Security lax in card purchases amid pandemic nudge towards digital payments

Study says only 27.9% of global organisations were able to maintain full compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This is a 27.5 percentage point drop over 2016

Compliance with standards to help protect card companies’ security has dipped even as the pandemic has pushed more people to use digital payments.

The Verizon Business 2020 Payment Security Report (PSR) noted that only 27.9 per cent of global organisations were able to maintain full compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This is a 27.5 percentage point drop over 2016 (see chart 1).

The technology company’s report looked at the payment card industry’s security standards to understand how well companies are protected. The data in the report analysed compliance with standards in countries across the world, including India. The report showed that India has seen significant breaches already compared to its peers. The numbers were available across multiple countries. Developed countries such as the United States show large figures. India and China have significant numbers compared to other emerging markets (see chart 2).

There has been a rise in electronic payment data amid the pandemic. Businesses should do more to protect consumers, suggested Sampath Sowmyanarayan, President, Global Enterprise, Verizon Business in a statement with the report. This is the third year in which compliance has dropped. Lack of qualified personnel as well as long-term thinking about the security implications are the cause for the drop, according to the statement.