PCI DSS
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
PCI Security Standards Council, founded by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB
Why It Exists
To reduce credit card fraud by giving every business that touches payment card data a common set of technical and operational security requirements, rather than leaving each card brand to set its own rules.
Who It's For
Any entity that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data, retailers, e-commerce platforms, payment processors, and SaaS products that handle card payments on their customers' behalf.
Current Status
Current version is v4.0.1. Since March 31, 2025, the requirements that were originally published as future-dated best practices in v4.0 (March 2022) are now fully mandatory in every assessment.
PCI Security Standards CouncilFrequently Asked Questions
Other Frameworks
KloudSec, built by the team behind Toc Consulting
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