Nochex Announce PCI DSS Level 1 Version 3.0 Certification

LEEDS, U.K. - Sept. 24, 2014 - PRLog -- Nochex, the UK’s leading independent online payment service provider with thousands of trading merchants, is proud to announce it is among the first payment methods in the UK to fully comply with new rules regulating the security of online card payments. The new standards are obligatory from 2015 but Nochex has ensured it remains one step ahead of the competition by certifying early.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 is a compulsory standard for leading banks and financial institutions worldwide including Nochex. It was set up to help businesses process card payments securely and reduce card fraud by protecting sensitive card holder information. Any organisation that handles, stores or transmits card payments or cardholder information must meet these standards. Leading firms such as Nochex are assessed annually to ensure they have correctly applied this stringent set of standards to their cardholder environment.

Every three years the standard is updated to make sure it stays abreast of the latest security requirements. The most recent update (version 3.0) was released in November 2013 and becomes mandatory in 2015. Nochex made the decision to become compliant early to ensure it maintains the highest levels of security for its merchant account customers and consumers. In doing so Nochex has become one of the first UK based organisations to achieve compliance.

Nochex Chief Executive Officer, Martin Greenbank says “Nochex is delighted to have passed its assessment. Security is of paramount importance to a payment service like ours which is why we were so keen to be assessed against the most up to date version of the standard. It was a demanding exercise but the last thing we want is for our customers to be at risk. Being among the first really is the icing on the cake. We strive to be the very best at everything we do and obviously security is no exception.”

As internet shopping grows more popular, so, regrettably, does internet fraud grow more common. According to figures released by Financial Fraud Action UK*, in the first six months of 2014 alone £110m was lost to credit card fraud in the UK. This emphasises how vital it is for a trusted payment method like Nochex to continue to invest in security.

Nochex Chief Technical Officer, Andrew Baiden adds “Criminals are getting more sophisticated and each day seems to bring a different challenge. Card security is about being pro-active. You have to adapt all the time to stay secure, which is why we completed our assessment earlier than needed. Protecting our customers’ data is crucial to us. We don’t just complete the assessment and then rest for the next 12 months; security is a 24/7 job and we are continually working to improve to ensure that we can help stop fraud before it happens.”

About Nochex
Nochex is a UK-based provider of online payment solutions that is trusted by businesses and consumers around the world to process their payments. Small and medium-sized enterprises use the Nochex payment solution to simplify how they accept and settle online credit and debit card payments. The Nochex payment service helps businesses start trading quickly and safely. Being an independent provider has allowed the company to support tens of thousands of merchants around the UK across a wide range of industries.

For more information about Nochex visit www.nochex.com

Notes to editors

1.       For more information contact Peter Lyster, Marketing Manager at Nochex. Telephone 0113 346 6205; Email: peter.lyster@nochex.com or marketing@nochex.com

2.       Address: 103 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9DF

3.       Nochex Limited (and its trading name Nochex) is privately held and a registered Electronic Money Issuer with the Financial Conduct Authority

4.       Nochex is the leading dedicated independent provider of online payment services in the UK

5.       Nochex is an active member of Leeds’ dynamic financial services community

6.       Nochex has thousands of customers throughout the UK and Europe who use the internet to buy and sell goods and services. People from around the globe use Nochex to buy from predominantly small, entrepreneurial British businesses

7.       Established in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 1999, Nochex processed its first payment in 2001

8.       Nochex operates 24/7. Office hours are 9am-5:30pm Monday – Friday

9.       Use of our standard merchant account plus payment gateway product is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis of 2.9% + 20p per transaction

10.   Images available (Nochex logo, PCI DSS logo)

*“Customers urged to be vigilant as fraudsters increase scam attacks”, 12 September 2014