Cambridge, UK -- (SBWire) -- 03/20/2013 --Since the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was introduced back in 2007, there has been confusion around compliance and, in some cases, a view that adopting the Standard would lead to restrictive or unwieldy payment methods.
The final (final) deadline for PCI compliance was 31st December 2012 (Visa Europe), and applied to all merchants and service providers processing credit or debit card transaction via web, telephony or SMS. Any business found in breach of the Standard can expect a significant fine - and even the removal of their merchant code.
Over the past five years there has been a drip feed uptake of PCI but, with the final deadline fast approaching, the perception still remains that becoming compliant is a lengthy and costly process that could potentially restrict the development of innovative payment solutions.
John Wood says “In my opinion implementing PCI DSS will actually lead to new opportunities for the telemedia industry, if you see it as a credible vehicle for transferring established telemedia skills to mainstream sectors - rather than just another business overhead.
The telemedia industry is well-known for developing automated payment solutions and, in many instances, they have become common place. PCI is an opportunity to leverage that experience, and take these services to entirely new markets.”
Wood goes on to say “Having a PCI DSS Compliant infrastructure in place gives telcos the ability to cross-market their existing dynamic payment services to new sectors – many of which are currently extending their brand presence across ecommerce touch points, and need a range of secure payment platforms to effectively reach their customers.
There are significant numbers of bricks and mortar businesses, for example, who are evolving their businesses into fully integrated multi-channel brands. They need to support this development with a range of new automated payment methods to consolidate their offer across those new channels.
Compliance creates whole load of opportunities where you can offer user friendly payments for Voice, Web and Mobile transactions. You can still provide businesses with innovative payment methods, such as card on file rebilling, end of call billing, automatic payment reminders, or tokenised payments, but the credibility of the Standard means these services immediately have much wider appeal.
Your products can help to introduce greater automation to your customers’ sales and debt collecting, giving them much greater access whilst also helping them to reduce their cost base. But without PCI wrapped around them, these solutions will become increasingly irrelevant. “
C3 PCI Compliant Solutions
If you are a business taking credit and debit card payments, both online and offline, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS): a comprehensive set of principles and requirements developed by the major card companies to ensure consistent data security measures.
Whether you are a Tier 1 Merchant or a Tier 4 merchant, C3’s PCI DSS solutions enable organisations of all shapes and sizes to offer secure, automated and cost-effective payment options to their clients.
About C3
- C3 has been supplying secure payment solutions to UK businesses for over 20 years, and so has a vast amount of expertise in this area.
- As a PCI DSS Tier 1 Service Provider (the highest possible standard), C3 is fully accredited to provide a range secure solutions to process credit and debit card payments, via telephony, web or SMS
- We can develop flexible platforms to meet your PCI requirements and budget, whether you want a hosted or onsite solution, reducing the timescale, cost and scope in becoming PCI Compliant.
- We supply a complete solution, inclusive of documented policies and procedures.
- Intelligent payment solutions can easily be built around the payment capability, including payment reminders and automated payment requests, via email, text or telephone.
Company: C3
Web: www.c3.co.uk
Email sales@c3.co.uk
Country: Cambridge, UK
Telemedia Skills Going Mainstream According to C3