network, protect cardholder data, maintain a vulnerability management program, implement strong access control measures, regularly monitor and test networks, and maintain an information security policy.
When you run a small business you may have only a few employees or you might not have any. These requirements demand time, energy, and technical know-how. When you’re choosing a merchant account and payment processor, remember that the best small business credit card processing companies will fulfill these requirements for you.
The Cost of Non-Compliance
Non-compliance can be detrimental to your business. Using a payment processor that is not PCI compliant can result in monthly penalties. If your processor is non-compliant and has a data breach you may suffer disruptions in service or even be liable for fines and fees.
Choosing a processor that is PCI compliant just makes sense. It will save you money, time, and resources and provide you with better security features. The best small business credit card processing providers are those that are PCI compliant.
Allied Wallet is PCI Compliant
Allied Wallet is Level 1 PCI compliant. Level 1 refers to both the volume of transactions and level of security requirements. Allied Wallet utilizes state of the art security measures including fraud scrubbing and SHA-256 encrypted SSL to keep your information and your customers’ information safe and secure. Call us today to discuss PCI compliance.
