Ensures Industry Standards For Storage and Transmission of Payment Card Information

Chanhassen, Minn. - IWCO Direct, a leading provider of direct marketing solutions, announced it has expanded its Level 1 Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard 2.0 (PCI DSS) compliance certification across all IWCO Direct facilities. This certification includes Mail-Gard^®, a division of IWCO Direct that provides business continuity and disaster recovery services, whose Warminster, Pa., facility has been PCI certified since 2007.

Compliance with the PCI DSS standard, established by the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC, ensures that IWCO Direct’s systems are secured and customers can trust the company’s systems and process controls to properly use and store sensitive payment card information.

“Security of financial data is of utmost importance to IWCO Direct, its customers and consumers,” said Jim Andersen, IWCO Direct chief executive officer. “PCI DSS certification demonstrates our commitment to ensuring we have the technology and processes in place that our customers require for statement processing and other financial mailings.”

This expanded PCI DSS certification underscores IWCO Direct’s dedication to protecting not just financial customer data, but all customer and consumer data. In addition, this certification protects IWCO Direct customers from fines and compliance exposure in the event of a data compromise. In order to stay compliant with the PCI DSS standard, IWCO Direct must maintain its secure business network to prevent external attacks and have its internal control processes audited annually by an external Qualified Security Assessor.

PCI DSS applies to the technical and operational system components of any entity that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data. Launched in 2006, the PCI Security Standards Council is an open global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Security Standards. Compliance with the PCI standards is enforced by the major payment card brands (American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, and JCB International) who established the council.