The loss of customers’ personal and financial data is hugely damaging to a company’s public image, as those at the heart of recent scandals will testify. To combat this, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created and implemented.

This worldwide information security standard provides a framework and set of guidelines to enable businesses and organisations that handle credit card transactions to securely transmit, process and store data and minimise the potential for fraud.

Businesses are clearly seeing the benefits of PCI DSS compliance. According to research by The Logic Group, 81 per cent of surveyed companies have already assessed the impact PCI compliance will have on their business, up from 52 per cent last year. Some 73 per cent say they have committed to achieving PCI compliance over the next 18 months.

For most companies it is only a small step to full PCI compliance, but many organisations which should be compliant with the standard still fall short. Six per cent of the firms surveyed have yet to start to achieve full compliance despite the fact it is mandatory for any business that handles customer credit card details.

It is important for customers who supply personal information to businesses to know their data is safe, especially with online firms. In using PCI DSS to heighten payment security, a customer has this assurance and sharing credit card data becomes less of a worry. Confidence in your services is increased and customers are much more likely to return.

Organisations are periodically provided with an audit to ascertain that the system they use to store and transmit their customer data is not compromised. As fraudsters become more sophisticated, PCI DSS has continued to evolve. Compliance will continue to change and adapt to mitigate the risk of compromised cardholder information.

PCI DSS compliance protects your business and adhering to current standards is vital if you want to keep your most important data out of the hands of criminals.

Peter Jackson is a BCS contributor