The End of Windows XP Could be the End for Your POS System

Will your point of sale system be ready for the end of Windows XP?
Microsoft has announced that Windows XP will reach the end-of-life on April 8th 2014. The retirement of XP means Microsoft will stop providing support services to customers, such as security patch updates. Without updates, POS systems running XP are no longer PCI Compliant and will become susceptible to viruses and fraud. Without the proper PCI security measures, your data could be lost, stolen, or corrupt. A recent study by Trustwave, a security information company, showed that the restaurant and retail hospitality industries accounted for 80 percent of data security breaches. The non-compliance comes from PCI Data Security Standard Requirement 6.1, which states merchants must: “Ensure that all system components and software are protected from known vulnerabilities by having the latest vendor-supplied security patches installed. Install critical security patches within one month of release.”

What is PCI Compliance?
The PCI SSC (Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council) was formed to improve security standards for payment transactions. The major payment companies created guidelines called the PCI DSS (Data Security Standards) that apply to all businesses that process, store, or transmit credit card information. Businesses that are PCI Compliant meet all the requirements set by the PCI DSS.

What happens if your system is not in accordance with PCI Guidelines?
As stated above, if your system is not up to PCI standards your customer data has the potential to become corrupt through security breaches. Not only is your data at risk, but you can be subject to numerous fines and penalties as well. According to pcicomplianceguide.org fines can range from $5,000 to $100,000 per month. Payment companies will send fines to increase transaction fees or even terminate the relationship with the business. These fines have the potential to be disastrous for small businesses who are noncompliant.

Don't be a Target when it comes to POS

Upgrade your POS System
If you’re using a terminal that’s a few years old, such as Micros or Aloha, it might be time to upgrade your POS system. As of today, there are zero PCI Compliant standards for iPad POS systems; however, zero guidelines hasn’t stopped Revel from maintaining current guidelines for POS systems. Our PCI compliance certification is consistently renewed and up to standards, so you won’t have to worry about falling out of compliance. Our iPads are equipped with Infinea Tab card swipes making us the only iPad POS system with a PCI compliant swipe. When a card is swiped, none of the credit card information is stored on the hardware, as all data goes straight to a secure server. To date, Revel has never experienced any form of payment fraud. By switching to a Revel POS, you’ll always be PCI compliant and remain ahead of the competition.

Protect your business. Contact us to learn more.