Officially launched today:

American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International today jointly announced the formation of an independent council designed to manage the ongoing evolution of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, which focuses on improving payment account security throughout the transaction process. The founding of the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC, marks a significant milestone in the payment industry’s efforts to secure payment account data in a globally consistent manner. Ultimately this means that more than a billion global payment card users will benefit from a higher level of security protection against data theft and fraud.

This gives companies a more formal input process to manage the PCI standards and ensure global consistency:

Specifically, the PCI Security Standards Council will:

* Develop and maintain a global, industry-wide technical data security standard for the protection of accountholder account information;
* Reduce costs and lead times for Data Security Standard implementation and compliance by establishing common technical standards and audit procedures for use by all payment brands;
* Provide a list of globally available, qualified security solution providers via its Web site to help the industry achieve compliance;
* Lead training, education, and a streamlined process for certifying Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) and Approved Scanning Vendors (ASVs), providing a single source of approval recognized by all five founding members; and
* Provide a transparent forum in which all stakeholders can provide input into the ongoing development, enhancement and dissemination of data security standards.