A statement from Molly Wilkinson, executive director of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) in support of the Data Security Act of 2015, H.R. 2205:
Despite recent claims from representatives of the retail industry, security measures to protect sensitive customer information are needed across industries that handle consumers’ personal and financial information. Retailers are not currently held to any Federal security standards, yet a recent Morning Consult poll found 90 percent of consumers agree stores and retailers should be held to similar standards as banks and financial institutions to keep data secure and private.
Banks and financial institutions go above and beyond the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) to safeguard their customers’ information and the same effort should be required of others that handle sensitive customer data, such as credit and debit cards. There are numerous safeguards implemented by financial institutions that retailers currently do not abide by, such as: sensitive information protections, privacy protection and notification, security plans and safeguard measures, and pretexting protections