It is important for merchants to become familiar with PCI Scanning because almost all merchants will need to use PCI Scanning for their companies. One of the main parts of PCI Scanning is the PCI Standards. In order to become certified for PCI Scanning you must go through a certification process where you must show you comply with the PCI Standards.

The whole PCI Scanning process can be extremely confusing and overwhelming, and that goes especially for the PCI Standards. I have created a list of the questions that I have had during the process of researching PCI Scanning.

Q: What are PCI Standards?

A: PCI Standards are a group of requirements created by the five major credit card companies that each merchant must comply with. It is organized under a group of six main principles with 12 requirements under them and lots of sub requirements under them. The purpose of the standards is to protect the sensitive information that is given when customers use their credit or debit card.

Q: Who must comply with the PCI Standards?

A: If you are a merchant who accepts credit cards and processes more than 20,000 transactions annually than you must comply, although it is beneficial for any merchant to comply.

Q: Do I need to comply with all of the standards or just a majority?

A: If you do not comply with ALL of the standards then you cannot be certified.

Q: What happens if I don’t comply?

A: If you are caught there could be a fine of up to $500,000, as well as not being able to handle cardholder data anymore.

Q: How do I benefit from complying with these standards?

A: Complying with the PCI Standards benefits everyone involved. The credit card companies benefit because then the chances of credit card fraud are a lot slimmer, and the merchants benefit because it makes the customers feel safer knowing that the merchants are doing everything they need to be doing in order to protect their information, and when the customers feel safer they are more likely to make a purchase.

Because it is beneficial for everyone to become PCI certified Trust Guard is offering PCI Scanning starting January 1, 2009. Their certification process is aimed toward small business in order to make it easier for them, although they do have programs for large companies as well.