What is Payment Card Industry?
Definition
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) refers to the ecosystem of organizations involved in payment card transactions, including card brands (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, JCB), issuing banks, acquiring banks, payment processors, and merchants. The PCI Security Standards Council governs security standards for this ecosystem.
In Depth
The Payment Card Industry encompasses a complex network of participants that facilitate billions of card transactions daily. At the governance level, the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was founded in 2006 by the five major card brands to develop and maintain security standards. The council publishes PCI DSS, PA-DSS (now Software Security Framework), PTS, and P2PE standards. Each card brand also maintains its own compliance program that determines validation requirements based on transaction volume levels. Understanding the PCI ecosystem is essential for compliance because obligations flow through the payment chain: card brands set requirements, acquiring banks enforce them against merchants and service providers, and payment processors implement them operationally. Organizations must understand their role in this ecosystem to determine which PCI standards apply, what validation level is required, and who they report compliance to. The ecosystem is evolving with the rise of mobile payments, contactless transactions, and digital wallets, which introduce new security considerations addressed in PCI DSS v4.0.
Related Frameworks
Related Terms
PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards mandated by major credit card brands to protect cardholder data. It applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits credit card information regardless of size.
Qualified Security Assessor
A Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) is an independent security professional certified by the PCI Security Standards Council to validate an organization's compliance with PCI DSS. QSAs conduct on-site assessments and produce the Report on Compliance (ROC) required for Level 1 merchants.
Self-Assessment Questionnaire
A Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is a PCI DSS validation tool for merchants and service providers who are not required to undergo a full on-site QSA assessment. There are multiple SAQ types (A, A-EP, B, B-IP, C, C-VT, D, P2PE) based on how the organization handles cardholder data.
Cardholder Data Environment
The Cardholder Data Environment (CDE) encompasses all people, processes, and technology that store, process, or transmit cardholder data or sensitive authentication data. Properly scoping the CDE is the critical first step in PCI DSS compliance.
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