What is PCI Compliance?

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security standards for any organization that handles credit card data. Subscription services must be PCI compliant to process payments. This involves secure data storage, encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.

Most subscription services achieve PCI compliance by using payment gateways like Stripe that handle card data directly, so the service itself never touches raw card numbers. Understanding PCI compliance helps consumers evaluate whether a subscription service handles their payment data securely.