A payment card transaction is like a bond of trust that exists between a customer and a business. By supplying an organization with sensitive payment data, the customer expects that the organization will do everything in its power to handle the information securely and professionally.
When this trust is broken and a data breach occurs, it can be very damaging to customer relations. Customers may lose trust in a company, and seek out the services of its competitors. Plus, the business could face potential class-action lawsuits and an uphill battle to restore consumer confidence.
One way of preventing a data breach is to maintain compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
What is PCI DSS? It’s the global data security standard established by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a major industry regulatory body. PCI DSS compliance is not mandatory by law, yet it applies to any business that collects, stores or transfers payment card data. It helps businesses to ensure that payment data is secure throughout the entire purchasing process—from the time it is collected until after it is processed.
PCI DSS compliance has six goals, including: Build and maintain a secure network; protect cardholder information; maintain a vulnerability management program; implement strong access control measures; consistently monitor and test networks; and maintain a data security policy. Within the six goals, there are 12 different requirements, ranging from setting up a firewall to protect cardholder data against malicious third parties to maintaining a policy that addresses information security for all employees.
The latest version of this standard, PCI DSS 3.2, also contains five new sub-requirements which are outlined on its website.
Take our advice: It may seem daunting to adhere to the PCI DSS in your contact center, but it’s actually much easier than you would think. Bright Pattern can provide your business with the software it needs to be PCI DSS compliant, potentially saving you a great deal of hassle down the road.
For more information about how Bright Pattern can help your contact center achieve PCI DSS compliance, contact us today.
