Credit Card Data Processing

This question asks whether your software handles credit card numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes, or any other payment card information. This includes not just storing this data, but even temporarily processing it - like when accepting payments, displaying masked card numbers, or passing card data to payment processors. Even if you use services like Stripe or PayPal, how you integrate with them matters. The key is whether credit card data ever touches your systems in any form.

Handling credit card data triggers PCI DSS compliance requirements - a complex, expensive set of security standards that can cost tens of thousands annually to maintain. Non-compliance risks hefty fines (up to $500,000 per incident), losing your ability to process payments, and devastating breach liability. Smart SaaS companies avoid touching card data entirely by using tokenization services, keeping them out of PCI scope. This dramatically reduces security burden, audit costs, and breach risk while still enabling payment functionality. Mishandling credit card data is one of the fastest ways to face regulatory action and destroy customer trust.

The biggest mistake is thinking that using a third-party payment processor means you're not handling card data. If customers enter card details on your website, even in an iframe, you may still have PCI obligations. Another pitfall is storing card data 'just for convenience' without understanding the massive compliance burden this creates. Companies also forget about card data in logs, emails, or support tickets - these accidental exposures can trigger full PCI audits.