Payment Card Industry, or PCI, is not required by law, but is mandated by court precedent. This certification is also mandated by credit card companies in order to ensure security in credit card transactions. This compliance certificate includes the operational and technical standards that businesses must follow in order to protect and secure a consumer's financial and personal data.

Any business that takes payments from consumers needs to comply with the 12 key requirements, 78 base requirements and 400 test processes in order to ensure that a business is actually PCI compliant. This compliance reduces data breaches and protects cardholder data; with this certification, you can avoid fines and improve your brand's reputation.

In today's market, data is the primary goal of every business, and some criminals seek financial information from consumers with the intent of misusing it or committing identity theft. This is why businesses that accept credit card payments must adhere to Payment Card Industry standards.

The Federal Trade Commission or FTC is responsible for the taking care of credit card processing as it is governed by the rules and regulations of consumer protection and oversight. Hence we can say that PCI compliance is one of the core components of every credit card company’s security protocol.

Standards for PCI compliance are developed by the PCI Standards Council. These standards are applicable to merchant processing and are also include under their rules the encrypted Internet transactions. There are other main entities which are also associated with the setting or standards in the credit card industry. These include The Card Association Network and the National automated Clearing House or NACHA.

Being PCI compliant saves you a lot of money in terms of penalties that you would have to pay if your customers' financial data was compromised. Customers will easily trust you if you demonstrate that you are PCI compliant, which will result in more customers who will continue to purchase products and services from you without hesitation. This ensures the growth of your business due to the reputation of your brand.