Leading travel commerce platform Travelport has launched an online PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance referral service to help its customers businesses achieve PCI DSS certification.

With fraud and hacking in the travel industry on the rise, maintaining a set of security standards to combat this criminal activity is critical when dealing with customer credit card information. Furthermore, as from March 2018, any Iata agent that accepts card transactions against its own merchant agreement or issues Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) card transactions is required to provide proof of PCI DSS compliance to Iata.

In response to customers asking for guidance on PCI DSS certification and after a lengthy selection process, Travelport chose to partner with SecurityMetrics, a leading provider and innovator in data security and compliance for organisations worldwide. Making what is considered to be a very complex process, as simple, low cost and streamlined as possible, the PCI DSS Certification program provides customers with an online Wizard Tool to guide agents through the self-assessment questionnaire process. The multi-language tool enables Travelport’s agency customers worldwide to achieve PCI DSS compliance, a requirement by the card industry for every business that touches card payments.

With the support of the SecurityMetrics team, level three & four category merchants, processing fewer than one million card transactions annually, can already start their PCI DSS assessment online at https://info.securitymetrics.com/travelport-pcidss-compliance. Enterprise level agents known as Level one and two merchants (processing more than one million card transactions per brand scheme annually) can also benefit from more comprehensive assistance and creation of a bespoke compliance programme. 

Alexandra Fitzpatrick, vice president Travelport Global Payment Solutions, commented: “Combining consumer protection with customer-driven solutions is key to our goals as it creates frictionless payment processes and better ways of working. We're delighted to offer this PCI DSS certification programme in partnership with SecurityMetrics. It is our commitment to ensure our customers’ businesses operate within a compliant environment so they are able to adhere to industry regulations and become a trusted partner to their customers”.

David Meyers, SecurityMetrics senior director business development, added: “SecurityMetrics has a unique ability to cater to wide variety of merchant levels through a custom program. We are confident Travelport’s customers will be pleased with the results of our PCI program and our team will make sure that they receive the best possible experience on their compliance journey." - TradeArabia News Service