Last updated: July 2026
Looking for a PCI Compliance Consulting Company? PCI DSS Compliant in 90 Days.
We are a PCI compliance consulting company for merchants and service providers. We map your cardholder data, shrink your scope, close the gaps against all 12 PCI DSS v4.0.1 requirements, coordinate your ASV scan and penetration test, and get you compliant in 90 days - not the 12 to 18 months most consultants quote.
Every engagement is led personally by a former Microsoft Security Consulting team member. Fixed price. You review the gap report before you pay.
What Does a PCI Compliance Consulting Company Do?
A PCI compliance consulting company prepares a business that handles payment cards to meet the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It maps your cardholder data flows, reduces your scope, determines your merchant level and the correct Self-Assessment Questionnaire, closes the gaps against all 12 requirements, and coordinates the quarterly ASV scan and annual penetration test.
The consultant does the readiness and remediation work; a QSA validates Level 1 environments and an ASV runs the scans. A strong PCI consulting firm does two things at once: it genuinely secures your payment environment, and it makes validation - the SAQ, ROC, and Attestation of Compliance - a formality. That is how Atlant Security runs every PCI engagement.
What Is PCI DSS, and Who Must Comply
PCI DSS is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, maintained by the PCI Security Standards Council and enforced by the card brands through your acquiring bank. The current version is v4.0.1, and its previously future-dated requirements - including mandatory MFA and stronger controls - are now in force.
It applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data - every merchant that accepts cards, and every service provider that touches card data on someone else’s behalf. How you validate depends on your level and how you handle the data, which is exactly what a consultant untangles for you.
The single biggest lever in PCI is scope: the fewer systems that touch card data, the fewer requirements apply. Getting scope right is where a good consultant saves you the most.
The 12 PCI DSS Requirements (Six Goals)
PCI DSS v4.0.1 organizes 12 requirements into six goals. We assess each against your real environment and implement whatever is missing.
Build and Maintain a Secure Network
Requirements 1-2Install and maintain network security controls (firewalls), and apply secure configurations to all system components. No vendor defaults, no flat networks where cardholder data mixes with everything else.
Protect Account Data
Requirements 3-4Protect stored account data with strong cryptography, and encrypt cardholder data whenever it crosses open or public networks. The less card data you store, the smaller your scope - we help you store as little as possible.
Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
Requirements 5-6Protect all systems against malware, and develop and maintain secure systems and software. Patching, secure development, and change management that hold up to a QSA’s review.
Implement Strong Access Control
Requirements 7-9Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know, identify and authenticate every user (MFA is now mandatory under v4.0.1), and restrict physical access to the systems and media that hold card data.
Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
Requirements 10-11Log and monitor all access to system components and cardholder data, and test the security of your systems regularly - including quarterly ASV scans and annual penetration testing.
Maintain an Information Security Policy
Requirement 12Support information security with organizational policies, a risk assessment, security awareness training, and an incident response plan. The governance layer that ties the technical controls together.
PCI Merchant Levels and SAQ - Which Applies to You?
Your validation path depends on your annual transaction volume. Picking the correct level and the smallest applicable SAQ is one of the biggest cost savers in PCI - and one of the first things we do.
| Level | Annual volume | How you validate |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Over 6M card transactions per year (or any merchant after a breach) | Annual Report on Compliance (ROC) by a QSA, plus quarterly ASV scans |
| Level 2 | 1M to 6M card transactions per year | Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (or ROC), plus quarterly ASV scans |
| Level 3 | 20K to 1M e-commerce transactions per year | Annual SAQ, plus quarterly ASV scans |
| Level 4 | Under 20K e-commerce or under 1M total transactions per year | Annual SAQ, plus quarterly ASV scans |
Our PCI Compliance Consulting Process
Five stages from first call to a signed Attestation of Compliance. The difference from most PCI consulting firms is stages one and four: we cut your scope, and we implement the controls with you.
Scope and map cardholder data
We trace every place card data is captured, processed, transmitted, or stored - checkout, APIs, call center, backups, third parties. Then we shrink that scope with segmentation, tokenization, and redirect or iframe payment flows, because the smaller your scope, the cheaper and simpler compliance is forever.
Confirm your level and SAQ
We determine your merchant or service-provider level from transaction volume and pick the exact SAQ that applies - A, A-EP, D, or another - so you validate against the right, and smallest, set of requirements.
Gap assessment
We test your environment against all 12 PCI DSS v4.0.1 requirements and hand you a prioritized gap report with a clear remediation roadmap - no vague checklist, real findings.
Remediate the controls
This is where most consultants stop and we do not. We implement segmentation, encryption, MFA, logging, patching, and secure configuration with your team until the requirements are genuinely met.
Scan, test, attest
We coordinate the quarterly ASV scan and the required annual penetration test, fix anything they flag, complete your SAQ or ROC, and get you a signed Attestation of Compliance to hand your acquiring bank or customers.
