By merchantservices August 20, 2025
PCI compliance is essential for every company dealing with payment card data information. It ensures that your customers’ sensitive information is safe and secure during a transaction. As more data breaches and fraud cases occur, following PCI standards secures your company against potential financial and legal penalties.
No matter if you are an e-commerce website, a brick-and-mortar store, or a service provider, it is important to know about PCI compliance to protect both your company and customers. Here’s what every small business owner should know about remaining compliant and secure.
Why Small Merchants Are Easy Targets for Credit Card Breaches
Small business owners tend to believe that hackers target large brands with high sales. The reality is, cybercriminals quite often view small merchants as a softer target. Large businesses generally have secure and costly security systems, so it is much more difficult to break in.
Small companies, however, tend to ignore basic security— either due to expense or ignorance, which eventually leaves payment card information to be vulnerable.
Hackers are well aware of this and specifically search for vulnerable systems to target. This is worse because most small retailers don’t follow security practices like ongoing security monitoring.
For small business owners, it’s essential to put payment security first and adhere to PCI DSS standards, even if you believe your company is too small to be targeted.
Non-Compliance Fines and Fees
Failure to abide by PCI DSS regulations can become extremely expensive for small companies. When a data breach occurs and a merchant is discovered to be non-compliant, payment brands such as Visa or MasterCard can levy substantial fines through the bank, which in turn charges the company.
They range between $5,000 and $500,000 based on the severity of the violation and the size of the company.In addition to fines, most payment processors also impose monthly non-compliance fees. These might appear insignificant—$10 to $30, but they tend to add up quickly.
The True Cost of a Data Breach: Beyond Money
A data breach doesn’t just hurt your pocket—it can damage your business in ways that money alone can’t fix. When customer data is exposed, trust takes a major hit, and once that trust is broken, it’s hard to win back.
News of a breach spreads fast online, leaving a lasting stain on your brand that can show up in search results for years.
Payment providers like Visa or MasterCard may even cut ties, making it impossible to accept traditional and modern card payments, which most businesses can’t survive without.
On top of that, you’ll have to pour valuable time and energy into managing the crisis—handling legal issues, dealing with upset customers, and repairing your reputation—instead of focusing on growth.
Achieving PCI Compliance
To stay PCI compliant, start by reviewing how your business currently handles security. Review your staff training, systems, and policies to identify any gaps to be filled. Then, install the appropriate protections, like firewalls, encryption, and access controls, and ensure all software is kept up-to-date.
Monitor your systems by performing regular checks and tests to catch problems early. It’s also a good idea to document everything—your policies, procedures, and audit records—to demonstrate your compliance if required.
Lastly, keep yourself informed of any revisions to PCI DSS regulations and modify your security procedures so your business, whether online-based or onsite, is consistently protected.
Who Should Be PCI Compliant
All businesses that process payment card information—online and offline—need to comply with PCI DSS regulations.
These can be e-commerce sites that process card payments, physical stores with POS terminals, mobile sellers processing payments on tablets or phones, and B2B services processing payments for businesses.
Large card brands such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as payment processors such as Stripe and PayPal, mandate this compliance in order to keep customer card information secure for all transactions.
Incorporating PCI DSS into Your Compliance Procedures
PCI DSS is constantly upgraded to incorporate new security threats, so companies must adapt to the changes. Begin by reading the requirements and finding out which ones relate to your business category, as compliance levels differ.
Incorporate risk checks into your routine to identify and repair weaknesses before they become an issue. Keep your technology current with the newest tools, more robust encryption, and improved monitoring systems to remain secure.
Lastly, train your employees so they are aware of the new standards and recognize how crucial PCI compliance is for safeguarding customer information and your business.
Understanding PCI Compliance Levels
PCI compliance consists of four levels, depending on the number of credit card transactions a company processes annually. These levels are applicable to every mode of transactions, whether through an online gateway, retail POS solution, or in-app payment.
- Level 1: For companies processing over 6 million transactions yearly.
- Level 2: For those processing between 1 million and 6 million transactions per year.
- Level 3: For e-commerce merchants who handle between 20,000 and 1 million online transactions annually.
- Level 4: For merchants with fewer than 20,000 e-commerce transactions annually or less than 1 million transactions overall.
Remember that if a merchant is classified as “high risk” or suffers a breach, credit card companies can place it directly in Level 1—irrespective of its size.
The 12 PCI DSS Requirements Checklist
How to Stay in Ongoing PCI Compliance
Being PCI compliant is not a one time activity but a continued effort to keep your business secure. Begin by determining whether or not you will be required to fill out an annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), which is based on how you accept payments. Ongoing risk assessments, such as scans and testing, will be able identify vulnerabilities more early.
Always keep your software, firewalls, and antivirus programs up to date, and ensure staff use strong, regular passwords. Limit who can see sensitive information by granting permissions only when it is absolutely required and monitoring use.
Maintain accurate payment records to facilitate audits or breach investigations. Finally, train staff frequently so they are aware of how to prevent scams and adhere to the most recent security procedures.
What Does PCI Compliance Cost?
The cost of PCI compliance depends on the size of your business and how compliant you want to be. For Level 4 businesses, it can range from $60–$75 per month, including network scans and a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).
Next we have Level 3 businesses which pay approximately $1,200 per year, including ongoing scans and fees depending on the size of your network. Level 2 fees begin at $10,000 annually, where greater scanning and assessment needs exist.
Lastly Level 1, on the other hand, is much more expensive, beginning at around $50,000 annually for detailed reports and security scans.
Types of PCI Compliance
PCI compliance has different forms based on the nature of the business and transaction types. PCI DESV imposes additional validation tests to help businesses retain PCI DSS controls in their daily operations.
PCI MPoC targets securing mobile payments and enables merchants to receive PINs or contactless payments via smartphones or mobile devices. PCI PTS is for hardware such as terminals that process PIN data and ensure their security.
PCI PIN secures the management and transmission of PIN data during card transactions. PCI SPoC are for apps on devices where PINs are processed for transactions, ensuring that their integrity is guaranteed.
Lastly PCI 3DS supports secure authentication for card-not-present payments, providing a further level of protection for online transactions.
Beyond PCI Compliance
Getting PCI compliance is only the start when it comes to security for cardholder data. For protection against sensitive information, tokenization and end-to-end encryption are employed so that card numbers are never stored once a transaction is finalized.
Highly advanced cloud infrastructures are consistently tested for vulnerabilities, preventing third-party interception of data.
Conclusion
PCI compliance isn’t merely a matter of regulation; it’s a matter of upholding customer confidence and safeguarding your business against financial and reputational loss.
With the appropriate security in place, periodic risk evaluations, and awareness of the current PCI standards, you are assured that your payment procedures are secure.
Regardless of your business size, whether a small business or a big firm, keeping PCI compliance as your top priority is an active step toward protecting sensitive information and the sustainability of your business.
FAQs
What is PCI compliance?
PCI compliance refers to a series of security standards for safeguarding payment card data while making transactions. Companies dealing with cardholder data need to comply with these standards.
Who needs to be PCI compliant?
Any company that stores, processes, or sends payment card data needs to be PCI compliant, irrespective of size.
How do I achieve PCI compliance?
Gaining PCI compliance requires putting in place security controls such as encryption, access controls, and periodic audits, and filling out a Self-Assessment Questionnaire or audit.
What if my business isn't PCI compliant?
Non-compliance can result in fines, court cases, and the loss of the right to process card payments, eventually damaging your business reputation.
How often do I need to review my PCI compliance?
PCI compliance must be checked on an annual basis or whenever your payment systems are significantly altered to ensure security and compliance.