Understanding PCI Compliance

The payment card networks worked together to create standards ensure that all companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a...

2 min.

Online payments Payments gateway
a man hand holding a card

As payments became electronic, a group of heavy hitters from within the payments industry (AMEX, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, and Visa) joined forces to create Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

These standards ensure that all companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. That includes all merchants, vendors, or software providers who handle credit card information.

There are four different levels of PCI-Compliance based on transactional volume. Bambora is PCI-Level 1 certified, the highest level. Becoming certified is an intensive annual application and audit, so most will instead select a payment processor with certified solutions that keep their business out of scope.

Any merchant — regardless of acceptance channel — processing over 6M Visa transactions per year. Any merchant that Visa, at its sole discretion, determines should meet the Level 1 merchant requirements to minimize risk to the Visa system.

The four levels of PCI

  • Level 1: Any merchant - regardless of acceptance channel -processing over 6M Visa transactions per year. Any merchant that Visa, at its sole discretion, determines should meet the Level 1 merchant requirements to minimize risk to the Visa system.
  • Level 2: Any merchant - regardless of acceptance channel - processing 1M to 6M Visa transactions per year.
  • Level 3: Any merchant processing 20,000 to 1M Visa e-commerce transactions per year.
  • Level 4: Any merchant processing fewer than 20,000 Visa e-commerce transactions per year, and all other merchants - regardless of acceptance channel - processing up to 1M Visa transactions per year.

By using Bambora’s gateway and product suite, businesses can avoid rigorous PCI upkeep. Upon sign-up, you will need to complete a self-assessment to ensure that your policies and standards meet the industry's expectations.

Keeping payment information safe and secure should be the number one priority for all businesses who manage credit card data. Bambora continuously works to keep your data safe and hackers away.