Payment Security in Times of COVID-19

While India is in the throes of its battle with the deadly COVID-19, the payments industry has not been far behind in assessing its impact on the sector and taking necessary preventive actions. To this end, several banking and other financial institutions, including fintech players, have directed employees to work from home. However, with this directive comes the looming question of whether doing so is advisable given the sensitivity of the information involved.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) - a global forum that develops data security standards and resources for safe payments worldwide, recently came out with guidance for protecting payment data and working securely while working from home. The PCI SSC has provided guidelines relating to people, processes and technology, while working remotely.