The PCI Security Standards Council has provided RS2 Software's card payment solutions Bankworks with the Payment Application Data Security Standard validation.

This validation forms part of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and is a formal recognition that RS2 Software is meeting the security requirements posed by the card payments industry. Bankworks is a high-end card management system designed to meet current and future requirements in the international payment card industry.

PCI DSS is a multi-faceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures.

This comprehensive standard is intended to help organisations proactively protect customer account data. It was created to assist organisations that process card payments to prevent credit card fraud through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise.

"RS2 Software is committed to adhere to the requirements, security standards and best practices of the card payments industry," RS2 chief technical officer Godwin Schembri said.

"Some of our customers have already passed PCI DSS assessment while many are currently in the process of obtaining it. This official recognition makes PCI DSS audits much easier and less costly for RS2 clients and is a further indication that our clients are able to reap the fruit of their investment by doing business with RS2 Software."

PA-DSS was implemented to provide the definitive data standard for software vendors that develop payment applications. The standard aims to prevent developed payment applications for third parties from storing prohibited secure data including magnetic stripe, CVV2, or PIN.