Managing PCI Compliance

To process payments, your users need to validate compliance with PCI DSS annually. Users validate compliance by completing a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). In this guide, you can learn how to comply with the PCI DSS using Finix.

Users include any entity that stores, processes, or transmits credit card data. For more information about PCI compliance, see PCI DSS Compliance.

Creating Compliance Forms

When a user gets successfully onboarded, Finix’s API will generate the necessary PCI Compliance Form pre-filled with the user’s information. Each Compliance Form is uniquely associated with the user.

• If your users are processing Card Not Present transactions, Finix will generate a pre-filled SAQ Questionnaire with type pci_saq_a. For an example see this sample SAQ A form from the PCI Council.

Finix users must validate PCI compliance within 90 days of being onboarded by completing the necessary Compliance Form.

• The specific date the Compliance Form needs to be completed by can be found in due_at.
• Users must complete and attest to a new Compliance Form annually.

Viewing Compliance Forms

A webhook notifies you when Finix creates a Compliance Form.

Use the id in the webhook to fetch the Compliance Form resource from the /compliance_forms/:COMPLIANCE_FORM_ID: endpoint.

curl https://finix.sandbox-payments-api.com/compliance_forms/cf_fEojUGLjwUiqNTBp68JWq8 \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H 'Finix-Version: 2022-02-01' \
    -u  USj46WbwgnjapmdYFnEDP3Ec:b9b4042c-9621-438d-a84b-8557d4bda84d

Example Response

{
    "id": "cf_fEojUGLjwUiqNTBp68JWq8",
    "created_at": "2022-06-22T01:20:12.439149Z",
    "updated_at": "2022-09-07T20:54:08.411908Z",
    "application_id": "APdoThHn4jjYUSxQf76txAgg",
    "linked_to": "MUfnskvHiiDgP7x3TVL2LkG3",
    "linked_type": "MERCHANT",
    "type": "PCI_SAQ_A",
    "version": "2018.5",
    "valid_from": "2022-06-22T01:20:12.978825Z",
    "valid_until": "2023-06-22T01:20:12.97883Z",
    "tags": {
        "is_accepted": false,
        "name": "JWOJOJ",
        "signed_at": null,
        "ip_address": null,
        "title": null,
        "user_agent": null
    },
    "pci_saq_a": {
        "name": null,
        "signed_at": null,
        "user_agent": null,
        "ip_address": null,
        "is_accepted": false,
        "title": null
    },
    "due_at": "2022-09-20T01:20:12.430835Z",
    "compliance_form_template": "cft_wua8ua1yLAcHRK9mx2mF9K",
    "files": {
        "unsigned_file": "FILE_fFGMCY4sxGYTqpjnXh54kC",
        "signed_file": null
    },
    "state": "INCOMPLETE"
}

HTTP Request

GET https://finix.sandbox-payments-api.com/compliance_forms/:COMPLIANCE_FORM_ID:

Completing Compliance Forms

As part of onboarding your users, you'll need to build a UI experience that allows users to complete the PCI Compliance Form and download the form as a PDF if requested.

To complete PCI compliance forms:

1. Get the Compliance Form generated for the merchant using the id from the webhook and present the form to your users when requested.
2. Show your users the required text to obtain consent.
3. Submit a PUT API request with the necessary attestation information.

Obtaining Compliance Consent

You need to present your users a link so they can view the compliance form. Users must explicitly consent to the form before you can submit the attestation PUT request to Finix.

To obtain your users' consent, you must present the following text alongside the link to the compliance form:

By submitting this Self-Assessment Questionnaire, I certify that I am an authorized representative of the company and that all the information submitted is true and correct.

Completing the Questionnaire

To complete and submit the questionnaire, update Compliance Form with the required pci_saq_a information. Updating the Compliance Form with this information will update state from INCOMPLETE to COMPLETED.

curl https://finix.sandbox-payments-api.com/compliance_forms/cf_bcu8rBtpCFJVuRpgCxt4HS \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H 'Finix-Version: 2022-02-01' \
    -u  USdCBTiL4BwY9jJ6Mq12ymrW:d294d534-b1f7-473b-bc56-7f76ccb011e7 \
    -X PUT \
    -d '
    {
        "pci_saq_a": {
         "ip_address":"42.1.1.112",
         "name": "John Smith",
         "signed_at": "2022-03-18T16:42:55Z",
         "title": "CTO",
         "user_agent": "Mozilla 5.0(Macintosh; IntelMac OS X 10 _14_6)"
       }
    }'

Example Response

{
    "id": "cf_bcu8rBtpCFJVuRpgCxt4HS",
    "created_at": "2021-08-15T18:26:56.15Z",
    "updated_at": "2021-07-T15:26:56.15Z",
    "application_id": "APdoThHn4jjYUSxQf76txAgg",
    "compliance_form_template": "cft_u56ZGx3Xb6U9gAqKfgNisd",
    "due_at": "2021-11-13T15:26:56.15Z",
    "files": {
        "unsigned_file": "FILE_qf952xmeuiF179wdMiPXrW",
        "signed_file": "FILE_mmRiDs7YaSsqjP727gWD84"
    },
    "linked_to": "MUas8jhZf3bWsqyp8neX3UwN",
    "linked_type": "MERCHANT",
    "pci_saq_a": {
        "name": "John Smith",
        "signed_at": "2022-03-18T16:42:55Z",
        "user_agent": "Mozilla 5.0(Macintosh; IntelMac OS X 10 _14_6)",
        "ip_address": "42.1.1.113",
        "is_accepted": true,
        "title": "CTO"
    },
    "state": "COMPLETED",
    "tags": {},
    "type": "PCI_SAQ_A",
    "valid_from": "2022-03-18T18:26:56.15Z",
    "valid_until": "2023-03-18T18:26:56.15Z"
}

HTTP Request

PUT https://finix.sandbox-payments-api.com/compliance_forms/:COMPLIANCE_FORM_ID:

Response

pci_saq_a

Files

Downloading Compliance Forms

Every Compliance Form resource has a file object. The File object has a File ID available in:

• unsigned if the user hasn't completed the form
• signed if the user has completed the form.

Use the File ID to download the file for your user or fetch it to display the PDF in their browser.

Renewing Compliance

To stay PCI compliant, you and your users need to validate compliance annually by completing the SAQ questionnaire. When the valid_to date passes (i.e. the valid_to date is greater than today’s date), Finix will generate a new Compliance Form with new valid_from and valid_to timestamps.