PCI DSS for fintech companies
PCI DSS 4.0.1 is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It applies to any company that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data, which includes many fintechs.
Why it matters for fintech
Card networks and acquiring banks require PCI DSS compliance to handle card data. Falling out of compliance can mean fines and losing the ability to process payments, so for a payments-adjacent fintech it is not optional.
What to focus on
The cheapest PCI work is the work you avoid. Tokenization and using compliant processors can shrink which systems touch cardholder data, which shrinks your assessment. Scope is the first decision, not the last.
PCI DSS is organized into 12 requirements covering areas like network security, protecting stored data, vulnerability management, access control, monitoring, and an information security policy. Many map to controls you already run.
Smaller merchants may validate with a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ); larger volumes require a Report on Compliance (ROC) from a Qualified Security Assessor. Your acquirer tells you which level applies.
Do it once, not twice
Keel is built on one crosswalked control library, so a control you implement for PCI DSS counts toward every other framework it satisfies. Add a second framework later and it mostly reuses this work. See the crosswalk explorer for the exact overlap.
Start free Check your readinessCommon questions
Does PCI DSS overlap with SOC 2?
Substantially. Access control, logging and monitoring, vulnerability management, and policy requirements appear in both. On Keel, a control implemented for one counts toward the other where they map.
What version of PCI DSS is current?
PCI DSS 4.0.1 is the current version of the standard. Keel authors its PCI DSS content against 4.0 (requirements unchanged in 4.0.1).
Framework names are referenced factually for guidance. Keel is not affiliated with or endorsed by the bodies that publish them. See our legal and trademarks page.