Financial Services Organization Overcomes Service Provider Gaps To Achieve PCI DSS v4.0.1 Compliance

A leading financial institution offering 50+ credit card products initiated its PCI DSS v4.0.1 compliancejourney through a hybrid assessment model. Early in the engagement, the project hit a major roadblock: several critical third-party service providers lacked PCI DSS certification and proper compliance documentation. Since the institution’s certification depended on these providers, the entire initiative risked significant delays.
Instead of waiting for third parties to become independently certified, the assessment team implemented a strategic scope expansion approach. Critical outsourced services were incorporated directly into the institution’s PCI DSS assessment scope, enabling targeted validation of relevant security controls without disrupting operations.
Combined with a streamlined merchant compliance program, this innovative strategy removed external dependencies and accelerated progress. Despite complex third-party and merchant challenges, the organization achieved full PCI DSS certification within the planned five-month timeline.

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