What is the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS)?

PCI-DSS is a worldwide set of industry tools and measurements set up to help businesses process card payments and store sensitive cardholder information securely to reduce card fraud.

This standard is a common set of industry tools and measurements to help ensure the safe handling of sensitive cardholder information. Initially created by aligning Visa’s Account Information Security (AIS)/Cardholder Information Security (CISP) programs with MasterCard’s Site Data Protection (SDP) program, the standard provides an actionable framework for developing a robust account data security process - including preventing, detecting and reacting to security incidents.