Who created it
The PCI Security Standards Council, founded by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB. Its requirements bind anyone who processes or transmits card data.
Security
Compliance with the payment card data security standard is backed by a certificate. Below are its details, the document itself and what follows from it for a store taking payments.
Document
Everything written on the document is here as text: neither a search engine nor someone on a phone can read figures off an image
What it is
The standard was written by the card schemes themselves — not by a government or a trade body
The PCI Security Standards Council, founded by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB. Its requirements bind anyone who processes or transmits card data.
Encryption of card data, restricted access to it, logging, regular network scanning and review of processes — not only of technology.
By an audit from a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), once a year and on site. The certificate is issued for a year and needs a fresh audit after that.
For merchants
The buyer enters card details on the payment service's side. The number, expiry and security code never touch your server — so there is nothing for you to store.
How much of the standard applies to the store itself depends on the integration: the less card data passes through your code, the shorter your own questionnaire.
A certificate is not a badge on a page: it has a number, a validity period and an auditor, and all of that can be verified.
Plainly
This part usually goes unsaid, and it is worth knowing before you sign up
The standard is about protecting card data, not about disputes over transactions. The dispute procedure is set out separately, in the refunds and chargebacks policy.
PCI DSS does not decide whether to approve or decline a payment. 3-D Secure and anti-fraud do that — they are different mechanisms.
The certificate is issued to the service and covers its perimeter. The security of your own site, credentials and admin panel stays with you.
Questions and answers
Related
The short answer on the standard and on what stays with the store.
How card acceptance works and why the payment form should not live on your site.
Who provides the services, what the infrastructure runs on and which documents exist.
The dispute procedure — the part the certificate does not cover.
Send a request — a manager will pick a plan and help with the integration.
Phone
+1 (767) 555-0147
International number
Telegram bot
@mulen_support_bot
Quick answers 24/7
Legal address
RBY Commerce Ltd.
8 Copthall, Roseau Valley, 00152, Commonwealth of Dominica
Fill out the form — a manager will get in touch, tailor the terms and help with the integration.