International businesses operating in Canada must comply with the country’s laws and regulations. All companies that use payment processors must comply with PCI DSS requirements.
Complying with PCI DSS guidelines will benefit your business, but non-compliance can limit your ability to operate in the country and make you liable for other consequences. Here is a brief guide on what multinational companies need to know about PCI DSS compliance in Canada.
What Is PCI DSS?
PCI DSS are acronyms for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Essentially, PCI DSS are guidelines that advise businesses on handling and processing payments and data from credit cards.
Businesses that accept payments via credit cards and other non-cash payment solutions handle sensitive customer data, including names, addresses, credit card numbers, and other KYC data. Criminals can use such data for malicious intentions such as financial and identity theft. Businesses must keep cardholders’ data from falling into the wrong hands, and PCI DSS requirements are designed to facilitate this.
Canada has four PCI DSS compliance levels, depending on the business’s transaction volume:
- Level 1: More than six million transactions.
- Level 2: Between one and six million transactions.
- Level 3: Between 20,000 and one million transactions.
- Level 4: Less than 20,000 transactions.
Ideally, your business will upgrade to higher levels as its transactions increase. It is also worth noting that businesses that experience data breaches are automatically required to comply with Level 1 PCI DSS compliance, regardless of their transactions’ volume.
Benefits of Ensuring PCI DSS Compliance
Essentially, international businesses processing credit card payments must comply with PCI DSS guidelines to operate in Canada. Compliance also helps unlock other benefits, including:
1. Deterring Cyberattacks
About 21% of businesses in Canada experienced attempted or successful cyberattacks. Complying with PCI DSS guidelines entails installing and maintaining a firewall, anti-virus software, and other security tools. These cybersecurity solutions can help your business deter and repel cyberattacks and potential data breaches.
2. Facilitating Compliance With Other Security Standards
PCI DSS is only one of many security measures with which international businesses operating in Canada must comply. However, complying with PCI DSS will bring you one step closer to complying with some of the other security standards, including ISO 27001 and SOC2.
3. Gaining a Competitive Edge
Customers are also aware of the looming cybersecurity threat when providing their credit card information. Most cautious customers will only work with a secure merchant, so implementing PCI DSS requirements boosts your reputation and competitive edge.
Becoming PCI-DSS-Certified in Canada
Making your business PCI-DSS-compliant in Canada entails implementing various policies, requirements, and procedures for security management, network architecture, software design, and other critical components of your payments system. Overall, it entails implementing the following 12 principles under six categories:
Category 1: Building and maintaining a secure network:
- Install and maintain a firewall to protect cardholders’ data.
- Change passwords and other security parameters from the default ones provided by the system’s manufacturer.
Category 2: Protecting cardholders’ data:
- Protect the cardholder data in your possession.
- Encrypt cardholders’ data when transferring it over open, public networks.
Category 3: Maintaining a vulnerability management program:
- Install and maintain anti-virus software.
- Install and maintain secure systems and applications.
Category 4: Implementing strong access control measures:
- Limit access to cardholders’ data on a business need-to-know basis.
- Restrict physical address to cardholders’ data.
- Assign a unique ID to everyone with access to the system.
Category 5: Monitoring and testing networks regularly:
- Track and monitor all employees’ access to the network and cardholders’ data.
- Test the security systems and processes regularly.
Category 6: Maintaining an information security policy:
- Maintain a versatile policy to address information security.
You can use a self-assessment questionnaire or hire a qualified assessor to determine whether your business is PCI-DSS-compliant. The PCI Council will issue you with a certification if you prove compliance.
Conclusion
Are you interested in setting up a company in Canada? There are many international business opportunities here, but you need to play by the rules to operate in Canada. Get in touch today to learn more about PCI DSS requirements for international businesses – and everything else you need to know about doing business in Canada.
