Ways to Ensure PCI Compliance in Your Restaurant

If you want your restaurant to be PCI compliant, there are several ways to do to prevent your clients’ information from being leaked under any circumstances. In addition, you need to secure your restaurant’s Wi-Fi and update your restaurant’s POS Compliance technology. You need to train your staff as per the PCI Compliance so that they can handle each guest’s credit card or personal information properly.

PCI is a set of compliance standards that ensures that any merchant facilitating credit card and debit card transactions can be secured. The transaction can be very large or very small. Under PCI compliance, all IT sectors of the business are demonstrated according to the standards. Primarily, the focus is on POS Compliance devices and other devices that store client debit and credit card information or personal information.

According to Altamira, the following are all the requirements that are necessary for any restaurant to be PCI compliant.

• Create a secure network structure so that sensitive information will not be leaked
• Customer ATM cards rather, it is debit or credit, and the data should be protected properly
• If there are flaws in the system, make a program to manage them
• Strong access control should be implemented in the restaurant
• Networks should be checked and monitored daily
• The information security policy should be kept updated at all times

Why Your Restaurant Should Be PCI Compliance

Your restaurant should be PCI compliant because it allows you to assure your clients that their credit card or debit card or any personal information will not be used for any purpose. In addition, PCI protects restaurant owners from heavy fines and astronomical fines.

Which may include the following,

• Inspecting or investigating your point of sale
• Non-compliance fines paid through Master or Visa card
• Refunds paid to a restaurant with a stolen card
• Performing the task of replacing a stolen card
• Charging high fees from banks and lenders

It is therefore important that your restaurant is PCI compliant and avoid guests who could be potential thieves and could lead to legal action. It is essential not only because you are going to create custom development of your security system for your internal business but also because all the card information has been manually deleted from the restaurant’s POS system and its adjoining terminal.

The information that must be deleted from your system include

•          Complete account number

•          The full name of the cardholder given on the card

•          The card expiration date is mentioned on the card

•          Magnetic stripe data that has been fetched during the transaction

•          Complete EMP chip data that has been fetched during the transaction

•          PIN (if provided or where required)

•          All authentic data that can be used to access the account holder’s account

Many POS are responsible for automatically deleting all data from cloud-based systems for this your need to custom development of your security system. But if you are still using a legacy system instead of a cloud-based system, it is very essential to delete it manually.

Here are the ways you can make your restaurant PCI compliant.

Passwords Should Keep Changing

When you initially start using a POS or card processing system, its vendor usually uses a password that can be easily hacked. For example, in 1234, the purpose of doing this is not wrong. They do this to choose a password that is easy to use and easy to remember.

After setting up your system, change this password immediately and keep changing it every month so that only those who will be given access to the POS system will be able to access it.

EMV Compliant

The EMV is a chip that enhances the security of card information. It would help if you make sure that the POS system is EMV-compliant.

Update Your Restaurant’s POS System

Modern POS systems do not need to be updated manually and do not require custom development but traditional POS systems need to be updated manually or require custom development. It is therefore important that you check to see if there are any updates. If there is an update to your iOS, you can download it immediately and install it on your system.

Card Not Present

Try to make all transactions in cash and use the card only when there is no other solution for payment. In the case of online ordering, make sure that the card is used as a last resort as the use of the card increases the chances of fraud.

Access To Selected Staff Information

The waiter staff does not need access to the card information because their job is to take the card, swipe it, and return it. It is essential to give access to the POS to specific staff members. If possible, card transactions should be limited to one staff member, so your restaurant has full PCI compliance status.

Using A Firewall

You need to install a digital brewer so that there is a distance between the payment data and the public internet network and no one can access the payment data. This process of creating a digital brewery is called using a firewall.

Keep Card Information Out Of The Public Domain

The card information should be in a place that is not visible to the public and guests who visit the restaurant. It is sensitive information, so it should be protected from prying eyes. Make sure the information is limited between you and the customer.

Deleting Complete Cardholder Data

You do not need to store credit or debit card data on your POS system. A good POS system is capable of automatically deleting client card data and personal information.