If your processor has sent you a notice requiring you to pay for a PCI compliance service, there are a number of things you can do to reduce or even eliminate the costs. First of all, merchants that are required to have this service are merchants that use software for their POS or that use an internet gateway and shopping cart that are not PCI compliant.
1. Make sure your internet gateway is PCI compliant. Many of the most widely used internet gateways are already PCI compliant. If yours is and you still received a notice, be sure to inform your processor and ask what steps need to be taken to provide proof of compliance.
2. Make sure your shopping cart is PCI compliant. Your internet gateway may be compliant but if you use a third party shopping cart you will need to verify that it is also PCI compliant. Otherwise, you will need to pay for a scanning service. As an option, you may want to change your shopping cart to one that is compliant and avoid additional charges altogether.
3. You have options, choose the cheapest one. If you have to pay for PCI scanning to remain in compliance below is a list of the cheapest services available.
http://www.hackerguardian.com/hackerguardian/learn/pci_free_scan.html. It’s free for 90 days and only $79 per year after that. (much cheaper than $20 per month as some scanning services charge.)
A good site that lists a large number of scanning services that you can compare rates with is https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/asv_report.html.
