First Bank has achieved the recertification of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) in 2014, having been one of the first top-tier banks in Nigeria to obtain the certification 2013.
The certification is renewable yearly as demanded by the standard and regulators following a rigorous audit of the bank’s payment card security processes environment.
The PCI DSS is a set of requirements designed to ensure companies that process, store or transmit credit/debit card information, maintain a secure environment thereby guaranteeing the protection of cardholder data throughout the transaction process. The standard also facilitates the broad adoption of consistent data security measures globally.
The bank met the six different security pillars required to achieve the PCI-DSS compliance which led to the award of a level 1 PCI certificate and the subsequent re-award after extensive audit by a leading Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), ControlCase, from the United States of America, in partnership with its local partners Digital Encode, an information security management firm.
The level 1 PCI certification is the highest rank available from the major credit card providers (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB) and this is only given to third-party providers who meet the Council’s stringent – and audited – credit/debit card transaction security protocols to protect customers’ personal transaction data.
The award of this certificate is a strong indicator that FirstBank consistently has its customers’ interest at the core of its business operations, is committed to securing customer information as well as maintaining a safe and secure environment for customer transactions. The Bank would continue to drive initiatives that stimulate innovation in banking as part of its promise to always put customers at the heart of its business.
According to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., Bisi Onasanya, the financial institution will strive to continually maintain leading best practice and secure customers’ information despite the challenges posed by rapid changes in technology and the operating environment.
“FirstBank has attained the highest level in the PCI certification for the major credit card providers and is poised to uphold the standard to abate card data theft and the resulting fraud” he said.
