Understanding PCI Compliance

As a merchant, you are required to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of comprehensive requirements developed by the major card brands to facilitate the adoption of consistent data security measures.

The core of the PCI DSS is a group of principles and accompanying requirements, around which the specific elements of the DSS are organized:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network
  • Requirement 1 – Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
  • Requirement 2 – Do not use vendor–supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters
Protect Cardholder Data
  • Requirement 3 – Protect stored cardholder data
  • Requirement 4 – Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
  • Requirement 5 – Use and regularly update anti–virus software
  • Requirement 6 – Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
Implement Strong Access Control Measures
  • Requirement 7 – Restrict access to cardholder data by business need–to–know
  • Requirement 8 – Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
  • Requirement 9 – Restrict physical access to cardholder data
Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
  • Requirement 10 – Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
  • Requirement 11 – Regularly test security systems and processes
Maintain an Information Security Policy
  • Requirement 12 – Maintain a policy that addresses information security

PCI Validation Requirements

Merchant Level Selection Criteria Validation Actions Validated By
1 Any merchant, regardless of acceptance channel, processing more than 6,000,000 Visa transactions per year

Any merchant that has suffered a hack or an attack that resulted in an account data compromise

Any merchant identified by any card association as Level 1		 Annual on-site security audit and quarterly network scan Independent security assessor or internal audit if signed by an officer of the company

Qualified independent scan vendor
2 1 million - 6 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year Annual PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire and quarterly network scan Merchant qualified independent scan vendor
3 20,000 - 1 million Visa or MasterCard e-commerce transactions per year Annual PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire and quarterly network scan Merchant qualified independent scan vendor
4 Less than 20,000 Visa or MasterCard e-commerce transactions per year, and all other merchants processing up to 1 million Visa or MasterCard transactions per year Recommended annual PCI Self-Assessment Questionnaire and quarterly network scan Merchant qualified independent scan vendor

Note: While compliance is mandatory for Level 4 Merchants, validation is optional but strongly recommended

Important: Since Authorize.Net is not directly involved with establishing, evaluating or validating merchant PCI compliance requirements, we have partnered with Trustwave, a leading provider of information security and compliance management solutions. Trustwave offers convenient PCI tools and validation services at a specially discounted price to Authorize.Net merchants. Learn more about Trustwave's services and pricing options.

Additionally, you can reduce your exposure to risk by using Authorize.Net's Simple Checkout, Server Integration Method (SIM), Automated Recurring Billing (ARB), or Customer Information Manager (CIM), which allow you to store sensitive customer data on our PCI-compliant servers rather than locally.

Sign Up Now

Merchants interested in signing up for an Authorize.Net Payment Gateway account can contact us at 1.888.323.4289 for more information, or contact an Authorize.Net reseller.

To become a reseller, please contact our sales team at 1.866.437.0491 or via our Reseller Inquiry Form.