What Is PCI Compliance For Call Centers?

PCI compliance for call centers refers to adherence to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) when handling credit card information over the phone. It is a set of security standards to ensure that all call center companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

If you run a call center that handles credit card payments, you must know the importance of PCI compliance. PCI compliance is a legal obligation that protects your customers’ data and reputation.

This article will explain what PCI compliance is, why it matters, what the key requirements are, and how to achieve it with some best practices.

What Is Compliance In A Call Center?

Compliance in a call center means following the rules and regulations to protect customers and the sensitive data shared during their interactions with call center agents. It can cover various aspects, such as data security, privacy, quality, customer service, ethics, and more.

Compliance is essential for any call center, as it can help you avoid fines, lawsuits, audits, and reputational damage. Compliance can also help you improve call center agent performance, customer satisfaction, and trust.

Individual countries may have different laws about call center compliance. Breaking these laws can result in severe fines and damage to a company’s reputation. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is one of the compliance standards call centers follow. Let’s learn the basics of PCI compliance for call centers first.

What Is PCI Compliance For Call Centers?

PCI DSS is a set of guidelines and best practices to ensure credit card data security during processing, storage, and transmission. Five major credit card companies, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, and Discover, created this compliance to protect cardholders from fraud and identity theft.

Credit card fraud attempts are rising. 46% of global credit card fraud happens in the US, and the losses will reach $43 billion by 2026 worldwide. Credit card fraud was the most common type of identity theft the previous year. 318,087 credit card fraud reports were filed in the first three quarters of 2023. That’s why PCI compliance is crucial to prevent identity theft or credit card fraud.

PCI compliance for call centers means that your center meets the PCI DSS requirements and follows the procedures. PCI compliance for call centers applies to any call center that accepts, processes, stores, or transmits credit card information. It can be over the phone, online, or through other channels.

Several call centers ask customers to share sensitive credit card information, like account numbers, CCV codes, and expiration dates, over the phone as their standard procedure. So, these call centers require PCI compliance to safeguard customers and their personal information.

Who Needs To Be PCI Compliant

Any call center dealing with credit card data must be PCI compliant, regardless of size, location, or industry. PCI compliance is mandatory for any business that accepts credit cards as payment. It is also an ongoing process that requires regular assessment, monitoring, and improvement.

All individuals within the cardholder data environment (CDE), including customer service representatives and IT support teams, must comply with PCI. Every agent, technology, and system responsible for storing, processing, or transmitting credit card information for call centers must be PCI-compliant.

Call centers must train their agents who handle credit card data in PCI compliance best practices. They must understand how to manage and transmit sensitive information securely. Also, they must be aware of the importance of data protection to keep your CDE secure.

What Are The Key Requirements For PCI Compliance?

To follow the PCI DDS procedures, call centers must follow some requirements. There are 12 vital requirements for PCI compliance. The core focus of these requirements is to protect cardholder data and improve service levels in a call center.

Call center agents that store, process, or transmit cardholder data need to know about these 12 key requirements for PCI compliance. Now, let’s look at them.

1. Use a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
2. Use strong password protections and other security parameters
3. Protect stored cardholder data
4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across public networks
5. Use and regularly update antivirus software or programs
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to cardholder data
8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data
10. Track all access to network resources and cardholder data
11. Regularly test security systems and processes
12. Maintain a policy on information security for all personnel

Call centers can divide these key requirements into six different categories. Each focuses on a specific aspect of information security and is the best practice of PCI compliance for call centers. You’ll get a detailed description of these best practices below.

PCI Compliance For Call Centers: Best Practices

Achieving PCI compliance for call centers can be challenging but not impossible. Here are the six best practices to help you meet the PCI DSS requirements and secure your call center operations.

Build And Maintain A Secure Network And Systems

Use a firewall to protect your network from unauthorized access and intrusion. Configure your firewall according to the PCI DSS standards and update it regularly.

Further, change the default passwords and settings of your systems and devices. Use strong and unique passwords that are hard to guess and crack. Change your passwords frequently, and do not share them with anyone.

Moreover, segment your network to isolate the cardholder data environment from the rest of your network. It can reduce the scope and risk of a data breach.

In addition, use a secure payment gateway for the processing of all payment transactions. Call centers should ensure full payment security by implementing tools, namely Level 1 PCI-DSS, European Directive PSD2, and continuous auditing and biometrics.

