The Merchant Trust Initiative (MTI) is a supportive hands-on program that helps business owners navigate the complex, ever-changing world of online security.

The MTI was launched in 2018 to protect our customers’ business and their livelihoods. We offer you ongoing training and support to make sure you’re PCI compliant and meeting all your data security obligations.

If you run a business and take payments from customers, then you need to be PCI DSS compliant. If you want to protect your livelihood, but lack the time, budget or know-how to monitor, implement and train your staff to do it effectively, MTI can take the burden off your shoulders. The program offers hands-on training and support for making sure your business is PCI DSS compliant and stays that way.

Running a business can be very rewarding but also very demanding on your time. In talking to our customers, we’ve discovered being proactive about PCI compliance and educating staff on data protection and security is not often high on their to-do list. 

Data protection and PCI compliance is often an afterthought, after a breach has occurred. Our product focuses on helping our customers be proactive, and making business security simpler and straightforward.

We give you the tools and support to be ahead of the curve in protecting your customers and the business you’ve worked so hard to build. 

This comprehensive toolkit to handle and improve your business cybersecurity is a low annual subscription of $142.

New subscribers:

$178 program establishment fee including 12 months’ access. 

Ongoing subscription:

$142 per year thereafter, billed annually. 

All prices include GST.

When looking at the costs of MTI, remember to balance this against the cost of getting your own endpoint protection and vulnerability scanning software. This can run to hundreds of dollars, depending on the size of your business and the number of endpoint devices you need to protect. 

Add in the savings to your business in terms of reputational damage and loss of revenue should your business experience a data breach. Fines for PCI DSS non-compliance can range from $5,000 to $1,000,000 per data breach, depending on how many cards are compromised. 

Furthermore, the fines for not reporting a breach means that sadly 93% of businesses who don’t have a disaster recovery plan or adequate protection and experience a serious breach are often forced to shut their doors within 12 months.

The Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created to ensure a consistent set of standards for the processing, handling and storing of sensitive credit card information. We ensure our payment methods are secure and our processing, storage and transmission of payment data is Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, the highest PCI DSS standard possible. Your business needs to demonstrate it meets all other requirements in regards to managing your customers’ sensitive payment data.

It is mandatory for all merchants who accept credit cards to be compliant with the PCI Data Security Standard. This is not just limited to completing a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), but requires a number of steps and regular scans to ensure obligations are met. This is where the Merchant Trust Initiative helps you simplify the steps within the process. 

Merchants have 12 PCI DSS obligations to secure and protect sensitive data:

Build and maintain a secure network

1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data

2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect cardholder data

3. Protect stored cardholder data

4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a vulnerability management program

5. Use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs

6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement strong access control measures

7. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know

8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access

9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly monitor and test networks

10. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data

11. Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an information security policy

12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security for employees and contractors

If you complete the annual PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) accurately, and your assessment shows you have no outstanding actions, you are PCI DSS compliant! 

If you have a portal or e-commerce website, this will include providing evidence of quarterly vulnerability scans from an PCI-DSS approved scanning vendor.

Fines for PCI DSS non-compliance can range from $5,000 to $1,000,000 per data breach, depending on how many cards are compromised. 

Furthermore, the astronomical fines for not reporting a breach means that sadly 93% of businesses who don’t have a disaster recovery plan or adequate protection and experience a serious breach are often forced to shut their doors within 12 months.

Absolutely! To give you all the help you need we have a dedicated 24/7 human support number and a built-in wizard which is designed to guide you through the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), which is required to ensure you are processing payments securely.

Regardless of whether you are in the program or not, you still have obligations to manage your customers’ data and credit card information securely. 

Unfortunately, some payment and software companies don’t see it as their obligation to educate their customers about its importance, or worse, intentionally mislead them into thinking they are safe. That is, until something happens and business owners are hit with fines. 

So, if you decide not to be part of the Merchant Trust Initiative, you’ll need to organise your PCI compliance separately and be able to prove your business meets your PCI DSS obligations.

Remember, it’s mandatory for all merchants who accept credit cards to comply with the PCI Data Security Standard. This is not just limited to completing a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), but requires a number of steps and regular scans to ensure obligations are met. This is where the Merchant Trust Initiative helps you simplify the steps within the process. 

If you are already able to show your compliance from another provider you can choose to opt out of the MTI. Please ensure you understand and meet all these requirements prior to opting out. After you opt out you may be asked to provide evidence to support your compliance.