Press Release

PCI Security Standards Council Publishes V3.0 of Point-To-Point Encryption (P2PE) ® Standard and Program

Changes Driven by Stakeholder Feedback and Will Ultimately Result in More PCI P2PE® Solutions Available to The Marketplace

WAKEFIELD, Mass., 12 December 2019 — The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has updated the PCI Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) Standard and supporting program. PCI P2PE Version 3.0 simplifies the process for component and solution providers to validate their P2PE products for cardholder data protection efforts.

“The Council is committed to evolving its standards, programs and resources to help the industry innovate for payment acceptance in a secure manner,” said PCI SSC Senior Vice President Troy Leach. “It’s important to note that P2PE technology that protects payment data isn’t changing. The changes focus instead on providing the opportunity for new approaches in meeting the standard and will ultimately result in more PCI P2PE Solutions available for merchants to use in protecting payment data and simplifying their PCI DSS efforts.”

For more information on what merchants need to know about PCI P2PE v3.0, read PCI Perspectives blog post: P2PE v3.0: What Merchants Need to Know.

PCI P2PE Version 3.0 maintains the same approach to security as version 2.0, with only minor changes to the security requirements. Key updates focus on updating the validation program to add flexibility for P2PE solution providers designing and validating their solutions to the standard. These include:

  • Enhancing the modular approach first introduced in P2PE v2.0 by introducing four additional component provider types
  • Streamlining the processes used by P2PE Assessors when validating P2PE Solutions, Components and Applications

“Driven by industry feedback given during an extensive request for comments (RFC) process, the program changes in version 3.0 will streamline the assessment process and provide more flexibility for component and solution providers,” said PCI SSC Vice President, Global Head of Programs Gill Woodcock. For more information on the what P2PE Solution Providers need to know about the program changes read PCI Perspectives blog post: P2PE v3.0: What Vendors and Assessors Need to Know.

Merchants considering a PCI P2PE Solution are encouraged to use the current list of PCI P2PE Solutions on the PCI SSC website and do not need to wait for a P2PE v3.0 validation solution, as solutions validated against v2.0 provide the same level of security assurance.

The updated P2PE v3.0 Standard and Program documents are available in the PCI SSC document library.

About PCI Point-to-Point Encryption Solutions

A PCI Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) Solution cryptographically protects account data from the point where a merchant accepts the payment card to the secure point of decryption. By using P2PE, account data is unreadable until it reaches the secure decryption environment, which makes it less valuable if the data is stolen in a breach. A PCI P2PE Solution can significantly help merchants reduce the PCI DSS validation effort of their cardholder data environment.

About the PCI Security Standards Council

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) leads a global, cross-industry effort to increase payment security by providing industry-driven, flexible and effective data security standards and programs that help businesses detect, mitigate and prevent cyberattacks and breaches. Connect with the PCI SSC on LinkedIn. Join the conversation on Twitter @PCISSC. Subscribe to the PCI Perspectives Blog.

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