As a business owner, it is important to educate yourself on the effects a data breach could have on your company. If a data breach occurs, there are several areas of your business that may be negatively affected as a result. However, being a PCI compliant merchant and using a PCI compliant payment processor can significantly reduce your chances of a breach.
In the event that a data breach does occur, you will face upset clients who will want answers and help that you may not be able to give at that point. These unhappy clients will most likely discontinue service with you, as well as spread the word in any way they can about their information being stolen through their use of your company. Obviously, this can quickly spiral out of control as your brand takes an immense hit from this data breach.
On top of your company’s reputation taking a big hit, should you not be PCI compliant, you will face numerous fines and fees as a result. These fees are imposed by Visa / Mastercard and their associated Member Banks and can range anywhere from $5,000 – $500,000. To make matters much worse, you will most likely face some serious lawsuits and litigation expenses. Everyone will want to pinpoint blame somewhere, and if you haven’t followed PCI protocol, it will be easiest to rest that blame on you as the business owner.
There are a million things to do when you own a small business and data security can often get pushed to the backburner. But with everything at stake, it’s crucial for your business to become and remain PCI compliant. One of the easiest ways to do that is to choose a credit card processing company (like Easy Pay Direct) that is also PCI compliant and can walk you through that process. Protect your clients, protect your business, and protect yourself.
