PCID-09

Describe the architecture employed by the system to verify and authorize credit card transactions.

Explanation

This question is asking you to describe how your system handles credit card transactions, specifically the technical architecture that ensures these transactions are securely verified and authorized. The question is being asked as part of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance, which is a set of security standards designed to ensure that ALL companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. When answering this question, you should focus on: 1. How credit card data flows through your system 2. What components are involved in processing transactions 3. How authorization requests are handled 4. What security measures protect the data during this process 5. How your system interacts with payment processors or gateways A good answer will demonstrate that your architecture follows PCI DSS requirements, such as encrypting cardholder data, maintaining secure networks, and implementing strong access control measures. You should be specific about technologies used, but avoid revealing security details that could be exploited.

Guidance

Refer to PCI DSS Security Standards for supplemental guidance in this section

Example Responses

Example Response 1

Our system employs a tokenization-based architecture for credit card processing When a customer enters their credit card information, it is immediately encrypted using TLS 1.2 in the browser before being transmitted to our servers Upon receipt, our application never stores the full credit card number Instead, we integrate with Stripe as our payment processor using their API The card data is sent directly to Stripe via their secure API, which returns a token that represents the card This token is what we store in our database, never the actual card data For transaction authorization, we pass this token back to Stripe along with the transaction amount and merchant information Stripe handles the communication with the card networks and returns an authorization response All communications between our servers and Stripe use TLS 1.2 with strong cipher suites Our systems are segmented so that only the necessary components have access to the tokenized payment information, and we maintain PCI DSS Level 1 compliance through annual assessments.

Example Response 2

Our credit card processing architecture follows a hosted payment page model When customers reach the payment stage, they are redirected to our payment service provider (Adyen) through a secure iframe integration This means credit card details are entered directly on Adyen's PCI-compliant environment and never touch our servers For transaction verification and authorization, Adyen communicates directly with the appropriate card networks using their secure infrastructure Our system receives only a transaction reference ID and outcome status (approved/declined) from Adyen via server-to-server callbacks secured with HMAC authentication This architecture significantly reduces our PCI scope as we qualify for SAQ A compliance All communication channels use TLS 1.3, and we implement additional security measures such as 3D Secure 2.0 for customer authentication when required by the issuing bank Our integration with Adyen is tested quarterly to ensure continued secure operation.

Example Response 3

We currently do not have a formal architecture for credit card processing Our customer service representatives collect credit card information over the phone and manually enter it into our payment terminal The terminal connects to our merchant account provider, but we have not documented the specific security protocols in place We recognize this is a gap in our security posture and are planning to implement a proper payment gateway integration within the next quarter In the meantime, we have trained our staff on proper handling of credit card information and have implemented a clean desk policy to minimize exposure of written card details We understand this approach does not fully satisfy PCI DSS requirements, and we are actively working to address these deficiencies.

Context

Tab: Case-Specific
Category: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)