Did you know that 60% of small businesses go under within 6 months of a cyber attack*? According to industry research**, restaurants and retail small business merchants make up the biggest portion of total known breaches, and only about 20% are compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

In credit card processor speak, small business merchants fall into the Level 4 merchant category. As such, they are required to adhere to the PCI DSS and to demonstrate Payment Card Brand specific compliance annually. Failure to do so results in penalties by the processor. Merchants have seen many changes to their credit processor validation requirements over the last several years between updates to the PCI DSS, hardware, and the recent VISA Qualified Integrator and Reseller (QIR) mandate.

Last year VISA issued a QIR mandate to Level 4 merchants and were given a deadline of February 2017 to begin utilizing only PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) qualified QIR Companies for Point of Sale activities, or pay a fine. This is the first mandate of it’s kind, and other payment card brands are anticipated to follow suit in the near future. The mandate is meant to alleviate compliance risk during implementation and ongoing maintenance support of point of sale systems. By using organizations that have completed the PCI SSC QIR qualification, merchants improve security by ensuring that point of sale systems are installed and integrated in a manner that facilitates the merchant’s PCI DSS compliance and ultimately reduces risk.

RDS has over 130 QIR qualified technicians and is dedicated to cultivating internal PCI DSS awareness and serving as a resource to guide our customers throughout their PCI Compliance journey. As a QIR Company, RDS only installs and maintains PA-DSS validated payment applications and implements data security into every facet of business operations, from the implementation of point-of-sale systems, to keeping our employees trained and up-to-date with the latest security standards.

In the POS industry since 1950, RDS has continuously adapted and grown through many changes providing smarter products and support to our clients year after year. This includes cultivating PCI DSS compliant processes and environments to serve as an advisor to our clients. RDS is proud to have over 130 employees QIR qualified to conduct Qualified Installations and assure compliance with the PCI DSS.

*Cyber Security Statistics – Numbers Small Businesses Need to Know, Jan 3, 2017, Small Business Trends (https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/01/cyber-security-statistics-small-business.html)

**Verizon 2015 PCI Compliance Report
Visa graphic borrowed from PCI SSC (credit www.pcisecuritystandards.org)