Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has earned a prestigious, internationally-celebrated payment security certification that puts the bank on par with some of the best in the world.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certification was awarded to Ithmaar Bank by Sisa Information Security WLL, a leading Qualified Security Assessor in the Middle East.

The PCI-DSS is a data security standard for organizations that handle branded payment cards from the major card schemes. The PCI Standard is mandated by the card brands and administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. Ithmaar Bank earned the certification after successfully completing a comprehensive audit and demonstrating compliance to one of the most stringent and most coveted security standards in the world. With this, Ithmaar Bank has become one of the first in Bahrain to be certified in PCI DSS v3.2.

“Maintaining the safety of card data and banking systems should be one of the top priorities in card acquiring and issuing companies,” said Sisa Worldwide CEO and founder, Dharshan Shanthamurthy. “We are glad to know Ithmaar Bank holds the same belief and continues to work hard towards it.”

“Sisa is confident that Ithmaar Bank will continue to play an important role in driving the Bahrain payment industry towards utilizing top-of-the-line secure payment infrastructure by implementing payment security regulatory and compliance requirements,” said Shanthamurthy. “This great achievement by Ithmaar Bank will set an example for all other Bahrain financial organizations who are currently in the process of implementing PCI security standards, as it is vital to their long-term success,” he said.

“Ithmaar Bank is committed to becoming the region’s premier Islamic retail banks,” said Ithmaar Bank chief executive officer Ahmed Abdul Rahim. “To realise this vision, we invest heavily in continuously developing our products and services while also enhancing our customer service offerings. This, in turn, requires us to ensure we provide the highest levels of security to our customers.”

“The importance of security cannot be overstated,” he added. “It is a commitment we take very seriously, and I am pleased to note that Ithmaar Bank has earned this prestigious certification.”

The PCI Security Standards Council, launched in September 2006 and formed by the major payment card brands like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB, is a global open body to develop, enhance, disseminate and assist with the understanding of security standards for payment account security and maintains, evolves and promotes the Payment Card Industry Security Standards. PCI-DSS is not a static standard, but an evolving one based on the ever-changing threat landscape worldwide. – TradeArabia News Service