In 2024, 35.5% of breaches were linked to a third-party vendor—and when you’re working with payment processors, that kind of breach comes with even higher stakes. That’s why security and compliance are non-negotiable in any payments request for proposal (RFP). Your RFP should establish how a payments provider safeguards sensitive data, how quickly they respond to incidents, and how well they can help you meet regulatory requirements. You need to ask the right questions up front and demand answers with evidence. Below, we’ll cover all the best practices for asking about security and compliance in payments RFPs.
What’s in this article?
- What security and compliance requirements should be included in every payments RFP?
- How do I write PCI DSS requirements into a payments RFP?
- What basic data protection and privacy questions should I ask vendors?
- How do I evaluate a vendor’s fraud prevention in an RFP?
- What incident response and disaster recovery details should vendors provide?
- How do I ask about global compliance requirements in an RFP?
- What should I require from vendors around encryption, tokenization, and authentication?
- How do I include mobile and in-app payment security requirements in an RFP?
- What reporting and audit capabilities should be requested in a payments RFP?
- What red flags in vendor RFP responses suggest weak security or compliance?
- How Stripe Payments can help
What security and compliance requirements should be included in every payments RFP?
When you’re putting together a payments RFP, the security and compliance section is where you define the baseline expectations every serious vendor should meet. Your RFP should force vendors to demonstrate strong, independently validated security across all of these areas.
Here’s what should always make the cut.
Industry certifications and audits
Ask vendors to show proof of certifications and audits: PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for card data, ISO/IEC 27001 for information security, and SOC 2 Type II for operational controls. These certifications attest that outside auditors have examined the vendor’s practices.
PCI DSS compliance
Require that the vendor is PCI DSS compliant at the highest level relevant for service providers (Level 1). Ask for their current Attestation of Compliance (AOC) from a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) as formal proof.
Data protection and privacy
Ask the vendor how they protect all customer information, including personal details, billing addresses, and identifiers. Ask where that data is stored geographically, how it’s encrypted, and how access is controlled. Make sure they’ll sign a Data Processing Agreement and support privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA.
Fraud prevention
Include questions about their fraud prevention capabilities. Do they use machine learning, rules engines, and 3D Secure authentication? How do they balance stopping fraud with keeping approval rates high? Their RFP response should give you confidence that they can help cut down chargebacks and fraud losses without frustrating legitimate customers.
Incident response and disaster recovery
Every vendor should have a plan for breaches and outages. Ask how they detect and respond to incidents, how quickly they’ll notify you if your data is involved, and what their key data recovery objectives are (RTO or RPO).
Global compliance coverage
If you’re operating internationally, your provider needs to handle local regulations so you don’t get blindsided. Ask about PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication in Europe, sanctions screening in the US, and data localization rules in countries such as India. A global vendor should be able to point to concrete systems and licenses that cover these requirements.
Core data security controls
Spell out expectations for encryption, tokenization, and authentication. Data should be encrypted in transit and at rest with modern standards, sensitive data should be tokenized so you never touch it directly, and vendor systems should enforce strong authentication for internal users.
Mobile and in-app payments
If your business runs on mobile, include requirements specific to that environment. Ask about the security of their software development kits (SDKs), whether sensitive data bypasses your servers to reduce PCI scope, and how they support digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Reporting and auditability
Vendors should provide transaction reporting, fraud and dispute analytics, and system audit logs that track administrative actions. You want enough access to your data that you can run your own audits and meet your own compliance obligations.
How do I write PCI DSS requirements into a payments RFP?
PCI DSS is the global rulebook for card data. In your RFP, PCI DSS compliance should read like a contract clause. Demand Level 1 certification with proof and make sure they commit to staying compliant as the standard evolves.
Here’s how to make sure your RFP language leaves no room for confusion or interpretation.
Be explicit about level and proof
State flat out that vendors must be PCI DSS Service Provider Level 1 compliant. That is the gold standard proof that they’re playing at the right level.
Insist on ongoing compliance
PCI DSS requirements continue to evolve. In your RFP, ask how the vendor stays current: “Confirm that you maintain PCI compliance for the life of the contract and explain how you adapt to new PCI DSS versions.” The answer should mention annual audits, quarterly scans, and ongoing monitoring.
Clarify shared responsibilities
Even with a compliant provider, some PCI obligations still fall on you. Spell this out in the RFP: “Which PCI DSS requirements remain our responsibility, and how do you support us in meeting them?” Look for vendors who help lighten the load with methods such as pre-populating PCI self-assessment questionnaires (SAQs) or offering detailed guidance.
