PCI Compliance Basics for Canadian Merchants
A plain-language overview of PCI DSS, the annual self-assessment, and what Clover does for you automatically.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the rulebook for handling card data securely. Every business that accepts cards has to comply — but the work involved scales with how you take payments.
The good news: if you use Clover devices and never store card data yourself, you qualify for the simplest version of the annual self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ B-IP or SAQ P2PE), which most owners can finish in under an hour.
What Clover handles for you automatically: - Payment data is encrypted from the moment the card is read. - Devices are PCI-validated end-to-end. - Software updates ship over the air.
What you still need to do: - Complete the annual SAQ. - Keep store and back-office networks reasonably secure (no shared Wi-Fi passwords scribbled on the till). - Train staff to never write down card numbers.
We will walk you through the SAQ at no cost — it is part of being your processor.