On Tuesday, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council announced that it was opening the formal feedback period for versions 2.0 of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI-DSS”) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (“PA-DSS”), which were issued in October 2010 and will become effective exclusively when versions 1.2.1 are officially retired on December 31, 2011.  The Council traditionally opens the feedback period for PCI-DSS and PA-DSS one year after issuance in order to give the payment community time to formulate comments based on experience.  Stakeholders’ feedback will be organized into three categories – Clarifications, Additional Guidance, and Evolving Requirements – and presented during the 2012 PCI Community Meetings.  The feedback period will close in April 2012.     

All PCI stakeholders can submit feedback online through an automated online tool.  The Council is particularly interested in feedback from international stakeholders because of the substantial growth in global and, in particular, European representation in the past year.  PCI European Director Jeremy King remarked that such feedback will help the Council maintain a “global standard that ensures the protection of cardholder data remains paramount.”  Please contact us if you would like to explore the submission of PCI-DSS or PA-DSS feedback to the Council.