PCI DSS is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — a set of security requirements that apply to any organisation that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data. It covers network security, access control, encryption, monitoring, vulnerability management and policy. The level of validation required depends on transaction volume and risk profile, and falling out of compliance can lead to scheme fines and the loss of card acceptance.
Travel payments glossary
PCI DSS compliance
A security standard for any organisation that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data.
Why it matters in travel
PCI DSS compliance is a recurring operational task for travel businesses because card data appears across web checkouts, mobile apps, agent screens, virtual terminals and on-tour terminals. Reducing PCI scope — through hosted pages, payment links and tokenisation — is one of the most reliable ways to lower compliance cost.
The annual cost of PCI compliance scales directly with the scope a business carries. Every additional system that touches card data has to be vulnerability-scanned, access-controlled, log-monitored and proven year after year against an auditor. Travel businesses with sprawling agent infrastructure can spend significant six-figure sums on PCI work that adds nothing to the customer experience.
The travel businesses that take PCI seriously treat scope reduction as an annual investment. They move agents off virtual terminals onto authenticated payment links, they replace embedded card forms with hosted pages, they tokenise card data so the underlying number never enters their environment. Each of those moves cuts ongoing compliance cost while improving customer experience.
How felloh helps
felloh handles card data through tokenised and hosted flows so the underlying card number never sits in the travel business’s systems, while booking-level evidence stays fully available for finance and operations.
The pay checkout collects card data into tokenised flows backed by Basis Theory and provider-side vaults, with the dashboard handling only the booking-level metadata. Payment Links and the hosted checkout move card entry out of the operator’s environment entirely; virtual-terminal flows tokenise on entry rather than storing the value.
For travel businesses managing annual PCI assessments, the practical effect is dramatic scope reduction. The CDE shrinks to the smallest workable surface, the assessment becomes manageable, and the recurring compliance cost drops to a level the business can absorb as it grows.
Where this shows up in compliance and protection.
PCI DSS compliance touches more than one workflow at felloh. Start with the pages most travel teams reach for next.
- Compliance & Reporting
Prepare ATOL, APC, trust and audit evidence from live booking data — without a separate reporting layer.
Explore - Simplify ATOL & Trustee Reporting
Trust, escrow and protected-funds evidence drawn from the same record as the underlying payment.
Explore - Financial Protection Data
Authentication, settlement and protection evidence held against the booking for audit and regulator queries.
Explore
More on compliance and protection.
Real-world context from the felloh team and customers, written for travel finance and operations.
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Connect the dots.
See how payments, settlement, refunds and reporting evidence connect around every booking.