How Call Centers Achieve PCI Compliance

Failing to protect private cardholder data can undermine customer trust and cause companies to incur hefty fines. How can businesses ensure that sensitive credit card information is secure and protected against fraud? By maintaining PCI Compliance. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is a set of criteria that were designed to make sure online sellers had procedures and systems in place to mitigate risk of data breach.

From merchants and customers to banking institutions, the security of credit card information affects everybody. The PCI standard applies to any entity that stores, processes or deals with private cardholder data, with a view toward decreasing the likelihood of cyber-attacks, identity theft and data breaches. Companies that do not adhere to PCI regulations can face severe consequences, including costly penalties, revenue loss and a tarnished reputation. Given the harsh ramifications of compromised cardholder data, it is imperative that call centers achieve – and maintain – PCI Compliance.

How do PCI Standards apply to call centers?

Under PCI DSS standards, any third-party call center provider that transmits, stores or handles credit cards, debit cards and pre-paid cards that are MasterCard, Visa, American Express, JCB, or Discover must comply with the goals listed below.

A PCI Compliant Call center must:

• Create & maintain a secure network — Install a firewall configuration to safeguard cardholder data and continuously ensure passwords are unique and updated
• Protect sensitive cardholder data – a PCI compliant call center must utilize multiple layers of physical and virtual security methods and never store PIN numbers or card validation codes. All data should be encrypted and unreadable to potential hackers.
• Vulnerability management procedure – make sure that all systems are protected by anti-virus and anti-spyware and updated to the latest version.
• Enforce strict access control measures – access to private cardholder data is restricted to only agents who have permission.
• Regular network testing – Call centers must test networks for potential security issues on a regular basis.
• Provide a security policy – this policy should outline protocols for operational security, risk analysis and other tasks for employees.

Harsh penalties for non-compliance

If a business experiences a security breach due to non-compliance with PCI standards, they are subject to financial penalties imposed by their acquiring bank. Fines can range from $5,000 up to $100,000 each month, depending on the specific circumstances of the breach. These fines must be paid until all issues are resolved. There is much collateral damage that goes beyond these fines, which can be avoiding by partnering with a top call center that is PCI Compliant.

Executive Boutique, a top Philippine call center, understands that PCI Compliance must be continuously enforced and reevaluated on a yearly basis per industry standards. We have the training, technical and operational requirements and checkpoints in place to help businesses avoid liabilities such as:

• Damage to company reputation
• Loss of customer confidence and loyalty
• Dwindling sales
• Penalties levied by credit card companies
• Fraud losses
• Remediation fees

Online compromises and vulnerabilities are constantly emerging. Protect against data breach by working with a PCI Compliant Philippines business process outsourcing call center like Executive Boutique.

To learn more about the best PCI Compliant call center services in the Philippines, please reach out for a free quote today.

Additional Resources:

1. PCICompliance.org, PCI Compliance Guide https://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/faq/
2. PCI Security Standards Council, Data Security Standard https://pcicompliance.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj7706/f/pci_dss_v3-2.pdf