Finally, use secure protocols and encryption to transmit cardholder data over the internet or other networks. Avoid using email, chat, or fax to send or receive cardholder data, as these methods are not secure.

Protect Cardholder Data

To protect cardholder data, first minimize the amount and duration of cardholder data that you collect, store, and process. Only collect the data you need for the transaction and delete it as soon as possible. Do not store sensitive data, such as the card verification code or the PIN, as PCI DSS prohibits this.

Next, encrypt the cardholder data you store using industry-standard algorithms and keys. It requires a strong level of encryption to protect cardholder data. The minimum key strength needs to be 256 bits. Store the encryption keys separately from the data and protect them from unauthorized access.

Mask the cardholder data that you display, such as on your screen, reports, or receipts. Only show the last four digits of the card number and hide the rest.

Also, use a secure payment gateway or service provider to process your payments. Ensure that your payment partner is PCI compliant and that they provide you with a PCI compliance certificate or attestation of compliance.

Maintain A Vulnerability Management Program

Install and update antivirus software on all your systems and devices that handle cardholder data. Scan your systems and devices regularly for viruses, malware, and other threats.

Furthermore, regularly patch and update your systems and applications to fix security vulnerabilities or bugs. Follow the vendor’s recommendations and guidelines for applying patches and updates.

Lastly, perform regular vulnerability scans and penetration tests on your network and systems to identify and repair weaknesses or gaps. Use qualified and approved scanning vendors and testing tools for this purpose.

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

Restrict access to cardholder data to only those who need it for their job. Implement the principle of least privilege and role-based access control to limit your staff’s access rights and permissions.

For this, assign a unique ID and password to each user who accesses your network and systems. Do not use generic or shared accounts or passwords. Enforce password policies, such as length, complexity, expiration, and lockout. Additionally, use multi-factor authentication to verify the identity of your users before granting them access to cardholder data. 

Also, monitor and log all access and activity on your network and systems. Use a centralized and secure logging system that records each event’s date, time, user, action, and outcome. Review and analyze the logs regularly for any anomalies or suspicious behavior.

Regularly Monitor And Test Networks

Track and monitor all network traffic and data flows to and from your cardholder data environment. Use network monitoring tools like firewalls, intrusion detection, and intrusion prevention systems to detect and prevent any unauthorized or malicious activity.

Test your network and systems regularly for any security issues or breaches. Use internal and external audits, vulnerability scans, penetration tests, and other methods to assess and verify your compliance status and security posture.

Also, report and respond to any security incidents or breaches promptly and effectively. Follow your incident response plan and procedures to contain, analyze, eradicate, and recover from the incident. Document and review the incident and lessons learned and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

Maintain An Information Security Policy

Establish and maintain a written information security policy that defines your security objectives, roles, responsibilities, and standards. Communicate and distribute your policy to all your staff and stakeholders and ensure they understand and follow it.

In addition, educate and train your staff on the importance of PCI compliance and the best practices for data security. Provide regular and updated training sessions, workshops, and awareness campaigns to keep your staff informed and engaged.

Review and update your policy and practices regularly to reflect the changes in your business environment, technology, and regulations. Conduct periodic audits and assessments to measure and improve your compliance performance and security maturity.

Benefits of PCI Compliance For Call Centers

PCI compliance for a call center brings many benefits. PCI compliance can help you avoid fines and lawsuits and decrease the risk of compliance breaches. Also, it improves brand image and increases sales. Let’s look at the significant benefits of PCI compliance for call centers.

• Protect your customers’ data and privacy from fraud and identity theft. It can enhance your customer loyalty, satisfaction, and retention.
• Protect your reputation and brand image from negative publicity and damage. It can increase your customer confidence, trust, and preference.
• Protect your business from financial losses and legal liabilities. It can reduce your operational costs, fines, penalties, and lawsuits.
• Gain a competitive edge and market advantage over your competitors. It can attract more customers and partners and increase your revenue and growth.

Final Thoughts

PCI compliance for call centers is a valuable aspect of your business. Call centers failing to comply with it can bring legal, financial, and reputational consequences. No one wants to do business with a call center that isn’t secure, or they can’t trust. 

Following the PCI DSS requirements and best practices, you can ensure the security of your credit card data and the success of your call center. Establishing PCI compliance benefits you, your customers, and your business.