What is PCI DSS Level 1 and Why is it Important for your Website?

PCI compliance is an important consideration if you wish to accept card payments online. If you are thinking of starting a business where you accept online payments, you will need to ensure that your payment gateway and website is PCI compliant.

What Is PCI Compliance?

PCI DSS compliance is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This is a set of requirements set by the payment card industry designed to ensure that all companies that process, store or transmit credit card data maintains a secure environment. An independent body created by the major credit card brands; Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB, PCI DSS is rated in 4 levels according with the level of compliance.

What Is PCI DSS Level 1?

To put it simply, the PCI DSS Level 1 is a set of requirements to ensure that companies that store, transmit or process credit card data to the highest standards.

PCI DSS Level 1 is the highest level of compliance. This describes any merchant, processing over 6 million Visa transactions per year. This high validation level is only given, at Visa's discretion, should the merchant meet the level 1 requirements set to minimise risk to the system.

What Does PCI DSS Level 1 Mean To Your Business?

Holding PCI DSS Level 1 not only makes you appear more trustworthy to the consumer, but can also save you money in costly no compliance fines. If your business is PCI compliant it can help you when negotiating with banks, as they know that you are serious about the security of personal data and credit information.

At Advansys we are PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, this means that when your website is built using our platform, it will remain compliant with the PCI regulations. This has a number of benefits for your business and website including:

1. Helps prevent any fines, which can be over £10,000, if there is a security compromise
2. Hosting includes quarterly scanning by an approved ASV, as stipulated by the PCI SSC (Security Standards Council) - reports to be supplied
3. Any issues relating to coding or configuration flagged by ASV scanning will be automatically rectified
4. Annual "Pen Testing", penetration testing/ethical hacking, by an external party to test security of the infrastructure
5. File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) will be used for validation of any changes to source code
6. Hosting will provide a PCI DSS Level 1 hosting platform, specifically meeting all of the 12 PCI guidelines
7. Reduces the risk of fraud and prevent a compromise
8. Banks may give you better rates as a Merchant for being PCI compliant.
9. Peace of mind for the internet shopper as Advansys will put a PCI DSS logo on your website.
10. Advansys are experts in coding standards and therefore can quickly fix any vulnerability which may occur on your website.

For more information about how Advansys can help you be PCI compliant, why not give us a call on 0845 838 2700 or email our experts at sales@advansys.com.