PR - West Telemarketing Confirms 2008 PCI Compliance

West Telemarketing Corporation, a leader in customer contact solutions, today announced that it has proven annual compliance with Visa USA’s Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) programs. Today’s announcement demonstrates West’s commitment to protecting the confidentiality, security and integrity of cardholder and personal data.

West Telemarketing Corporation is a subsidiary of West Corporation.

"When customers offer their bankcard on the phone, they want assurance that their account information is safe," said Skip Hanson, President of West Telemarketing Corporation. "West’s continual compliance with CISP and PCI-DSS and participation in the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council reflects its longstanding commitment to information security, intelligent business and superior customer care. It not only meets an obligation to a payment system, but it also builds a culture of security that benefits everyone."

The CISP and PCI-DSS establishes a set of 12 industry-wide requirements West Telemarketing diligently operates within which are designed to protect sensitive information from being compromised.

In 2004, the CISP requirements were incorporated into an industry standard, known as Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard, resulting from a cooperative effort between Visa and MasterCard to create common industry security requirements.

CISP compliance is required of service providers like West that store, process or transmit Visa cardholder data and applies to all payment channels, including retail (brick-and-mortar), mail/telephone order and e-commerce. Compliance with CISP means compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard with the required program validation.