MasterCard Imposes Tougher PCI Auditing Requirements On Midlevel Merchants

MasterCard this week issued new PCI data security requirements that will require Level 2 merchants to undergo an annual on-site audit by a third party.

According to news reports, the credit card firm has imposed new requirements under the Payment Card Industry (PCI) guidelines that mandate an on-site assessment of retailers that handle between 1 million and 6 million credit card transactions annually.

So far, none of the other credit card companies is requiring the on-site assessment at Level 2, the reports say. In the past, Visa has allowed self-assessment even among Level 1 merchants.

The new requirements will go into effect on Dec. 31, 2010.

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