The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) aims to improve transaction security by setting minimum standards to merchants and service providers to effectively protect cardholder data. This a set of requirements is designed to protect businesses and card theft and fraud.

Founded by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB, PCI compliance applies to all entities which store, process, transmit or access cardholder information. The requirements apply to all payment channels, including retail shops, mail/telephone order companies and e-commerce businesses. There are different requirements depending on the range of criteria, such as cardholder data storage, processing channels, security protocols, transaction volume, and so on.

What are the benefits of PCI DSS to merchants? 

The benefits of PCI DSS to merchants include:

• Customer's personal data is protected.
• Customer confidence is boosted through higher levels of security.
• Increased protection against financial losses.  
• Enhanced customer trust and safeguarded reputation.

For further information on PCI DSS Compliance, please visit: https://www.aibms.com/help/risk-compliance/pci-dss/ 

If an entity fails to comply with the PCI DSS security requirement, a business may be at risk, and you may also be subject to non-compliance fines from the Card Schemes.