On April 4^th, the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC) announced the first three organizations to attain Affiliate membership status on the Council.

·         Australian Payment Clearing Association [Australia]

·         Cartes Bancaires CB [France]

·         Interac Association [Canada]

 Affiliate membership permits regional and national organizations with industry expertise to participate on the Council to define industry-specific standards about payment card security.  Jeremy King, PCI SSC European Director, commented that, “The regional expertise that all three organizations bring to the Council will only enhance the quality, applicability and relevance of PCI standards and guidance documents across all payment options and methods used.”

 As these Affiliate members will have a voice in setting PCI standards for the hospitality industry, hoteliers in these geographic areas (Australia, France, and Canada) should monitor developments at these regional organizations as well as the actions taken by the PCI SSC as part of a hotel’s PCI compliance program.

 PCI compliance training should be an integral part of any hotel compliance program.  Among the most effective PCI training programs for hotels are those that include custom learning solutions, such as PCI compliance training modules and similar training on best practices for using hospitality technology.

Venza Group:Since 2008, the Venza Group® partners with the hospitality industry as its premier provider of custom learning solutions. Through PEAK™, the Venza Group also offers off-the-shelf courses on compliance and workforce effectiveness … especially crafted for hoteliers.

Link:  https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/pr_130404_new_affiliates.pdf