My Merchant Account Blog

PCI Security Standards Council

Saturday, June 25, 2011

An agency responsible for the development, management and education of the PCI security standards, including the PCI DSS, PA DSS, and PTS. The council was founded in 2006 by AmEx, Visa, MasterCard, JCB and Discover. It is the governing organization and open forum responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of PCI Security Standards Council, including the Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS).

PCI PIN Entry Device

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Renamed PIN Transaction Security (PTS), this is a special list of security requirements for PIN-enabled card acceptance modules. To gain approval by PCI Security Standards Council, PIN transaction security must comply with the requirements and guidelines specified in the following documents. Vendors preferring to complete forms electronically should download the appropriate documents.

DDA Change Fee

Monday, June 20, 2011

A DDA (demand-deposit account, or merchant checking account) fee is charged when the merchant bank account is changed; the charge will usually take place before the change.  This fee is typically $15.00 - $25.00 and often will not appear on the monthly processing statement of the account.  Check with your bank to learn the exact fee structure before making the change.

PCI DSS

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Established by the major payment brands, including American Express Co., Discover Financial Services, JCB International Co. Ltd., MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the PCI DSS is now managed by the PCI Security Standards Council. The is designed to enhance payment account data security worldwide and consists of 12 requirements governing security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other areas critical to the protection of cardholder data. Failure to adhere to the standard (by any party that handles card information, including merchants and ISOs ) can result in hefty fines. Often shortened to PCI. Also known as: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

Payroll Card

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A reloadable, network-branded prepaid card on which is deposited an employee's salary (usually through a bank transfer). Used as an alternative to cash or check where the employee does not have a bank account or prefers this method of payment. Payroll cards are financial cards that make it possible to access wages and other earnings issued to the cardholder by an employer. The use of a payroll card service makes it possible to eliminate the need for a direct deposit into a checking account as well as the necessity to manually deposit a paycheck into a bank account. With a payroll card, the employee can withdraw money from any automatic teller machine, or use the card in the same manner as any debit card.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

Monday, June 13, 2011

Established by the major payment brands, including American Express Co., Discover Financial Services, JCB International Co. Ltd., MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the PCI DSS is now managed by the PCI Security Standards Council. The PCI DSS is designed to enhance payment account data security worldwide and consists of 12 requirements governing security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other areas critical to the protection of cardholder data. Failure to adhere to the standard (by any party that handles card information, including merchants and ISOs ) can result in hefty fines. Often shortened to PCI. Also known as: PCI DSS

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (DSS)

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Established for securing payment card information. Failure to adhere to the standard (by any party that handles card information, including merchants and ISOs) can result in hefty fines. Often shortened to PCI.e PCI DSS applies to any entity that stores, processes, and/or transmits cardholder data. It covers technical and operational system components included in or connected to cardholder data. If your business accepts or processes payment cards, it must comply with the PCI DSS.

Payment Application Data Security Standard

Monday, June 06, 2011

Established to help software vendors and others develop secure payment applications that do not store prohibited data and to ensure their compliance with the PCI DSS. Payment applications that are sold, distributed or licensed to third parties are subject to PA DSS requirements. In-house payment applications developed by merchants or service providers that are not sold to a third party are not subject to PA DSS requirements but must still be secured in accordance with the PCI DSS.

Non-Reloadable

Sunday, June 05, 2011

A prepaid product with a fixed value. Additional funds cannot be added to the existing value.A "non-reloadable prepaid" card, meaning the initial value is set by the person who purchased the card. Additional funds cannot be added later.

Network-Branded

Friday, June 03, 2011

A prepaid product that can be accepted as payment by any merchant subscribing to that network's service. Also called open-loop. The Network Branded card can be used anywhere Visa, MasterCard, or Discover cards are accepted. SVS currently supports both cards branded with a Visa, MasterCard or Discover logo as well as private label cards with access restricted to specific locations or redeeming qualifications.

MSP

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

An organization registered with Visa and sponsored by an acquiring bank to sell VISA card acceptance services; also refers to an organization that works with and does business under the name of such a registered ISO. ISOs may also service merchant accounts once they are registered, dependent upon the contract with the acquirer. MasterCard uses the term "member service provider" to describe ISOs. However, it is common within the payments industry to use the term "ISO" when referring to independent sales organizations registered with either or both card brands. Also known as: independent sales organization (ISO).