PCI Compliance
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle cardholder information for the major debit, credit, prepaid, e-purse, ATM, and POS cards.
Defined by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, the standard was created to increase controls around cardholder data to reduce credit card fraud via its exposure. Validation of compliance is done annually — by an external Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) for organizations handling large volumes of transactions, or by Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) for companies handling smaller volumes.
At NAA we take PCI compliance very seriously. We only sell PCI DSS certified gateways and terminals. For 98% of our merchants, PCI DSS is handled by our offices on behalf of the merchant - purchasing terminals or gateways directly from NAA ensures that you are compliant on day one of your processing contract with NAA. In the event that you happen to utilize a non-compliant terminal or gateway, we will upgrade you free of charge!
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
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- 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
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Protect Cardholder Data
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- Requirement 3 – Protect stored cardholder data
- Requirement 4 – Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
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Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
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- Requirement 5 – Use and regularly update anti–virus software
- Requirement 6 – Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
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Implement Strong Access Control Measures
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- 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
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Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
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- Requirement 10 – Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
- Requirement 11 – Regularly test security systems and processes
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Maintain an Information Security Policy
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- Requirement 12 – Maintain a policy that addresses information security
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PCI Validation Requirements
Merchant Level
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Selection Criteria
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Validation Actions
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Validated By
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| 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
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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
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| 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
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