PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) has been established through the formation of the Security Standards Council (American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. are represented on this council) to govern the acceptance, storage and transfer of credit card information in the United States. "PCI Compliant" is the typical terminology used in the credit card industry for complying with the standard established by the Security Standards Council. More information can be found at the PCI Security Standards Council website:
www.pcisecuritystandards.org
The PCI standard applies to all parties involved in the handling of credit cards, including merchants, Property Management Systems (PMS), Point of Sale (POS) providers, middleware companies, and credit card processors. Click here for more information on POS or PMS PCI certification.
Effective now, merchants are required to be PCI Compliant. All merchants are required to complete a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). Additonally, for those merchants utilizing IP terminals and/or POS interfaces, vulnerability scanning must be performed by a Security Council approved third party vendor. The list of Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV) can be found at the PCI Security Standards webiste:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/asv_report.html
SaleSynergy has created a PCI Management Tool in order to assist our merchants with navigating the complexities of the PCI DSS requirements. This program is priced at $9.95 per month per Merchant ID.
Highlights of the SaleSynergy PCI Management Tool program include the following:
1) Step by step instructions to assist the merchant in completing the appropriate Self-Assessment Questionnaire
2) Secure storage of SAQ and annual reminder to resubmit
3) Easy access to stored SAQ, signed attestation, and certificate of validation
4) Sample Security Policy provided
5) Unlimited vulnerability scanning
6) Breach Insurance ($50,000 per incident per Merchant ID, $500,000 max per merchant)
7) Comprehensive phone, online, and email support systems