PCI compliant payment gateway

What is PCI compliant payment gateway?

Data protection when processing payments, especially when using online payment methods, has become an acute issue in recent years when electronic payments have rapidly gained momentum. To prevent fraud associated with card data theft, the largest card networks have teamed up, formed the PCI data security council, and developed the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard known as PCI DSS. It is a set of security measures that provide the complete protection of card details and other sensitive data engaged in financial transactions. Since then, any organisation that somehow deals with accepting, processing, transmitting, and storage of cardholders’ payment data should comply with payment card industry security standards. The institutions that are obliged to have an attestation of compliance include banks, payment applications, merchants, payment service providers, payment processors, and other organisations involved in processing electronic payments.

So, what are the PCI compliance essential requirements? The provisions of the PCI DSS standard cover such aspects as:

  • Development and improvement of secure network infrastructure

  • Protection of cardholder data with encryption and other security methods

  • Monitoring the process of updating system components and anti-virus software

  • Control and differentiation of access to information resources

  • Regular testing and monitoring of system security

  • Information security policy

As we see, PCI standard requirements cover the security of information infrastructure at all levels. If a business has anything to do with the processing, transmission or storage of customer card data, the information security must be constantly maintained by both internal specialists and partner organisations. The combination of processes, people, and technologies that you use to support your compliance is called the PCI Scope. The accurate scoping will help you determine the necessary coverage for your PCI DSS assessment.

Why is PCI compliance important for a payment gateway

It’s not uncommon for convenient one-click online payments on e-commerce sites to backfire on cardholders. With the explosive growth in online shopping, there has been a significant increase in card data leaks and fraud. Since a payment gateway is a payment mediator between customers and merchants, it is indispensable for processing online payments. Since all the sensitive data are inevitably sent to the payment gateway, integrating a non-compliant one can entail many risks associated with possible data breaches to third parties and using this data for fraudulent purposes. That’s why PCI DSS compliance for payment gateway should be your top priority. Ignoring even one PCI DSS requirement puts your security and reputation at risk.

A PCI DSS standard is universally applicable to payment service providers, internet acquiring companies, and payment systems. The same goes for payment gateways which are directly responsible for protecting transactions details from the moment they are entered on the payment page and until the end of processing. Therefore, every merchant who values their reputation will ensure the maximum security of their customers' confidential card data and choose a payment gateway provider that has validated compliance with PCI DSS.

What are the PCI compliance levels

The PCI DSS standard puts forward rather rigorous requirements for the security of any companies in which payment information is transmitted, processed or stored. Moreover, even if an organisation has already passed certification, an annual compliance check is still carried out. Such audits help determine if the business is complying with the security requirements in good faith or has passed the attestation of compliance just for show. In case of violations, the company will have to pay a substantial sum of money as a fine.

Depending on the number of transactions processed by an organisation annually, there are different PCI levels:

  • Level 1: more than 6 million transactions annually

  • Level 2: from 1 million to 6 million transactions per year

  • Level 3: from 20 thousand to 1 million transactions per year

  • Level 4: up to 20 thousand transactions annually

It’s noteworthy that an independent auditor — Qualified Security Assessors (QSA) carry out the PCI level 1 compliance validation. The certification procedure for this PCI compliance level includes an extensive audit of the company's information infrastructure, the development of recommendations and regulatory documents necessary to comply with the standard, as well as consulting support during implementation. To confirm their compliance with other levels, including the lowest level of PCI compliance, a business will need to fill out the SAQ self-assessment sheet or perform an internal ISA audit.

Who needs PCI compliant payment gateway?

The PCI Security Standards Council obliges all banks, merchants, payment systems, payment processors, and other institutions involved in processing to meet PCI DSS requirements, and therefore use the PCI payment gateway. Without it, the organisation cannot be considered reliable, and you cannot trust it with your personal data. Since a payment gateway can be compared to a regular POS terminal in brick and mortar store, its main task is to ensure complete payment security with encryption, tokenisation and other security measures. To keep all data encrypted and secure, e-commerce businesses engage PCI compliant gateways in transaction processing. Thus, the integration of a PCI payment gateway is a must for merchants who aim to deliver quality services and protect their customers from payment fraud.

How can Corefy help?

Security should be a top priority for both cardholders and merchants when it comes to transferring or storing sensitive debit or credit card data. Corefy meets the strictest requirements of the highest PCI DSS level and has passed the attestation of compliance. Our team closely monitor each transaction to protect businesses and their customers from possible identity theft and credit card fraud. By entrusting the processing of your transactions to Corefy, you eliminate the need to pursue PCI compliance because you already have a fully protected payment processing system at your disposal. Create the best customer experience by ensuring the highest data protection for your customer data.

rocket
Ready to boost your business to the next level?

Get in touch with us and we will try to provide you with the most relevant offer.

Get in touch