DPDP Act vs PCI-DSS: Payment Data Compliance
Liability Check
Handling customer payment data? PCI-DSS isn't enough anymore. Under the DPDP Act, mishandling financial information, even if PCI-compliant, can trigger penalties up to ₹250 Crore for failing to protect Personal Data.
Why DPDP Act vs PCI-DSS: Payment Data Compliance is at Risk
Many Indian businesses assume PCI-DSS certification covers all their data security liabilities, especially for payment gateways like Razorpay or PayU. But the DPDP Act goes further. While PCI-DSS focuses on securing **cardholder data environments (CDE)** to prevent fraud, DPDP expands the scope to all **personal data** involved in a transaction – including names, addresses, phone numbers, and even transaction histories, which are often not covered by strict PCI-DSS scope. This means your data storage practices, data sharing with third-party vendors, and consent mechanisms for using transaction data for marketing purposes must now comply with DPDP, irrespective of your PCI-DSS status. A breach of this wider 'personal data' is a direct DPDP violation, even if your CDE remains secure.
Common Violations
- 1.Assuming PCI-DSS covers all customer data processed during a transaction (it only covers card data, not all associated personal data).
- 2.Sharing customer transaction history (containing personal data) with marketing partners without explicit, purpose-specific DPDP consent.
- 3.Retaining customer names, emails, and transaction details for longer than necessary, even after PCI-DSS data purging, without a DPDP-compliant retention policy.
The Immediate Fix
Map out all personal data processed during a transaction, beyond just card details. Review your data retention policies and third-party data sharing agreements to ensure DPDP-compliant consent and data minimization practices are in place, even for PCI-DSS compliant systems.
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