PCI SSC has announced a newly expanded Brazil Regional Engagement Board. Here we talk with PCI SSC Associate Director, LA Region for Brazil, Carlos Caetano, about the value of the board, its role and agenda for 2020.
This is the third year for the Brazil Regional Engagement Board. Why is this an important effort for the Brazilian payments ecosystem?
The Brazilian payments ecosystem is on the rise. We’ve been seeing new players joining the payment card industry who are focused on bringing innovative solutions for a growing market. Companies and their decision makers are driving towards rapid and easy to pay solutions, but oftentimes fail to build security considerations into the development process. Contactless payments and e-commerce are also a focus of the Brazilian payment market. The 2020-2021 Brazil Regional Engagement Board members will be important advisors to the Council to report on these payment trends and innovation, focusing on the challenges on the optics of security and effective adoption of the PCI Standards by the Brazilian stakeholders.
What are the responsibilities of Brazil Regional Engagement Board members?
The Brazil Regional Engagement Board members are responsible for providing advice, feedback and guidance to the Council relating to payment data security issues, trends and market changes in the region; representing the views and interests of regional constituents; assisting in the recruitment of new Participating Organizations and stakeholders; recommending agenda topics for the Latin America Forum and Regional Engagement Board meetings; and participating as needed in PCI SSC initiatives and projects.
What’s on the Brazil Regional Engagement Board agenda for 2020?
The agenda for 2020 is in sync with the Council’s priorities to support our newly-created Strategic Framework. Quarterly meetings will happen throughout the year to discuss payment data security issues, trends and market changes. The key priorities in 2020 will include:
- Educational Resources for Brazil: Collaborating on the development of content and resources for the Brazilian payments industry;
- Awareness of Key Payment Security Initiatives: Driving awareness and understanding in the market of the PCI Software Security Framework (SSF) and PCI Contactless Payments on COTS (CPoC™);
- Development of PCI DSS v4.0: Helping increase involvement from Brazilian companies as Participating Organizations and specifically in the development process of PCI Data Security Standard Version 4.0 (PCI DSS v4.0);
- Training: Fostering greater payment security awareness and understanding through PCI Training;
- Latin America Forum: Shaping the agenda for the PCI Latin America Forum, taking place in São Paulo in August 2020.
Awareness and training look like the greatest focus on the list you presented above. Why those are important for Brazil in 2020?
Since August 2016 the Council has made a concerted effort to understand and support the needs of the Brazilian payment card industry. Our efforts have been focused on payment security awareness and training since day 1. We’ve seen a growing number of companies engaging with the Council by becoming Participating Organizations and ISA sponsors and looking to train their internal staff on payment security best practices. But as the market is on the rise, there is still work to be done to educate the marketplace, especially with new stakeholders and merchants. Merchant awareness is of great focus in 2020, and we shall work together with our Regional Engagement Board members to offer more ISA trainings in Portuguese and the newly advertised Informational Trainings.