What basic data protection and privacy questions should I ask vendors?
Names, addresses, emails, and device IDs are all sensitive information, too. The right vendor will be able to tell you exactly where your customers’ data lives, how it’s protected, how long it’s kept, and what happens if something goes wrong.
These are the questions worth asking.
Where is the data stored and processed?
Jurisdiction matters. Ask vendors to identify the countries where customer data lives, and whether they offer regional hosting options. A transparent answer will name the locations, explain the legal frameworks that apply, and describe how cross-border transfers are handled.
How is personal data protected?
Encryption, access controls, and monitoring should come up immediately. Ask about the exact methods: AES-256 for data at rest, TLS 1.2+ for data in transit, and role-based access with the principle of least privilege. Press for details on audit logs: who accessed which records, when, and for what purpose. You want proof that every touchpoint is monitored.
Which privacy laws do you comply with, and what contracts back that up?
Vendors should be explicit about GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant laws. The RFP should require a GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreement and evidence of how they handle data subject rights, such as access and deletion. If they hold certifications or participate in recognized frameworks, that’s worth including in the evaluation.
What is your retention and deletion policy?
Ask how long they keep transaction and personal data and what processes exist to delete or anonymize it. Look for structured policies: specific timeframes for retention, automated purges, and the ability to fulfill deletion requests quickly.
Who are your subprocessors, and how are they vetted?
If the vendor relies on cloud providers or third parties, they should disclose who those are and demonstrate that those partners are held to the same standards. Strong answers will describe due diligence, contractual obligations, and certifications for subprocessors.
What is the breach notification process?
Request their written policy for incident reporting. Ask about timelines (within how many hours you’ll be informed of a breach) and what details they’ll share. The best answers include specifics on communication channels and post-incident reporting with remediation steps.
How do I evaluate a vendor’s fraud prevention in an RFP?
Every percentage point of fraud that slips through can eat into revenue and damage customer trust. Every false positive that blocks a legitimate transaction can cost you a sale. On the topic of fraud prevention, the strongest vendors will talk in specifics: machine learning models tuned on billions of data points, configurable dashboards, concrete fraud rates, and built-in authentication flows. They’ll acknowledge the balance between fraud prevention and conversion and show how they help you manage it.
Here’s what you need to find out.
Fraud detection systems
Ask vendors to explain their fraud detection systems in detail. Look for a layered approach: machine learning trained on a large dataset, configurable rules, device fingerprinting, velocity checks, and behavioral signals. The best providers combine automated scoring with options for manual review and feedback loops. If they mention consortium data (signals gathered across many businesses), that’s a sign their models are learning from a wide field beyond your own transactions.
Strong customer authentication
Fraud control ties directly into authentication. Require vendors to describe how they support methods such as 3D Secure, one-time passcodes, or biometric checks. For businesses operating in Europe, this is a PSD2 requirement. Even outside Europe, having stepped-up authentication available is critical for high-risk or suspicious transactions. You want vendors who can enable these flows without making you build them yourself.
Tracked metrics
Ask for metrics such as fraud rates, chargeback ratios, false positive rates, and approval rates. You’re looking for a provider that can articulate trade-offs: high approval rates paired with low fraud and minimal friction. If they offer chargeback protection or liability-shift programs, that shows confidence in their system, but you still need to understand how they get their results.
Ability to customize
Every business has its own risk tolerance. Some want maximum conversion even if it means more disputes; others are willing to challenge more customers to cut fraud. Ask if you can customize fraud rules, adjust risk thresholds, and whitelist or blacklist certain scenarios. Strong vendors give you dashboards where you can write rules such as “flag transactions over $5,000 from a new customer” or “require 3D Secure for all first-time orders from X country.” That flexibility is a sign of maturity.
Protection across methods
Fraud happens everywhere: real-time payments, digital wallets, buy now, pay later, and more. Your RFP should ask how the vendor monitors these methods. Do they verify bank accounts, screen payout recipients against sanctions lists, or detect account takeovers? A vendor that only talks about card fraud might leave you exposed elsewhere.
Dispute handling
Fraud prevention and dispute management go hand in hand. Ask how the vendor supports chargeback responses: do they automatically compile evidence, provide dispute alerts, or offer analytics on root causes? Even the best systems won’t catch everything, so their ability to limit the impact when fraud does happen matters too.
What incident response and disaster recovery details should vendors provide?
