February 01, 2011
ControlScan Announces Continued Growth, PCI Compliance Leadership in 2010
Provider of PCI compliance solutions positioned for continued expansion in 2011
ControlScan, the leading provider of PCI compliance solutions specifically designed for small- to mid-sized merchants, announced a successful 2010 marked by substantial increases in acquirer partnerships and merchant users, product enhancements and the release of its merchant survey findings.
ControlScan saw a significant increase in Level 4 merchant engagement as a result of the company’s partnerships with ISOs and acquirers, which in 2010 grew to include more than 85, including Hauppauge, N.Y.-based TransFirst; Austin, Texas-based AffiniPay and Pleasant Grove, Utah-based Accelerated Payment Technologies. As a result of these partnerships, ControlScan has grown its available merchant base to more than 650,000 over the past year.
“Our success in 2010 was made possible by our partners who are committed to ensuring that their Level 4 merchants comply with PCI DSS to protect consumer credit card information,” said Joan Herbig, CEO of ControlScan. “Our partners value ControlScan’s ongoing commitment to developing new products and services and providing personalized support that enables them to educate merchants on PCI compliance best practices, restoring productivity to the compliance process. ControlScan’s unique merchant outreach program, SmartReach, underscores the importance of security, thereby compliance to merchants, while providing value as extensions of our partners’ operations.”
Continuing its dedication to improving the merchant experience and simplifying compliance management for its partners, ControlScan released its Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) compliance program in Q3 2010. PA-DSS is the latest enhancement to ControlScan’s PCI Dashboard management and reporting solution, which allows acquirers to view their merchant portfolios by payment application type and identify merchants that are using PA-DSS compliant applications.
The second half of 2010 marked significant changes to the PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (PCI-ASV) guidelines mandated by the PCI Security Standards Council. ControlScan met these changes by enhancing its scanning solution to both comply with the requirements and provide the best possible experience for the Level 4 merchant. Both solutions provide additional tools to make it easy for partners to manage the compliance of their merchant portfolios.
In response to increased industry demand for its compliance solutions, ControlScan nearly doubled its employee headcount, including the addition of 25-year payments industry veteran, John Fasano, as chief financial officer (CFO); and Chris Bucolo, as senior business development manager. To accommodate sustained growth among its merchant support contact center and technology team, the company nearly doubled its square footage.
In June, ControlScan closed a Series B round funding, led by Harbert Venture Partners and C&B Capital. As part of the investment, ControlScan added Tom Roberts, partner, Harbert Venture Partners; and John McDonnell, Chairman and CEO of Phoenix Managed Networks, to its Board of Directors.
In Q4 2010, ControlScan and its partner Merchant Warehouse® contributed valuable industry insight with the release of the survey, “Diversity Reigns: The Second Annual Industry Survey of Level 4 Merchant PCI Compliance Trends,” which concluded that the size of Level 4 merchants significantly influences their perception of data security, awareness of PCI compliance and the steps they take to protect sensitive information.
“With PCI DSS 2.0 standards going into effect recently, acquirers must continue to mitigate risk by communicating the impact of the new standards with their Level 4 merchants,” continued Herbig. “In response to this change, ControlScan will continue to grow by assisting our customers with their ongoing compliance efforts.”
About PCI Compliance Provider, ControlScan (www.controlscan.com)
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, ControlScan provides Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance solutions that fit the specific needs of small- to medium-sized merchants (defined by Visa as ‘Level 4’). The company helps simplify PCI compliance and reduce risk for acquirers by achieving high PCI compliance rates for their merchants. As a market leader in PCI compliance, ControlScan offers its acquirer partners the unique benefits of an exclusive focus on servicing Level 4 merchants, programs that work based on the needs of each acquirer and a track record of success in achieving high PCI compliance rates. For more information about ControlScan and its solutions visit www.controlscan.com or call 1-800-940-5941.