PCI DSS QSA assessment company in India
CyberSigma is a PCI SSC-listed Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) Company, authorised across CEMEA, Asia Pacific and the USA. If you are a bank, payment aggregator, payment gateway or fintech that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data, we take you end to end through PCI DSS v4.0.1 — scoping and gap assessment, remediation support, the on-site QSA assessment, and the signed Report on Compliance (RoC) and Attestation of Compliance (AoC) your acquiring bank and the card networks require. We assess and validate; the official AoC/RoC is your evidence of compliance.
Who needs a PCI DSS QSA assessment
If you store, process or transmit cardholder data, your acquiring bank contractually obliges you to comply with PCI DSS. In India, RBI reinforces it — the Payment Aggregator and Payment Gateway (PA-PG) guidelines require PCI DSS compliance before authorisation, and any entity that suffers a card-data compromise is pushed to Level 1 and a mandatory on-site QSA audit.
What is in scope, and which rules apply
Scope (the CDE): every system that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data, plus anything connected to it. Getting the Cardholder Data Environment right is the highest-value decision you make — scope drives cost. We map data flows, define the CDE and use segmentation and tokenisation to shrink it.
Applicable regulation: PCI DSS v4.0.1 (the current standard; v3.2.1 retired March 2024, and a large block of v4.0.1 future-dated requirements became mandatory 31 March 2025). In India this sits underneath RBI’s PA-PG guidelines, the Card-on-File Tokenisation mandate and the Master Direction on Digital Payment Security Controls, all enforced through your acquiring bank and the card networks (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay/NPCI, American Express).
How long a PCI DSS assessment takes
A first-time Level 1 assessment commonly runs three to six months end to end. PCI DSS compliance must generally be revalidated annually, with quarterly ASV scans and continuous control operation in between.
What drives PCI DSS assessment cost
- Your PCI level and validation type (SAQ vs on-site RoC)
- CDE size — number of in-scope systems, applications and data stores
- Whether you have done this before, and the maturity of your existing evidence
- Remediation and tooling (usually the largest line item — far larger than the QSA fee)
- Recurring costs: quarterly ASV scans, annual penetration testing, continuous monitoring
Indicative ranges: first-time Level 1 payment aggregator ≈ 10–30 lakh QSA fee plus 25 lakh–1 crore+ remediation and tooling; Level 2 fintechs ≈ 4–10 lakh for assessment plus remediation. We give you a firm scope and quote before any commitment.
What the assessment requires from you
What you receive
Where teams that passed v3.2.1 now fail v4.0.1
- MFA not enforced for all access into the CDE (a v4.0.1 hardening)
- No evidence of the new targeted risk analyses v4.0.1 requires
- Firewall rules without documented business justification or six-monthly review
- Missing quarterly ASV scans or overdue penetration testing
- Under-scoped CDE that unravels on day two when the assessor samples evidence
- Controls that pass on assessment day but drift the rest of the year
See how we’ve done it before
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PCI DSS QSA assessment — FAQs
Is CyberSigma a PCI SSC-qualified QSA Company?
Yes. CyberSigma Consulting Services LLP is a PCI SSC-listed Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) Company, authorised across CEMEA, Asia Pacific and the USA, staffed by qualified QSA Employees. We perform on-site PCI DSS assessments and sign the Report on Compliance (RoC) and Attestation of Compliance (AoC).
How much does a PCI DSS QSA assessment cost in India?
For a first-time Level 1 payment aggregator, expect roughly 10–30 lakh for the QSA assessment fee, plus 25 lakh to over 1 crore in remediation and tooling depending on your cardholder-data environment (CDE) size. Level 2 fintechs typically run 4–10 lakh for assessment plus remediation. The audit fee is usually the smallest line item — scope reduction is where the real savings are.
How long does a PCI DSS assessment take?
A first-time Level 1 assessment commonly runs three to six months end to end: scoping and gap assessment (3–6 weeks), remediation (variable), then the on-site assessment and RoC/AoC production. Well-scoped, evidence-ready environments finish faster.
Does CyberSigma issue a “PCI DSS certificate”?
No — and neither does any QSA. PCI SSC does not recognise unofficial “PCI DSS compliance certificates” as validation documents. The recognised evidence of PCI DSS validation is the official PCI SSC forms: the Attestation of Compliance (AoC) and Report on Compliance (RoC), which we produce as your QSA.
Can you help reduce our PCI DSS scope?
Yes. Scope reduction — segmentation, tokenisation and removing card data you do not need to store — is the single most valuable thing we do, because scope drives cost. Reducing your CDE from eighty servers to eight shrinks the assessment accordingly.
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