The way a vendor prepares for breaches and outages tells you a lot about their maturity. The right answer includes a tested incident response plan, fast breach notification, measurable recovery objectives, infrastructure built for resilience, and a communication protocol that keeps you in the loop. Timelines, metrics, and test frequency signal preparedness.
Here’s what you’ll want to know.
Incident response plans
Ask vendors to provide their playbook for handling security incidents. A strong answer will reference a formal plan that covers detection, containment, investigation, and recovery. The best vendors test these plans through regular drills or tabletop exercises and update them after real incidents. You want a partner with a process that their teams have practiced.
Breach communication
Push for specifics: “Within how many hours will you inform us of a confirmed breach? What details will you provide?” Strong providers commit to a clear window (e.g., 24 to 72 hours) and explain the information they’ll share: scope, data affected, remediation steps, and ongoing updates. Request clarity on escalation paths and points of contact, too. Who calls you, how often, and through what channel? Will they share a root-cause analysis after the event? You want a vendor who treats you as a partner in recovery.
Disaster recovery and business continuity plans
Ask about recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO). These metrics define how quickly systems come back online and how much data could be lost. Look for concrete numbers and evidence of geographic redundancy (e.g., multiple data centers, cloud regions ready to take over if one fails). Vendors who can’t articulate these details might not have tested their plans.
Backup infrastructure
Ask about backup generators, multiple internet providers, automatic failover, and continuous backups. Ask how often they test their failover processes. Some providers publish post-mortems after outages to show accountability—transparency of that caliber is a sign of confidence.
How do I ask about global compliance requirements in an RFP?
If your business operates in multiple markets (or plans to), your RFP has to surface whether a vendor can actually keep you compliant everywhere you have customers. The strongest vendors will treat compliance as part of their product: they’ll mention automation around PSD2, concrete privacy practices, sanctions checks built into payouts, and a catalog of licenses that covers the markets you care about.
Here’s what you need to ask about to determine whether compliance is built in at the level you need.
PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication
The EU’s PSD2 mandate requires Strong Customer Authentication for most electronic payments. Ask directly: “How do you handle PSD2 requirements, including Strong Customer Authentication? How do you manage exemptions?” A credible vendor will confirm they automatically apply SCA when required and optimize exemptions (low-value, trusted beneficiary, recurring payments) to reduce unnecessary hurdles. The detail you want is that they’ve automated these exemptions, rather than leaving you to code them yourself.
Data protection and GDPR
Privacy laws cut across every region. Your RFP should require vendors to explain how they comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection regulations. Ask where customer data is stored, whether regional hosting options exist, and which mechanisms they use for cross-border transfers (e.g., EU–US Data Privacy Framework, Standard Contractual Clauses). Require a GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreement as part of the contract. Look for vendors who can show certifications, audits, or independent validations of their privacy posture.
Sanctions and OFAC screening
In the US and beyond, sanctions compliance is required. Missing sanctions checks can expose your business to fines and reputational damage. Ask: “What sanctions screening do you perform (OFAC, EU, UN, other lists)? How do you block or flag restricted transactions? Describe your sanctions screening process, including which lists you check and how often they update.” Strong answers describe automated screening at the transaction and payout levels, continuous list updates, and procedures for handling matches.
Regional regulations and localization
Different regions have their own rules, and your RFP should ensure that you’ll be covered. Ask vendors: “Which regional compliance obligations do you support directly, and how do you help us meet them?” The best answers will show that they actively track regional rules.
Licensing and regulatory oversight
Probe whether the vendor holds the proper licenses or registrations in key markets. This determines who bears regulatory responsibility and whether your payments can flow without interruption. Ask vendors to list the regulatory licenses they hold and which regions they cover.
What should I require from vendors around encryption, tokenization, and authentication?
If a payments vendor can’t describe how they encrypt, tokenize, and lock down access, you don’t need to keep reading their proposal. You should see specifics: encryption standards named, tokenization flows explained, single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) described in detail, application programming interface (API) keys locked down, and webhook signatures mentioned.
Here are the features your RFP should explicitly address.
Encryption
Require end-to-end encryption for payment data, both in transit and at rest. State it clearly: TLS 1.2+ or TLS 1.3 for data in motion; AES-256 or equivalent for data at rest. Ask vendors to explain how they manage keys: do they use hardware security modules, rotate keys on a defined schedule, and protect them with separation of duties? Encryption is only as strong as the key management behind it.
