What is PCI DSS
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the global security standard for card payment data. It was developed by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB to protect cardholders.
Certification levels
The standard defines four levels — from Level 4 (least strict) to Level 1 (maximum). The level depends on transaction volume:
- Level 4: up to 20,000 transactions per year
- Level 3: 20,000 — 1,000,000
- Level 2: 1,000,000 — 6,000,000
- Level 1: over 6,000,000 transactions per year
Why Level 1 matters
Level 1 requires an annual audit by a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), quarterly network scans and continuous monitoring. It is the strictest and most expensive certification level.
For you as a business owner, this means your data and your customers' data are under maximum protection.
What the audit covers
A PCI DSS Level 1 audit examines over 300 control points across 12 categories:
- Network infrastructure protection
- Data encryption in transit and at rest
- Vulnerability management
- Access control
- Network monitoring and testing
- Information security policy
How it works at Mulenpay
Mulenpay is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. This means all card data is processed in a secure environment, and your website never touches card numbers — they go directly through our infrastructure.
You don't need to get PCI DSS certified yourself — just work through a certified provider.
