What is a key responsibility of the PCI Security Standards Council?

The key responsibility of the PCI Security Standards Council is to develop and maintain security standards for payment data. This organization is specifically focused on creating a framework that protects cardholder data and establishes requirements for securing payment systems. By formulating standards like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Council ensures that all entities that handle cardholder information adhere to rigorous security measures, thereby enhancing overall transaction security and reducing the risk of data breaches.

This role is crucial in fostering a secure environment for payments and helps various stakeholders—such as merchants, payment processors, and service providers—understand and implement the necessary practices to safeguard sensitive payment information. In contrast, processing payment transactions, providing customer support, and auditing payment processors are actions typically carried out by individual businesses or service providers rather than the Council itself. Thus, the development and maintenance of security standards is the essence of the Council's mission.