The Importance of PCI Policies and Procedures for PCI DSS Compliance

PCI policies and procedures templates are without question one of the most important ingredients for success when it comes to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Developing all the necessary documentation for PCI DSS compliance can be incredibly time-consuming and taxing, so here’s 10 things you need to know about PCI compliance and PCI policies and procedures templates, courtesy of pcipolicyportal.com, the undisputed leader in providing PCI specific documentation since 2009.

PCI Policies and Procedures Templates – 10 Things to Know 

1. Documentation is Essential for PCI Compliance. Very essential. In fact, it’s arguably the most demanding and time-consuming process of becoming PCI DSS compliant; it truly is. It’s also why companies are often searching the Internet looking for high-quality, industry leading PCI policies and procedures, such as those offered for instant download from pcipolicyportal.com. Did you know that there are approximately 50 + policies, procedures, and other essential forms that need to be developed for compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)?

That’s right, and the time and effort it takes in authoring such material can be incredibly challenging and exhausting. Sure, PCI DSS is a technical mandate – no denying that – but the amount of policy documentation needed is absolutely staggering, so keep that in mind. Our policy packets are world renowned and have been used by some of the biggest names in the business, from Crate & Barrel to Kraft foods, professional football teams, and more. Don’t trust your PCI policies and procedures templates to just anyone, trust us! What’s more, we’ve also developed PCI Policy Packets for all the major industries – banking, telecom, SaaS/Cloud Computing, e-commerce, healthcare, and many more – so visit pcipolicyportal.com today and learn more about our industry leading products and services.

2. It “CAN” be an Expensive Proposition. Yes, it “can”, if you decide to hire consultants who charge thousands of dollars on policy and procedure writing services. Additionally, if you ignore the compliance mandate of policies and procedures, it means you’re not PCI DSS compliant, which can cost you a tremendous amount of money in terms of non-compliance, so keep this in mind. The practical approach is to instantly download our PCI policies and procedures templates, spending the necessary time to customize your documentation as necessary. The PCI policies and procedures templates provided by pcipolicyportal.com for instant download are easy-to-use and high-quality.

Merchants and service providers are often shocked at the amount of time and effort needed for writing PCI policies and procedures, and it’s why businesses from all corners of the country – and the globe – are turning to the experts at Materdei Consulting, LLC for much-needed policy writing. We take the pain out of policy writing, giving you a highly customized packet of PCI policy documents that are simply second to none. Sure, you can author them yourself – and using our templates will save you a tremendous amount of time and money – so you now have two great options when it comes to much-needed policies and procedures for PCI DSS compliance.

3. Your Policies must be Well-Written and High Quality. There’s two main reasons for this. First, PCI assessors and auditors will demand that your information security policies and procedures are clear, current, and reflective of your actual PCI DSS environment. If not, then you’ll be required to perform necessary remediation. Second, your internal employees – the users of the policies and procedures – will be relying on such documentation for helping them understand their daily roles and responsibilities. For these two reasons, your documentation must be well-written, factual, and current. The PCI policies and procedures templates provided by pcipolicyportal.com for instant download are easy-to-use and high-quality, ultimately allowing you to develop the very best documents.

4. Sourcing Templates is the Best Avenue to take. Who wants to spend hundreds of hours – or even thousands of dollars – on writing policies and procedures for PCI DSS compliance? Probably not your company, and it’s why starting off with a baseline set of well-written templates is an absolute must, and it’s exactly what pcipolicyportal.com offers for instant download today. Our documentation is incredibly well-written, easy-to-use and implement, and available for a number of different industries. Visit pcipolicyportal.com today to learn more about the very best PCI DSS templates found anywhere online. From banking to information security – and more – we’ve got you covered with easy-to-use, customized templates.

5. Security Awareness Documentation is Critical. Training your employees on emerging security threats, challenges, and best practices requires much more than just a policy document. Yes, it’s a mandate for PCI DSS compliance, but security awareness training should also be a best practice employed by ANY company, regardless of industry, size or sector. After all, doesn’t it just make sense to have well-trained, highly skilled employees working for you that can truly respond to incidents and breaches if necessary? Sure it does, and it’s why security awareness training is a must. Our PCI Policy Packets – available for instant download – provide high-quality security awareness training materials, so visit pcipolicyportal.com to learn more today.

6. Risk Assessment Materials are Essential. Another mandate for compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is performing an annual risk assessment. Most businesses should be doing this anyway, regardless of the PCI DSS mandates, as it just makes good business sense. After all, how can you run a business without identifying risks that could jeopardize your company? pcipolicyportal.com provides an incredibly comprehensive, easy-to-use risk assessment platform consisting of essential documents, forms, and spreadsheets that are available for instant download today. We live in a digitally driven world, one full of cybersecurity threats, so the ability to assess such threats and respond accordingly is one important reason – amongst many – for performing an annual risk assessment.

7. Monitoring Third-Party Providers is Necessary. Many companies that have to become PCI DSS compliant also rely on other external entities for various functions. From performing calculation of payments to mailing of sensitive documents – the list is almost endless – therefore, if any of these organizations are interacting and touching your cardholder data, they’ll need to be become PCI DSS compliant. At the very least, you’ll need to have due diligence measures in place for ensuring they have essential information security and/or PCI DSS specific best practices in place. We live in a world where almost everything is being outsourced – and that’s fine – you just need to perform your necessary due-diligence for ensuring the safety of cardholder data.

8. Why choose pcipolicyportal.com documents. Simple; we’ve been the industry leader since 2009 in offering high-quality, cost-effective services and solutions for businesses all throughout North America – and the globe – and we’ll continue to assist merchants and service providers in becoming compliant. Our PCI policies and procedures have been extensively researched and developed by industry leading security and compliance professionals with years of real-world expertise in assessing, understanding, and interpreting the PCI DSS framework. Whatever your documentation needs are, pcipolicyportal.com is here to help you every step of the way.

9. Continuous Monitoring is here to Stay. What’s “Continuous Monitoring”, it’s the very initiatives you need to be undertaking on a regular basis for assessing, inspecting, and monitoring your internal policies, procedures, and processes. More specifically, it’s about monitoring your internal controls for ensuring the continued safety and security of cardholder data. Sure, you may very well go through an annual PCI DSS certification, but that’s only a point-in-time, you need to be monitoring your controls consistently. pcipolicyportal.com provides tools and templates for continuous monitoring, so contact us today to learn more by calling 424-274-1952 or emailing us at pci@pcipolicyportal.com.

10. Where to Begin? Begin by creating a mindset that says “I will take PCI DSS compliance seriously”. When you’ve got your PCI game on, then move forward with performing a scoping & readiness assessment. Ultimately, you’ll find the need for policies and procedures – and other essential documentation for helping become compliant – so visit pcipolicyportal.com today and obtain the very best policies, procedures, forms, checklists – and more – for ensuring rapid, complete, and cost-effective compliance in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. You can do it, and we’re here to help you every step of the way at pcipolicyportal.com.

Materdei Consulting, LLC, the founders of pcipolicyportal.com, offer the following services for helping merchants and service providers become PCI DSS compliant:

• PCI DSS Scoping & Readiness Assessments.
• PCI Remediation Services
• PCI Policies and Procedures Writing Services
• Assistance with the completion of the PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQ)
• Assistance with sourcing all necessary security tools for becoming PCI compliant
• “Continuous Monitoring” services for ensuring you STAY PCI compliant each year