Empower your payment card processing organization to enhance payment security, protect cardholder data, and demonstrate operational excellence with Glocert International's specialized ISO certifications, security assessments, and compliance solutions.
Payment card processors and payment service providers handle highly sensitive cardholder data, operate under strict PCI DSS requirements, and are subject to evolving payment security, financial regulations, and data protection regulations. The combination of regulatory pressure, cardholder data sensitivity, operational risk, transaction volume, and third-party exposure creates unique compliance challenges that require specialized expertise and payment-specific solutions.
Payment card processors must navigate multiple regulatory frameworks including PCI DSS (mandatory for payment card security), SOC 1 (for financial controls), SOC 2 (for service organization controls), ISO 27001 (for information security), and financial sector regulations. Understanding which regulations apply and how they intersect is critical for maintaining compliance, avoiding penalties, and protecting cardholder data across different jurisdictions. Payment card security requirements are more prescriptive than general financial compliance.
Many payment card processors make critical mistakes including treating PCI DSS as a checkbox exercise instead of a governance system, implementing security controls without addressing payment-specific risks (network segmentation, encryption, access controls), ignoring third-party vendor risk, failing to maintain evidence between audits, and insufficient payment card security. Understanding these common pitfalls helps organizations avoid costly compliance failures and regulatory penalties.
Understanding which regulations apply to your payment card processing organization and how they intersect is critical for maintaining compliance and protecting cardholder data.
PCI DSS: Required for payment card processors and payment service providers that accept, process, store, or transmit payment card data. Applies to all payment processors, payment gateways, and payment service providers handling cardholder data. Non-compliance can result in fines, loss of payment processing privileges, and reputational damage.
SOC 1: Required for payment processors handling financial transactions. Demonstrates Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) for customers, auditors, and regulators.
Financial Regulations: Payment processors must comply with financial sector regulations, banking regulations, and payment regulations in jurisdictions where they operate.
SOC 2: Commonly required by enterprise customers and partners for payment processors. Demonstrates security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls for payment processing services.
ISO/IEC 27001: Widely recognized information security management system standard, often required for enterprise contracts, partnerships, and regulatory compliance in payment processing.
ISO/IEC 27701: Privacy information management system extension to ISO 27001, helping payment processors demonstrate GDPR and other privacy law compliance.
Operational Resilience: Increasing focus on business continuity and operational resilience for payment processors, including ISO 22301 and regulatory requirements for payment system availability.
Third-Party Risk: Enhanced scrutiny of third-party vendors, payment gateways, and service providers in payment processing operations.
Real-Time Payment Security: Growing emphasis on real-time payment processing security, fraud detection, and transaction monitoring capabilities.
These certifications help payment card processing organizations demonstrate compliance, protect cardholder data, and meet regulatory requirements.
For payment card security. Required for payment processors handling payment card data. Ensures organizations maintain secure environments and protect cardholder data throughout the payment lifecycle.
Learn MoreFor financial controls. Demonstrates Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) for payment processors handling financial transactions and processes.
Learn MoreFor service organization controls. Commonly required by enterprise customers and partners for payment processors. Demonstrates security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls.
Learn MoreFor information security governance. Provides a systematic approach to managing information security risks and protecting cardholder data across payment processing operations.
Learn MoreFor business continuity. Ensures payment processors can maintain critical operations and payment processing services during disruptions, essential for operational resilience.
Learn MoreFor privacy management. Extends ISO 27001 to provide a privacy information management system aligned with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations, essential for payment processors handling customer data.
Learn MoreFor risk management. Strengthens risk management capabilities and enhances organizational resilience in payment processing operations, addressing financial, operational, and technology risks.
Learn MoreFor security validation. Identifies and remediates payment processing security vulnerabilities, network security weaknesses, and access control gaps in payment systems.
Learn MoreUnderstanding these common pitfalls helps payment card processing organizations avoid costly compliance failures and build more effective security and compliance programs.
Many payment processors implement PCI DSS as a checklist rather than a governance system. Effective payment card security requires executive leadership, organizational culture change, and integration with payment processing operations, not just technical controls.
Implementing security controls without aligning with payment processing operations and customer requirements leads to friction, workarounds, and compliance failures. Security must integrate seamlessly with payment processing workflows.
Payment processors often focus on internal controls while overlooking third-party vendors, payment gateways, cloud service providers, and software supply chain risks. These represent significant risk vectors that must be assessed and managed.
Many payment processors prepare evidence only during audit periods, leading to gaps, inconsistencies, and compliance failures. Continuous evidence maintenance and monitoring are essential for effective compliance in payment processing.
Many payment processors fail to properly implement PCI DSS requirements, including network segmentation, encryption, access controls, and monitoring. Payment card security requires comprehensive controls, not just basic compliance.
Payment processors often have incident response plans that are not tested, not integrated with operations, or fail to address customer notification, regulatory reporting, and business continuity requirements effectively.
Glocert supports payment card processing organizations through independent certification, assurance, and audit services aligned to international standards and payment security regulations.
Our payment card processing compliance services include PCI DSS compliance for payment card security, SOC 1 audits for financial controls, SOC 2 audits for service organization controls, ISO 27001 certification for information security governance, ISO 22301 certification for business continuity, ISO 27701 certification for privacy management, and penetration testing to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities.
We understand the unique challenges of payment card processing organizations including regulatory complexity, cardholder data sensitivity, payment card security, transaction processing, third-party vendor risk, and operational resilience. Our auditors bring deep payment card processing industry expertise and work with you to build compliance programs that protect cardholder data, demonstrate operational excellence, ensure payment security, and meet regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
Are you ready to enhance payment security and achieve compliance excellence? Glocert International is ready to assist with ISO certifications, security assessments, and compliance solutions tailored to your payment card processing organization.