Despite some security loopholes remaining, near field communications technology is gaining a foothold in Australia, according to Visa A/NZ.

Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) refer to a set of standards that must be followed by big and small businesses alike when accepting, storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit card information. To be compliant with PCI standards, all business owners, including online retailers, should adhere to 12 PCI compliance requirements for best security practices.

Businesses of all sizes must undertake PCI compliance auditing to ensure that their customers' data is protected during credit or debit card transactions and if stored within any internal business databases.

If you're business is obliged to undertake a PCI audit, then following a PCI Compliance checklist will ensure that you're security processes and payment processing meet the compliance standards. To ensure that you are meeting PCI compliance standards, you'll need to start by looking at what exactly PCI compliant means.

If you operate, own or hold a management role in an Australian business that stores, transmits and processes customer payment data, you may have recently been contacted by your bank regarding your PCI compliance status.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) claims to have struck a major blow to a multi-million identity fraud syndicate.