FAQ — Understanding How PCI Compliance Affects Your Business

Here are some common questions about PCI Compliance from business owners.

What is PCI Compliance?

PCI compliance is short for PCI DSS or "Payment card industry data security standards." PCI standards are a set of guidelines developed by the major players in the card industry to set forth best practices in security for merchants and their customers.

Does PCI compliance apply to my business?

Yes. The compliance rules apply to any U.S. business or organization, of any size, that accepts credit or debit cards.

What do I have to do as a merchant to become PCI compliant?

Complete a once-a-year PCI self-assessment to identify and ensure your business is compliant – to identify and ensure that you are following all of the standards and guidelines set forth in the PCI DSS compliance rules. ClassJuggler provides an easy-to-follow guide for completing the questionnaire.

What procedures and policies do I need to adopt to be considered PCI compliant?

PCI Compliance is mostly common-sense business practices. For example:

• Make sure computers you use for processing payments have anti-virus/malware software installed on them.
• Maintain an information security policy at your business.
• Ensure your software providers are also PCI compliant (and, yes, ClassJuggler is).

How do I maintain an information security policy at my business?

Here are some examples:

• If you capture cardholder information on paper, set a policy and practice that the paper is then immediately destroyed after use, or is stored under lock and key.
• Assure you and your employees follow PCI policies when handling a customer's card information to prevent that information from being compromised.
• Even better, implement a policy whereby payments are managed directly by the customers themselves to reduce the amount of interaction with their information by you or your employees.

What are the penalties for not being PCI compliant?

• Monthly non-compliance penalty fees levied by your merchant provider
• Possible increased transaction processing fees
• Suspension or loss of your merchant account
• Penalties of $5,000 – $500,000, depending on the severity of the breach

As you can see, PCI compliance is very important, so make sure to maintain your compliance.

  — Article by: Jon Koerber of ClassJuggler

Project Update: The New Customer Portal

We can now see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. We are in the final phases of completing the new Customer Portal software, testing it for quality, and working with our group of beta clients for feedback.

What will the rollout look like?

Since this is such a big change for the Customer Portal, we will not simply throw a switch to change everyone over to the new software. Instead we want each client to first have the opportunity to get comfortable with the new Customer Portal and choose when they wish to switch it "on." This will also give our clients an opportunity to market the benefits of the new system to their customers – especially the ability for a customer to easily use their smartphone to make a payment.

Stay tuned as the rollout date for the new Customer Portal is announced in July.