{"id":10298,"date":"2025-08-06T17:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/glosario\/pci-dss\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T13:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:20:08","slug":"pci-dss","status":"publish","type":"glosario","link":"https:\/\/paynopain.com\/en\/glossary\/pci-dss\/","title":{"rendered":"PCI DSS"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>What is the PCI DSS standard?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)<\/strong> is a security standard<\/strong> designed to protect cardholder data, as well as other sensitive authentication information, during its processing, storage and\/or transmission.<\/p>\n

The current version of the standard is PCI DSS 4.0<\/strong>, published in March 2022<\/strong>. Compliance is mandatory for all companies that accept, process or transmit card data. Failing to comply can lead to significant penalties or even the loss of payment-processing permissions.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Background before PCI DSS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Before the first version of PCI DSS existed, each card brand had its own security programme<\/strong>. Each programme defined its own security controls, compliance reporting processes and penalties for non-compliance.<\/p>\n

This meant that businesses handling cards from multiple brands had to comply with several different security programmes at once, resulting in duplication, inconsistencies and overlapping requirements<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Requirements to comply with PCI DSS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

With the introduction of PCI DSS, all requirements were unified under a single security standard<\/strong>. These are the essential controls for protecting sensitive card data and preventing fraud:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Use of firewalls to prevent unauthorised access<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Data encryption to ensure confidentiality<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Access controls to restrict access to authorised personnel<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    Network monitoring to detect suspicious activity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    Security testing to identify vulnerabilities<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    Password management policies to ensure strong and secure credentials<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Together, these elements form a comprehensive framework that protects against threats such as data theft and fraud, ensuring customer data security and compliance with PSD2.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>PCI DSS compliance levels<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

    PCI DSS defines four levels of compliance based on annual transaction volume:<\/p>\n