All of these statements are false. PCI applies to all merchants who accept cards, regardless of size, business format or card type. All merchants who accept, store, transmit or process credit card information fall under the rules of PCI, with no exceptions.

Visa, MasterCard, American Express Co., and Discover Financial Services all recognize and enforce to the PCI standard as an integral part of their data security programs, and noncomplying merchants risk their ability to accept credit cards, face monthly fines AND can be subject to higher credit card processing rates.

Questions to consider about PCI are:
1. How many transactions do I process per year? Your specific obligations as a merchant vary under PCI, based on your transaction volume. 
2. How many of my transactions are e-commerce? Accepting payments over the internet can affect your risk factor and thereby impact requirements for your company under PCI.
3. Do I have written policies, procedures and protocols? It's impossible for a merchant to fulfill PCI requirements without a codified set of company guidelines.
4. Have I performed penetration scans? Under PCI requirements, certain classes of merchants must obtain penetration scans from qualified independent scan vendors to ensure hackers can't break the merchant's site.
5. Have I completed the required PCI validation? The consequences of failing a self-reporting questionnaire or fabricating results can be devastating to a merchant.

To learn more about PCI, please join us for the Drop The Data business education session - part of a nationwide tour presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Visa, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and Smart Payment Solutions.
Register today!

Sincerely,

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce
703.525.2400
www.arlingtonchamber.org

Founded in 1924, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary, non-profit organization of over 1,800 business and professional people committed to the economic and civic well being of the community.