Graham Turner – Sales Director
The annual PCI SSC Europe Community Meeting took place in Edinburgh last week, so the Semafone team donned our kilts and set off for Scotland. The event was a huge success with circa 500 delegates attending; experts from across the payments industry gathered to discuss what the coming payments trends and new technologies are going to look like.
The welcome reception on the first night was held in the magnificent Georgian surroundings of the Signet Library on Parliament Square. I can’t say I fully appreciated the Harry Potter theme (not being a huge fan myself!) but it was an absolutely fantastic evening and a great opportunity to catch up with customers and friends of Semafone.
The most interesting takeaway for me was a point made by Jeremy King, International Director of the PCI Security Standards Council. Jeremy emphasised the importance of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) and how essential it is that companies meet its requirements, and protect their customer data. When it comes into effect in two years’ time the GDPR will impact the UK regardless of Brexit, as it applies to any organisation that collects and processes private information from EU citizens. With this in mind, companies should be preparing now to make sure they have secure systems in place to meet the new regulations or face fines of up to 4% of global turnover or €20 million, whichever is the greater. It’s clear that the issues around securing personal data are gaining more and more attention. Adhering to PCI guidelines can only stand you in good stead for the imminent GDPR legislation.
We talked to a wide range of security professionals on our stand and it was interesting to hear from them on what they thought of the GDPR and how it would affect their operations. Many of the professionals we talked to hadn’t fully realised the impact GDPR would have regardless of Brexit. If you would like to know more about what the new GDPR means for your business download our concise guide.
Catch all the cards!
On a lighter note, we brought the giant money booth game we used at the Community Meeting in Vegas to Edinburgh. Attendees had great fun catching the coloured credit cards to claim their prize – congratulations to all who won an Amazon gift card.
Hope to see you next year in Barcelona!
