NACS said it has begun participating in the PCI Security Standards Council, officially joining more than 20 NACS members and other organizations committed to evolving the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.
As a participating organization, NACS will have access to the latest payment card security standards from the council and will provide feedback on the standards, as well as become part of a growing community of more than 450 organizations.
In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents an entity’s best protection against data criminals, NACS said.
"The impact PCI standards have on our industry is great," said Michael Davis, NACS vice president of member services. "We need to ensure mandates such as PIN Entry Device Security Requirements evolve to include the financial implications to the retailers and ultimately the consumers whose data we’re trying to protect. It is critical that we work as an industry to bring more NACS members to the PCI Security Standards Council and become fully engaged in developing standards that affect convenience and petroleum retailers on a national and global scale."
The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity.
More information on the Council and the standard can be found at www.pcisecuritystandards.org
"The PCI Security Standards Council is committed to helping everyone involved in the payment chain protect consumer payment data," said Bob Russo, general manager of the council. "By participating in the standards setting process, NACS demonstrates it is playing an active part in this important end goal."