The PCI DSS was developed by the five major card companies (Visa Inc., MasterCard Worldwide, American Express Co., JCB International Co. Ltd. and Discover Financial Services) to develop a set of standards and one unified approach to prevent credit card fraud and other security vulnerabilities. All merchants who process, store or transmit card data must be compliant with the PCI DSS. Failure to comply can result in expensive fees, including fees imposed by merchant banks, as well as the loss of the ability to process bankcards. The risks of remaining noncompliant can be devastating to any business.