Legal, Compliance & Privacy

PCI DSS

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard - security standards for handling credit card data.

1 min readLast updated Apr 2026

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard - security standards for handling credit card data.

Why It Matters

PCI DSS compliance protects customer payment data and is required by payment processors. Non-compliance can result in fines and processor account termination.

Practical Example

Scenario

A D2C brand evaluates their payment security setup.

Calculation

Using Shopify Payments: PCI compliance handled by Shopify. Using custom checkout: would need SAQ completion

Result

Staying on Shopify's hosted checkout maintains PCI compliance without additional security audits or costs

Pro Tips

  • 1Use Shopify's hosted checkout or Shop Pay—this offloads PCI compliance burden entirely
  • 2Never store full credit card numbers in your own systems or email
  • 3If using custom payment flows, work with PCI-compliant payment providers (Stripe, Braintree)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Building custom payment forms that handle card data directly without PCI compliance
Storing card numbers in spreadsheets, CRMs, or anywhere outside your payment processor
Not understanding your PCI scope—even passing card data through your servers creates obligations

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Terms

Chargeback

A forced transaction reversal initiated by a cardholder through their bank.