On March 31, 2025, new mandatory requirements of PCI Data Security Standards Version 4.0 (PCI DSS v4.0) will come into effect. Among the critical updates from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, led by major credit card companies, is the introduction of measures designed to prevent digital skimming attacks. These are a major cybersecurity threat where hackers steal sensitive information such as credit card details directly from online transactions.

With global cyberattacks on the rise, projected to exceed 15 trillion U.S. dollars (equivalent to almost 12 trillion British pounds) by 2029*, the new requirements are designed to safeguard the integrity of online transactions and strengthen consumer confidence in digital commerce. However, PCI DSS v4.0 regulations also present intricate compliance challenges for online businesses.   

Compliance is vital for merchants across the world. Shopify, a leader in global commerce, powers millions of businesses in more than 175 countries and it powers 6% of all ecommerce in the top 5 markets in Europe so it has proactively simplified the compliance process for its merchants. “We’ve built Shopify’s world-class checkout and storefronts architecture to be future-proof, providing solutions that simplify compliance with the ever-changing list of security, data, and privacy requirements and regulations,” said Ilya Grigorik, Distinguished Engineer at Shopify. “We actively engage with standards and requirements development, and sweat the technical details of implementing the right components across our platform. This enables Shopify merchants of every size to focus on running and growing their business, free from the scramble and worries of managing compliance tasks."

For online businesses not on Shopify’s unified platform, meeting these new mandatory requirements can be time and labour intensive. These requirements include stricter protection for card fields on checkout pages, regular assessments of website tampering, more detailed records of security measures and quicker response times for security issues. 

As the landscape of global regulations shifts, Shopify offers a straightforward and highly customisable checkout solution, ensuring that businesses can meet the latest security requirements effortlessly. This flexibility allows merchants to tailor their checkout experiences to align with their specific needs.