As a Participating Organization, Braintree Payment Solutions will work with the Council to evolve the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.

The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity.

As a Participating Organization, Braintree will now have access to the latest payment card security standards from the Council, be able to provide feedback on the standards and become part of a growing community that now includes more than 330 organizations. In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, adhering to the PCI DSS represents an entity's best protection against data criminals. By joining as a Participating Organization, Braintree is adding its voice to the process.

"The PCI Security Standards Council is committed to helping everyone involved in the payment chain protect consumer payment data," said Bob Russo, General Manager of the PCI Security Standards Council. "By participating in the standards setting process, Braintree demonstrates they are playing an active part in this important end goal."

"It's a privilege for us to participate," said Bryan Johnson, CEO of Braintree. "Our unique solutions are assisting merchants dramatically simplify PCI Compliance by removing the need to handle or store credit card information in-house. Our customers are eliminating all credit card information from their environment by remotely storing the sensitive data in a Level 1 PCI compliant environment, while still retaining full usability. We're looking forward to joining the discussion and collaborating with others in the Council."