Most MOTO businesses are forced into SAQ C-VT (84 questions) due to manual transactions. We solve this with PayGuard, an encrypted keypad that: ✔️ Qualifies for SAQ P2PE (reducing compliance from 84 to 21 questions). ✔️ Encrypts all transactions, keeping data out of scope. The result? A 75% reduction in PCI burden—without extra effort.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is an industry-mandated security framework designed to ensure that businesses that process, store, or transmit credit card data maintain a secure environment. It is enforced through agreements with payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), acquirers, and payment processors. Key Points About PCI DSS: Applies to any business that processes, stores, or transmits credit card data. A global industry standard, created by major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.), to enhance payment security. Not a government regulation, but compliance is contractually required by payment processors and acquiring banks. Focuses on technical and operational security measures to protect cardholder data and reduce fraud risks. Non-compliance can result in penalties, fines from card networks, or the loss of the ability to accept card payments.

🔹 P2PE (Point-to-Point Encryption) encrypts card data at the moment of payment. However, not all P2PE solutions are PCI-certified. 🔹 PCI-Validated P2PE is an officially certified encryption solution listed by the PCI Security Standards Council. Certified PCI P2PE devices significantly reduce PCI compliance scope. Non-certified P2PE devices do not automatically reduce compliance requirements. 👉 At Payments Guardian, we only deploy PCI-Validated P2PE devices for our merchants. This ensures that merchants qualify for SAQ P2PE, reducing their PCI requirements.

MIA is our AI-powered compliance tool, securing e-commerce checkouts with Embedded Compliance: ✔️ Identifies & validates scripts to ensure compliance. ✔️ Takes an inventory & writes justifications for PCI approval. ✔️ Monitors Headers for unauthorized changes and alerts merchants. ✔️ Automates PCI reporting, reducing manual work. Unlike traditional PCI tools, MIA works in real-time, ensuring ongoing compliance without the hassle.

Most providers give you tools without considering PCI's impact. We strategically select solutions to qualify you for the lowest PCI scope possible: 🛒 E-Commerce: While tokenization & hosted pages are standard, we go further with MIA, which: ✔️ Identifies, validates, and justifies scripts to prevent compliance failures. ✔️ Monitors Header changes, alerting merchants to unauthorized modifications. ✔️ Automates PCI reporting, eliminating manual effort. 📞 MOTO (Mail/Phone Orders): Instead of requiring SAQ C-VT (84 questions), we provide PayGuard, a secure encrypted keypad that: ✔️ Qualifies you for SAQ P2PE—cutting compliance from 84 to 21 questions (75% reduction). ✔️ Protects transactions with end-to-end encryption. 🏪 Retail: Unlike providers still requiring SAQ B-IP or C, we only offer PCI P2PE-certified terminals—qualifying you for SAQ P2PE (21 questions instead of 84). Compliance isn’t an afterthought with Payments Guardian—it’s built into every payment solution.

Many providers still require SAQ B-IP or SAQ C, keeping merchants under high PCI burdens (84+ requirements). We exclusively deploy PCI P2PE-certified terminals, ensuring: ✔️ No readable card data in your environment. ✔️ SAQ P2PE eligibility (reducing compliance from 84 to 21 questions). ✔️ Stronger security & faster PCI validation. With us, compliance is built-in—not an extra burden

We don’t just process payments—we build compliance into your solution from day one to minimize risk and effort. Unlike others, we: ✅ Pre-select PCI-compliant solutions to reduce your PCI scope. ✅ Ensure e-commerce merchants qualify for SAQ A (removing 200+ requirements). ✅ Deploy only PCI-certified P2PE devices for retail & MOTO (reducing compliance by 75%). ✅ Automate compliance monitoring with MIA (Merchant Intelligence Assistant). We simplify security, eliminate unnecessary compliance steps, and protect merchants from hidden risks.

Most providers leave PCI compliance up to you—we design solutions that eliminate the complexity. 🚀 Pre-configured security: Every device and gateway automatically minimizes PCI scope. 🔐 Built-in compliance: MIA protects e-commerce transactions in real time. ⚡ Reduced PCI burden: Retail & MOTO merchants qualify for SAQ P2PE (21 questions, not 84). With Payments Guardian, you get security, compliance, and payments—without the extra work.

We ensure every e-commerce merchant qualifies for SAQ A by: ✔️ Providing fully hosted payment pages (no cardholder data on your site). ✔️ Embedding MIA, which: Monitors scripts for security threats. Takes an inventory and writes justifications. Notifies merchants of Header changes. With us, you eliminate 200+ PCI requirements, avoid security risks, and automate compliance.

Many merchants assume that using a PCI-compliant payment provider means they are automatically PCI-compliant—but that’s not the case. Most providers pass the compliance burden onto the merchant, meaning you still inherit hundreds of PCI requirements depending on how you process payments. 🚨 With Other Providers: A provider’s compliance does NOT automatically extend to you. Within the payments ecosystem, each party— from providers to merchants— has specific requirements to meet, a concept known as shared responsibility. You’re often responsible for self-managing compliance, manually filling out SAQ forms, and ensuring your setup meets PCI requirements. Many providers issue non-P2PE devices or direct API integrations, which can leave merchants with a higher PCI scope (SAQ B-IP or C), increasing compliance complexity. ✅ With Payments Guardian: We design your payment setup to qualify for the lowest possible PCI scope (e.g., SAQ A for e-commerce, SAQ P2PE for retail & MOTO). E-commerce merchants don’t just get a hosted checkout—we include MIA (Merchant Intelligence Assistant) to monitor, validate, and automate compliance for them. Retail and MOTO merchants receive PCI-certified P2PE devices, which reduce compliance from 84 to 21 questions—a 75% reduction. We eliminate compliance complexity before it becomes your problem. All necessary tools and solutions to meet PCI requirements are included within your subscription—no additional services are needed.

For Payments Guardian merchants, the SAQ you need depends on how you accept payments and how your payment systems are configured. Reach out to pci@paymentsguardian.com

PCI DSS applies to any business that accepts credit or debit cards, including: ✅ E-commerce businesses (online payments) ✅ Retail stores & POS systems (card-present payments) ✅ Standalone terminals (card-present, non-POS systems) ✅ MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) merchants 💡 At Payments Guardian, we focus on simplifying PCI compliance for our merchants by reducing their compliance burden wherever possible.