Etisalat acquires PCI Certification as a Payment Service Provider

Etisalat today announced that it has upgraded its PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standards) certification for the Etisalat Payment Gateway. The PCI-DSS standard is an information security standard for corporations handling cardholder information so that e-commerce payments can be made securely through a robust payment infrastructure. With this certification, Etisalat has become one of the largest online payment service providers in the region.

Etisalat’s Payment Gateway infrastructure was assessed by Paladion, the Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), recognized by PCI Security Standard Council. Based on the assessment, Paladion certified Etisalat’s compliance with PCI-DSS V2.0 as a payment service provider. As part of the assessment, all in scope technologies were assessed for compliance to PCI DSS standard in a comprehensive manner covering the full range of processes, people and technologies.

The certificate was presented to Mr. Fadhil Al-Ansari, Executive Vice-President/Engineering Etisalat by Paladion’s CEO Mr. RajatMohanty during a ceremony held at Etisalat’s head office building in Abu Dhabi on July 4, 2012. in the presence of key executives from Paladion and Etisalat.

Commenting on the certification, Al-Ansari said: “This latest certification is another validation of Etisalat’s enduring commitment to invest in state-of-the-art technology and ensure the best service offering to its customers. Security of the Card Data is the number one priority for Etisalat and with the PCI-DSS V2.0 certification; we have provided an even safer e-payment option to millions of end-customers.”

With an ever-growing number of e-Commerce transactions taking place in the UAE and the entire region, Etisalat Payment Gateway is one of the first eCommerce Payment Service Providers in the region to have acquired PCI-DSS 2.0. Customers and partners of Etisalat can rest assured, knowing that the Corporation is committed to maintaining secure and robust systems according to the latest global standards.

With its years of experience and pool of Qualified Security Assessors (QSA), Paladion worked closely with Etisalat to implement practical and cost effective solutions and processes to ensure 100 per cent compliance to the standard. This achievement clearly distinguishes Etisalat from its competitors and ensures the organization remains the best payment services option for its customers and end-users.

Etisalat currently provides a range of interactive payment channels for customers in the UAE including – Online Payment, BizDirect services, eZeepay,mPayment services as well as alternative methods such as payment kiosks.

Paladion is a specialized and strategic partner for information risk management and provides end-to-end information risk management solutions comprising of security assurance, compliance, governance, monitoring and management services to large and medium sized organizations for existing as well as emerging risks.