PCI Compliance Timeline (90 Days)
A realistic timeline for a merchant or service provider validating PCI DSS. Compliance is then ongoing, with quarterly ASV scans and annual re-validation.
| Phase | Timing | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping and cardholder data flow mapping | Week 1 | Exactly where card data lives and flows, and which systems are in scope |
| Determine level and SAQ type | Week 1 | Your merchant or service-provider level and the correct SAQ (or ROC path) |
| Gap assessment | Weeks 1-3 | A prioritized gap report against all 12 PCI DSS requirements |
| Remediation | Weeks 2-9 | Controls implemented: segmentation, encryption, MFA, logging, patching |
| ASV scan and penetration test | Weeks 8-11 | Passing external ASV scan and the required annual penetration test |
| SAQ or ROC and AOC | Weeks 10-12 | Completed SAQ or ROC and a signed Attestation of Compliance |
How Much Does PCI Compliance Consulting Cost?
Unlike most PCI consulting companies, we publish our pricing. Fixed-price proposals within 24 hours of your strategy call. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Scoping and Gap Assessment
Cardholder data mapping, scope reduction, and a gap roadmap.
- Cardholder data flow mapping
- Scope reduction plan
- Merchant level and SAQ determination
- Gap analysis against all 12 requirements
- Prioritized remediation roadmap
Zero-risk: you review the gap report before you pay.
Full PCI Compliance Program
End to end: from scoping to a signed Attestation of Compliance.
- Everything in Scoping and Gap Assessment
- Hands-on remediation
- Segmentation and encryption design
- ASV scan coordination
- Annual penetration test
- SAQ or ROC support
- Signed Attestation of Compliance (AOC)
Zero-risk: you review the gap report before you pay.
Level 1 merchants and service providers also engage a QSA for the Report on Compliance, and every merchant pays an ASV for the required quarterly external scans. We coordinate both and prepare you so they pass.
Who Needs a PCI Consultant?
If any of these describe you, a PCI compliance consulting company is your fastest path to a passing attestation.
Why Choose Atlant Over Other PCI Consulting Firms
Most PCI consulting companies hand you a questionnaire and a scan subscription. Here is how we are different.
| Atlant Security | Typical PCI Consultant | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A former Microsoft security consultant, personally | Junior or offshore staff you never meet |
| Time to compliant | 90 days | 6-18 months |
| Pricing | Fixed price - you review the gap report before you pay | Open-ended hourly billing |
| Scoping | We shrink your scope so you do less, cheaper, forever | Leaves your whole network in scope |
| Remediation | Hands-on - we implement the controls with you | A checklist and advice, then you are on your own |
| ASV scan and pen test | We coordinate both and fix what they flag | You chase vendors and interpret results alone |
| Vendor neutrality | 100% independent - zero software commissions | Often resells the compliance tool they recommend |
Every PCI Engagement Is Led by Alexander Sverdlov
Former Microsoft Security Consulting team member. CISSP certified. Secured nuclear energy infrastructure at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. Alexander has personally led 200+ security assessments across 14 countries since 2013. At Atlant Security, the senior consultant who scopes your cardholder data environment is the same person who implements the controls - never handed to junior staff.
Connect on LinkedInCase Study: E-Commerce Merchant PCI Compliant in 79 Days
A growing online retailer processing about 400,000 card transactions a year had its acquiring bank demand a valid SAQ and passing ASV scan or face account suspension.
Starting State
- Card data flowing through their own servers (huge scope)
- Failing ASV scan with 30+ vulnerabilities
- No network segmentation
- No MFA on admin access
- Wrong SAQ - validating against far too much
What We Did
- Re-architected checkout to a hosted payment page (SAQ A)
- Cut PCI scope by over 80%
- Remediated every ASV finding to a passing scan
- Added segmentation, MFA, and logging
- Ran the annual penetration test
- Completed the SAQ and signed AOC for the bank
Result: PCI DSS compliant with a passing ASV scan and signed AOC 79 days after kickoff - and, thanks to scope reduction, their ongoing annual validation is now a fraction of what it would have been.
Keep Accepting Cards. Get PCI Compliant.
Book a free 30-minute strategy call with Alexander. We will map your card data, find the smallest path to compliance, and tell you exactly what it takes. Fixed-price proposal within 24 hours.
Zero-risk: you review the gap report before you pay.
Schedule Your Free PCI Strategy Call
Need PCI DSS and SOC 2 Together?
Many payment-adjacent SaaS companies need both - PCI DSS because they touch card data, and SOC 2 because enterprise buyers demand it. The controls overlap heavily, so we map both in one engagement and cut your total cost and timeline.
See our SOC 2 Compliance ConsultingFor small projects and ad-hoc work outside our pre-agreed packages or retainers, our standard hourly rate is $460.
PCI Compliance Consulting FAQ
What is a PCI compliance consulting company?
How much does PCI compliance consulting cost?
How long does PCI DSS compliance take?
What are the PCI merchant levels?
Which PCI SAQ do I need?
What is the difference between a merchant and a service provider?
Do I still need PCI compliance if I use Stripe or PayPal?
What is a QSA, an ASV, and a ROC?
What are the 12 PCI DSS requirements?
What are the penalties for PCI non-compliance?
Does PCI DSS require penetration testing?
Can you help with PCI DSS and SOC 2 together?
Related: SOC 2 Compliance Consulting - HIPAA Compliance Consulting - Penetration Testing - IT Security Audit - Virtual CISO Services