Heritage Bank Plc has been recertified on the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 3.2.
The recertification, which came following its recent International Organisation for Standardisation ISO 27001:2013 recertification, is in recognition of the bank’s commitment to effective and secured financial system which has conferred internationally-recognized standard on its operations.
It also reaffirms the bank’s leading position in the payment card industry in Nigeria, as first to issue a transparent Mastercard debit card in Sub-Saharan Africa and pioneered the mPOS in response to the CBN Cash-less initiative.
A statement signed by the bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo indicated that the PCI DSS remained a proprietary information security standard for organizations that process, store, transmit or access cardholder information for major debit, credit, prepaid, e-purse, ATM and POS cards.
The standard’s framework originated from the five global payment brand programmes (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB) and was designed to increase cardholder data (CHD) controls to reduce credit card fraud. Any enterprise that falls within the scope of the standard must implement the standard and seek compliance.
The PCI DSS helps enterprises dramatically reduce credit card fraud and brings significant additional benefits, including: increased bank/consumer credibility; reduced/optimised business impact and risk; and fewer breaches/increased security awareness.
Commenting on the award of the PCI DSS’ certification, the bank’s Managing Director, Ifie Sekibo, noted that it was a strong indicator that Heritage Bank consistently prioritsed its customers’ interest at the core of its business operations, remained committed to appropriately protect customers’ information as well as maintaining a safe and secure environment for customer transactions.
He noted that banking is a business of risks management, from assets to data, adding that it is fundamental that whatever a customer keeps in a bank is in safe custody.
“We are a service company providing banking service; and we are the best in the class of security of our information systems. It means funds kept with us are safe. This award is a validation of our mission to promote high ethical standards, integrity, and good business practices,” Sekibo said.
It would be recalled that the ISO 27001: 2013 recertification attained recently by the bank is part of the ISO 27000 family of standards which helps organisations keep information assets secure.
The recertification was achieved on the heels of the bank’s drive to revolutionalise the banking sector digital experience with Octopus, by putting in place a systematic approach to managing sensitive organisational information, ensuring it remains seamless, secure and available.
