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Managing PCI Compliance with 4Geeks Payments

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Security is paramount when handling financial transactions. 4Geeks Payments is a fully PCI DSS Level 1 compliant service provider, the highest level of certification in the payment card industry. This means that 4Geeks handles the complex security requirements of storing, processing, and transmitting cardholder data, significantly reducing the compliance burden for your business.

This article explains how to leverage 4Geeks Payments’ features—such as hosted pages, tokenization, and 3D Secure—to manage your PCI compliance scope effectively while ensuring secure transactions for your customers.

Prerequisites

Before configuring your compliance settings, ensure you meet the following requirements:

  • Active Account: You must have an active merchant account on 4Geeks Console.
  • Secure Website: Your website or application must be secured with SSL/TLS (HTTPS) to safely transmit data.
  • Console Access: You need “Admin” or “Developer” permissions to access API keys and integration settings.

How to Manage Compliance

To minimize your compliance scope (typically to SAQ A or SAQ A-EP), you should avoid handling raw credit card numbers directly on your servers. Follow these steps to implement secure integration methods.

Step 1: Choose a Secure Integration Method

4Geeks Payments offers three primary ways to process payments securely, ensuring raw card data never touches your infrastructure.

  1. Hosted Payment Pages/Links:

    • This is the simplest method. You generate a secure link via the 4Geeks Console.
    • Redirect customers to this page to complete their purchase. 4Geeks hosts the page, handling all sensitive data collection.

  2. No-Code Plugins:

    • If you use platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, or Odoo, install the official 4Geeks Payments plugin.
    • These plugins use secure iframes or redirects to transmit data directly to 4Geeks, keeping your server out of scope.

  3. Tokenization (API):

    • For custom builds, use the 4Geeks Payments API to capture card details on the client side (browser).
    • The API exchanges raw card data for a secure Token.
    • You send only this token to your server to process the charge.

Step 2: Verify 3D Secure (3DS) is Active

3D Secure adds an extra layer of identity verification (like a One-Time Password) during checkout, protecting you from fraud and chargebacks.

  1. Log in to the 4Geeks Console.
  2. Navigate to Payments > Settings > Security.
  3. Ensure 3D Secure is enabled. It is typically active by default to meet Visa, Mastercard, and Amex requirements.
  4. If using the API, ensure your checkout flow handles the redirect_url provided in the response for 3DS verification.

Step 3: Implement SSL/TLS Encryption

Regardless of the integration method, your site must be secure.

  1. Ensure your website serves all content over HTTPS.
  2. Obtain and renew a valid SSL certificate for your domain.
  3. Test your checkout page to confirm that no “mixed content” warnings (loading insecure scripts or images) appear in the browser.

Step 4: Manage Data Storage

Never store sensitive cardholder data on your own systems.

  1. Do Not Store: Full credit card numbers (PAN) or CVV codes. Storing these makes you fully liable for PCI compliance.
  2. Store Only: The Payment Token returned by the API and, if necessary for display, the last 4 digits of the card.
  3. Use the token for all future recurring charges or one-click checkouts.

Common Use Cases

Scenario 1: E-commerce Store using WooCommerce

  • Situation: A retail business wants to accept credit cards but lacks a dedicated security team to manage complex server compliance.
  • Application: The business installs the 4Geeks Payments WooCommerce plugin.
  • Result: When a customer pays, the plugin uses 4Geeks’ secure infrastructure to transmit data. The merchant never touches raw card numbers, keeping their compliance scope minimal (SAQ A) while ensuring a seamless checkout experience.

Scenario 2: SaaS Platform with Recurring Billing

  • Situation: A software company needs to charge subscribers monthly without asking for card details every time.
  • Application: During the initial sign-up, the platform uses the 4Geeks API to tokenize the customer’s card. They store only the token in their database.
  • Result: For subsequent months, the platform calls the 4Geeks API using the stored token. This allows for automatic, secure recurring billing via 4Geeks Payments without the merchant ever storing the actual card details.

Troubleshooting

Issue 1: Transaction Declines or Flags

  • Cause: Valid cards may be declined if 3D Secure fails or if the transaction is flagged as high risk.
  • Solution: Check the 4Geeks Console for specific decline codes. Ensure 3D Secure is active. If using the API, verify you are passing valid AVS (Address Verification) data (zip code, billing address).

Issue 2: “401 Unauthorized” API Errors

  • Cause: This usually indicates an issue with your API keys or how you are authenticating.
  • Solution: Ensure you are using the correct Client ID and Client Secret. Never make API calls that use your Secret Key from the client-side (browser); these should only be made from your secure backend server.

Issue 3: SSL/TLS Warnings on Checkout

  • Cause: Your website might be loading insecure assets (http instead of https), or your SSL certificate has expired.
  • Solution: Renew your SSL certificate immediately. Use browser developer tools to identify and fix any “mixed content” warnings on your payment pages.

Conclusion

By leveraging 4Geeks Payments, you significantly reduce the complexity of PCI compliance. Using hosted pages, plugins, or tokenization ensures that sensitive data never resides on your servers, protecting both your business and your customers. Always ensure your integration uses HTTPS and that you never store raw card data.

For more details on security features or to manage your integration, visit the 4Geeks Console or explore more features in the 4Geeks Help Center.

Additional Resources