The last year has been rocky for payment card security. With a spate of high-profile breaches in the retail industry, corporations face costly settlements to rectify the damage caused by compromised payment card data. This month, it was announced that Target will pay as much as $19 million to MasterCard and banks to address losses sustained by customers. 

"Under the agreement, Target will make available up to $19 million in alternative recovery offers to eligible banks and credit unions across the globe," MasterCard said in a statement. "These funds will settle their claims for operational costs and fraud-related losses on MasterCard-branded cards believed by MasterCard to have been affected by the data breach."

While the money will have a restorative effect for individuals and credit companies affected by the breach, Target's public profile has still taken a hit since the incident occurred. 

The crises have served as a wake-up call to regulators and business leaders. October marks the long-awaited transition to EMV systems and new PCI standards have already taken effect this year. With greater focus on monitoring and consistent review, the adaptations seek to close security gaps caused by lapses between audits and implementation. Tokenization also aims to make transactions as unique as possible, making card information more difficult for thieves to compromise. 

Many businesses don't possess the in-house expertise to navigate these transitions, which is why working with a qualified third-party service provider is critical. Preventing breaches saves businesses millions of dollars in settlements, legal fees and profit losses due to distrust and apprehension. 

Contact Vantage today to ensure that your business has implemented the most current and effective practices for protecting customer data to match its unique needs.