Clara is recognized for meeting PCI DSS standards; understand the importance of certification
With this, the company becomes the first in its segment to operate within the international standards established by the organization
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May 24, 2024 - Clara, the leading solution in Latin America for companies to make and manage all their payments, has been recognized by the PCI Security Standards Council as an institution that meets the PCI DSS standard, which focuses on making the digital payment experience safer for all users. With this news, Clara has become the first startup in Latin America focused on corporate credit cards and payments to achieve this certification, which applies to all organizations that need to store, process, and/or transmit card data.
The PCI SSC (PCI Security Standards Council), responsible for developing the assessment criteria and awarding the seal, is a council founded in 2006 by the major card industry brands: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, and Discover. Its mission is to help protect people, processes, and technologies throughout the payment ecosystem to ensure secure payments worldwide.
A total of 12 macro technical requirements are taken into account to certify a company. Among them are practices such as encrypting cardholder data transmission over open public networks; Protecting all systems against malware and regularly updating software or antivirus programs; Developing and maintaining secure systems and applications; Tracking and monitoring all access to network resources and cardholder data; Regularly testing security systems and processes; Maintaining an Information Security Policy; and Maintaining a policy addressing information security among all employees.
As a company that issues thousands of new corporate cards on a daily basis and processes one transaction per second, maintaining PCI compliance demonstrates Clara's commitment to protecting its users' data. Furthermore, this recognition serves as a competitive advantage, as it opens doors to new opportunities, especially among large customers who prioritize PCI DSS compliance during the supplier selection process.
The financial impacts of credit card fraud are immense, with projected global losses expected to reach $43 billion by 2026, according to SmartMetric data. Therefore, seeking out companies that adhere to the criteria established by this body is important to avoid becoming just another number in this statistic. Only through strict compliance with measures aligned with the most modern and up-to-date security protocols is it possible to act in prevention.
"We have a huge commitment to the security of our users, and this certification comes as a recognition of the good practices we have adopted since before Clara's launch. Operating within the guidelines raises the bar for the entire industry - something that benefits every stage of the financial services chain", summarizes Diego García, co-founder and CTO of Clara. "This certification was the work of many quarters and reinforces our dedication to being the partner of choice for the enterprise customers we serve and who rely on their providers to uphold the highest security standards. Companies like Mapfre, Burger King, and Hilton that already trust us with critical spend management needs, and we anticipate welcoming many more in the near future", he completes.
About Clara
Clara is the leading Latin American solution for businesses to make and manage all their payments. Clara platform includes corporate credit card issuance, bill payments and cross border transactions, and proprietary real time expense management software. Founded in 2020, it operates in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. As a Latin American multinational, Clara has successfully secured investments from some of the region's most strategic VCs, such as Monashees, Kaszek, and Canary, as well as global investors like Notable Capital, Coatue, DST Global Partners, ICONIQ Growth, General Catalyst, and Goldman Sachs.
Clara’s purpose is to empower companies to operate with agility and clarity, assisting them in becoming more efficient and less bureaucratic through a platform that supports all payment methods integrated into their innovative spend management platform.
To know more about Clara’s products and solutions, visit clara.com