It’s easy for a small business to believe they are free from the risk of experiencing a data or security breach, since most news headlines involve larger companies and millions of affected customers. However, the majority of cyber attacks actually occur with small businesses for various reasons. For one, hackers know a small business may not have the most secure payment processing system or fewer IT security measures overall. As a small business owner, being payment card industry (PCI) compliant can not only protect your business, but your customers as well. Here’s what to know about PCI compliance and why you should take it seriously.
Protecting Your Business and Customers
PCI compliance can be difficult to wrap your mind around if you’ve only been in business for a short amount of time. The reality is credit card processing for small business owners is both good and bad, depending on the system you have in place. The best way to protect your business and customers is to know your payment processing system inside and out. Work with your vendor to determine the level of PCI compliance you need to achieve and ensure they take security and compliance seriously.
Risks of Not Being PCI Compliant
If your small business experiences a security breach, you could be looking at tens of thousands of dollars to clean it up. And if you are found to not be PCI compliant, the costs could be even higher with potential legal implications. Even worse than the financial implications of a security breach is the damage to your brand’s name. Customers have to trust a business in order to do business with them, so if you don’t take the time to have the proper security measures in place, then word will get around quickly.
Constantly Test Your Security Measures
In order to be PCI compliant at all times, you need to test your payment processing system frequently. Conducting regular vulnerability tests can give you insight into any potential security issues so you can fix them as soon as possible. Documenting everything regarding your payment processing services will benefit you tremendously in the long run and ensure your business is as secure as possible.
At Precision Payment Systems, we take PCI compliance seriously for every customer we work with. We specialize in credit card processing for small business owners in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, and would love to work with you. Simply fill out our form with your basic information and we will be happy to explain our services to you, including PCI compliance.
