PCI DSS compliance in Saudi Arabia

PCI DSS compliance in Saudi Arabia at a glance

Card data handled by a Saudi bank, insurer or financing company sits under SAMA's Cyber Security Framework, which requires member organisations to comply with PCI DSS where cardholder data is concerned. The framework, issued by the Saudi Central Bank in 2017, applies to banks, insurance and reinsurance companies, financing companies, credit bureaus and the financial market infrastructure, so payment processors, contact centres and technology providers that serve them inherit the requirement through their contracts. PCI DSS is a compliance standard, not a certificate: validation is by a Qualified Security Assessor's Report on Compliance or by self-assessment, as the payment brands and the acquirer require. Government and critical infrastructure suppliers meet related third-party and cloud expectations under the NCA's Essential Cybersecurity Controls. Sterling's Riyadh office scopes the cardholder data environment, closes gaps in segmentation, encryption, logging and vulnerability management, and prepares the evidence a QSA will test; Sterling is not a QSA. The Saudi questions are answered below.

Who needs PCI DSS in Saudi Arabia, and what happens without it

These are the organisations in Saudi Arabia that most often need to show PCI DSS.

• Banks, insurers and financing companies handling cardholder dataSAMA's Cyber Security Framework requires PCI DSS compliance for cardholder data.
• Payment processors, contact centres and technology providers to SAMA member organisationsRequirements flow down through contracts.
• Merchants and e-commerce businesses accepting cardsPayment brands and acquirers require validation.

PCI DSS requirements in Saudi Arabia

Strip away the vocabulary and PCI DSS asks any business that stores, processes or transmits card data to comply in six areas.

In Saudi Arabia these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: PCI DSS explained →

• PCI DSS requirements, clause by clause in plain language
• The documents PCI DSS expects
• PCI DSS checklist

How to achieve PCI DSS compliance in Saudi Arabia

One team from the Riyadh office carries the work from scoping to sign-off. Clients across the Kingdom, from the Riyadh office; on-site where the work needs it and remote delivery for distributed teams.

1. Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
2. Gap assessment against PCI DSS and the Saudi requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
3. Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
4. Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before any external review.
5. Reviews by regulators, customers and auditorsSterling supports the reviews your regulators, customers and auditors run.

The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.

• PCI DSS gap analysis
• PCI DSS implementation plan
• PCI DSS internal audit

How long does PCI DSS compliance take in Saudi Arabia?

There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Saudi Arabia these are the factors that set the timeline.

• Size of the cardholder data environment and segmentation
• Number of third-party service providers in scope
• Evidence of scans and penetration testing

Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.

• What drives the PCI DSS timeline
• Scope and timeline estimator

How much does PCI DSS compliance cost in Saudi Arabia?

The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and any external assessor’s fees, which are quoted separately. In Saudi Arabia these factors move both.

• Scope of the cardholder data environment
• QSA fees quoted separately from consulting
• Technical remediation (encryption, logging, segmentation)

Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.

• What makes up the cost of PCI DSS

PCI DSS consultants and assessors in Saudi Arabia

Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; your regulators, customers and auditors then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.

• Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers PCI DSS and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
• Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Saudi Arabia are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
• Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
• Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.

PCI DSS in Saudi Arabia: questions clients ask

More on PCI DSS for Saudi organisations

• PCI DSS: the complete guide
• Watch: How to implement PCI DSS
• Banking and financial services: PCI DSS for the sector
• BPO and contact centres: PCI DSS for the sector
• E-commerce and retail: PCI DSS for the sector
• Fintech and payment facilitators: PCI DSS for the sector
• Healthcare providers and insurers: PCI DSS for the sector
• Hospitality and travel: PCI DSS for the sector
• Software and hosting: PCI DSS for the sector
• Sterling in Riyadh
• PCI DSS compliance in Saudi Arabia and every other standard Sterling delivers there

Other standards Saudi businesses ask Sterling for

Organisations in Saudi Arabia often combine PCI DSS with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.

All 23 standards Sterling delivers in Saudi Arabia →