Posted on November 10th, 2010Ecommerce hosting includes many features that help webmasters run their online storefronts more efficiently, including robust shopping cart applications, site building utilities and of course payment processing capabilities. One of the features that is commonly mentioned in advertisements for eCommerce hosting plans is ‘PCI Compliance’. Unfortunately, as important as this feature is, most people are not fully aware of what exactly it means and why it is important to their eCommerce hosting plan. The following information describes what PCI compliance is and how it can affect the success of your online storefront.
What is PCI Compliance?
PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance is a term used to describe hosting plans that are in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Security Standards, which are a type of security protocols that protect your site visitors and your business for credit card theft, fraud and other nefarious cyber crimes. These standards ensure safety whenever a credit or debit card is used to make an online purchase, which is why it is imperative to make sure your eCommerce hosting plan is compliant with the Payment Card Industry standards at all times. In fact, any company that processes or stores financial information online should have access to an eCommerce account that includes an SSL certificate and PCI Compliance.
Consequences of Not Using PCI Compliant Hosting
Surprisingly, PCI compliance is so important in the Internet industry that credit card companies and banks actually have the authority to fine business owners that are not in compliance with PCI standards. In fact, they can even disable the card that is being processed temporarily to keep you from processing any payments through your site with that card. A lot of online shoppers will also be deterred from shopping on your site if you do not have these fundamental security precautions in place.
PCI Standards
Now that you’re aware of the importance of PCI Compliance and its role in eCommerce hosting, you may want to familiarize yourself with the following standards of PCI compliance. Regular PCI audits are conducted to ensure that hosting companies are complying with these PCI standards at all times. IP addresses that are assigned to hosting customers must be regularly scanned for any vulnerabilities. Hosting companies have to take all of the necessary steps to protect customer data, and must maintain a set of standards for server setup and administration. When PCI audit is conducted, a set of tools are used to ensure that every aspect of the hosting company’s operating meets PCI standards.
There are internet security specialist that offer complete PCI compliance services which include the installation and setup of firewalls and other required security precautions. If you are planning on starting your own hosting company it is necessary to ensure compliance with PCI standards in order to avoid being blocked by banks and credit card companies. Likewise, if you;re planning on purchasing a hosting plan with a certain hosting company it is important to make sure they’re PCI compliant so that yo do not run the risk of having your online store blocked as well.
Good explanation! PCI compliance is a very important issue to consider when looking into purchasing a shopping cart. Many people don’t realize how much of a role it should play in deciding what eCommerce solution to choose!