Your customers trust you to provide outstanding products and services. And when they pay with a credit card, they're also trusting you to safeguard their credit card information. You don't want to do anything that would jeopardize that trust.
Posted in Credit Card Processing on Monday, March 29, 2021
A Real (and Costly) Threat
We’ve all read horror stories about hackers accessing credit card information and wreaking havoc. These are real businesses and real people affected. You may think credit card fraud only happens in larger businesses. The truth is, hackers and thieves are more likely to target smaller merchants because they realize bigger businesses generally have more resources to spend on data security systems.
When their credit card information has been compromised, customers have to spend time and money to try and resolve the issue, and—justifiably so—may not want to return to the business where the breach occurred. Businesses also spend time and money (in fines, restitution, possible legal fees and more), and have to cope with a tarnished reputation for not protecting customer data.
The good news is, most credit card breaches can be prevented. It starts with PCI compliance.
PCI Compliance
In 2006, the major credit card brands (Discover®, Mastercard®, Visa® and others) formed the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). To help businesses prevent credit card fraud, the Council created the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Today, all businesses that process, store or transmit credit card information must be PCI DSS compliant.
Professional Solutions Makes It Easy
At Professional Solutions Financial Services, we want to help your business thrive. Part of that is making sure your customers’ credit card data is protected. As our credit card processing customer, we make it easy for you to become and stay PCI DSS compliant.
We’ve selected leading security provider SecurityMetrics to offer you the PCI DSS Program. New customers are automatically registered with SecurityMetrics, and receive an email directly from them to get started. Existing customers receive an annual renewal notice to continue compliance.
Keep in mind that PCI DSS compliance isn’t “one and done.” It’s an ongoing process to ensure compliance in order to keep your customers’ credit card information safe.
How It Works
As part of your annual renewal, SecurityMetrics will ask you to complete a Security Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). The questionnaire you receive will be geared to your business needs and the card processing equipment you have. For example, a business with only a countertop terminal will receive a different questionnaire than one with online processing. (If you haven’t made changes in your business during the previous year, your questionnaire may look exactly the same.)
Completing the questionnaire could take you as few as 5 minutes. SecurityMetrics will review your completed SAQ and help you address any concerns.
Low Cost
As a Professional Solutions credit card processing customer, your cost for the PCI DSS Program is much less than many other processors; smaller businesses generally pay more than $100 each year.
If you don’t remember paying a fee with a previous processor, they may have included the cost with other fees. Others require you to find your own company to complete and maintain PCI compliance. At Professional Solutions, we know how important this program is and are proud to provide the SecurityMetrics solution to our customers at such an affordable cost.
Next Steps
Watch for your next PCI DSS compliance renewal. You’ll receive an email from us, letting you know it’s time for renewal. SecurityMetrics will contact you directly.
Remember, compliance is very important for your business and your customers. If you don’t complete your annual renewal, you will receive reminder emails and be charged a monthly non-compliance fee. You may also be at risk of losing your Professional Solutions credit card processing account.
We understand you may have questions. If you need details about our program or your equipment, please contact us at 800-437-0712. If you have questions about the PCI DSS Program, you can speak to someone at SecurityMetrics by calling the number above and choosing option 8.
A Few Minutes Could Save Thousands
We know you’re busy. But staying PCI compliant is such an important part of being a business owner. Taking the right steps — and a few minutes — now could save you from disastrous consequences in the future.
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