A Complete Guide To 4 Levels of PCI Compliance !
PCI Compliance is an important industry standard for companies that handle credit card transactions and other sensitive information. It is a requirement that all businesses, regardless of size, must meet in order to accept payments from customers. PCI Compliance consists of four levels: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4.
Level 1 Compliance:
Level 1 Compliance is the highest level of PCI Compliance, and it applies to all merchants who process more than 6 million transactions per year. Level 1 also applies to any merchant that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data and/or sensitive authentication data. To be compliant at this level, a company must have an extensive security program in place, including quarterly internal and external vulnerability scans, as well as an annual assessment from a qualified security assessor.
Level 2 Compliance:
Merchants who process between 1 million and 6 million transactions annually must meet Level 2 PCI Compliance standards. Level 2 compliance is similar to Level 1 but with some slight modifications when it comes to reporting and documentation. Merchants who meet Level 2 must submit a report on compliance (ROC) to their payment processor, which will then review it and pass it along to the credit card associations.
Level 3 Compliance:
Merchants who process between 20,000 and 1 million transactions annually must meet Level 3 PCI Compliance standards. This level requires the same documentation and reporting as Level 2, but places an additional emphasis on security policy and procedure management. Merchants must have a comprehensive information security policy that includes procedures for managing data breaches or other security incidents, access control measures and personnel training plans.
Level 4 Compliance:
Merchants who process fewer than 20,000 annual transactions must meet Level 4 PCI Compliance standards. This level is the most basic of the four and requires merchants to complete a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that covers security issues such as data storage, transmission and destruction processes. Merchants who meet Level 4 also must submit an attestation of compliance (AOC) to their payment processor.
Compliance with the PCI Security Standards ensures that a business is handling credit card transactions safely and securely. All merchants must meet at least the baseline requirements set by each level of compliance in order to accept payments from their customers. It is important for businesses to stay up to date on the latest standards, as they can change over time. By following these requirements, businesses can ensure that their customer data is protected and secure.
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