Tokenization
Tokenization removes raw card numbers from your environment and replaces them with random tokens that only the vendor’s systems can resolve. Make this a requirement: “Cardholder data must be tokenized so that our systems never see or store raw data.” Ask how their vault is secured and whether tokens can be reused for recurring charges, subscriptions, or refunds.
Authentication and access control
Ask vendors to describe how they secure access to their platform and APIs. Multi-factor authentication should be mandatory for any administrative access to dashboards; single sign-on integration with your corporate identity provider is a plus. Push for details on role-based access and audit trails: can you assign different levels of access to different team members, and can you track who did what, when? For APIs, look for controls that ensure only authorized systems are communicating, such as scoped keys, ephemeral tokens, and webhook signing.
Customer-facing authentication
Fraud prevention often connects back to authentication. Vendors should explain how they support 3D Secure, biometric authentication in digital wallets, and other stepped-up checks when transactions look risky or when regulations demand it.
How do I include mobile and in-app payment security requirements in an RFP?
An RFP should show that your vendor’s mobile integrations protect card data just as rigorously as web or point-of-sale environments, including specifics about how card data flows in the SDK, assurances that sensitive information never touches the app, built-in wallet support, and evidence of proactive security testing. Mobile payments can be just as secure as any other channel, but only if the vendor’s integrations are designed with that in mind.
Here’s where to focus the questions in your RFP.
PCI-compliant SDKs
Ask vendors if their iOS and Android SDKs are validated for PCI DSS compliance. Strong SDKs never let raw card data touch your app; they encrypt it on the device and send it straight to the provider’s secure servers, returning only a token.
Wallet and platform support
Digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) are some of the safest payment methods available. Require vendors to support them natively and explain how tokens generated on the device flow through their systems. Good vendors will emphasize that real card numbers never leave the customer’s device and that biometric authentication is handled by the wallet itself.
Device and app protections
Ask how the SDK handles compromised environments. Does it detect jailbroken or rooted devices, prevent sensitive data from being logged, and protect keys stored on the phone? The right answer will describe safeguards such as certificate pinning, restricted storage, and runtime checks that block payments in unsafe conditions.
Updates and testing
Mobile ecosystems can evolve quickly. Require vendors to explain how often they update their SDKs for security patches and how they test for vulnerabilities. Look for a cadence of regular penetration testing and commitments to publish updates when new iOS or Android versions roll out.
What reporting and audit capabilities should be requested in a payments RFP?
Reporting and audit tools are how finance, security, and compliance teams prove controls are working, reconcile money, and respond when regulators ask hard questions. Vendors that take reporting seriously will describe dashboards, APIs, customizable reports, audit trails, compliance certifications, and alerting in concrete terms, with specifics about retention periods, formats, and integrations. An RFP should surface whether a vendor gives you real visibility or leaves you piecing things together on your own.
Here are the features you should ask to know more about.
Transaction and financial reporting
Ask what reporting is available for transactions, settlements, refunds, disputes, and fees. Look for real-time dashboards and APIs that let you pull granular data into your own systems. Ask about formats and whether you can customize reports by filters such as date range, geography, or payment method. If finance teams can’t easily reconcile payouts against bank deposits, everything downstream can get harder.
Audit logs of system activity
A mature platform tracks every sensitive action: logins, permission changes, API key generation, refunds issued, and settings updated. Include a requirement that vendors provide detailed audit logs for both system events and user activity. Ask how long logs are retained and whether they’re immutable. The ability to trace exactly who did what and when is nonnegotiable when you’re facing an internal audit or investigating suspicious activity.
Support for external compliance audits
Your own auditors could ask for proof that your payments provider is doing what they claim. Ask vendors to describe what documentation they make available (e.g., SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO certifications, PCI DSS attestations) and how those reports are shared. Some will offer them under NDA; others will have customer portals.
Real-time monitoring and alerts
Ask if vendors have configurable alerts or webhooks that notify you of anomalies in real time, such as a surge in chargebacks, an unusual cluster of declines, or API error rates trending up. Teams can’t respond quickly without early warning systems, and your RFP should make clear that visibility into live metrics is a must.
Data accessibility and retention
Transaction histories and audit trails often need to be kept for years to satisfy financial regulators. Ask: “How long are reports and audit logs retained? Can we export and archive them for our own compliance requirements?” A strong answer commits to multi-year retention, with simple ways to export or sync the data into your own warehouse.
What red flags in vendor RFP responses suggest weak security or compliance?
RFPs are as much about spotting what’s missing as they are about evaluating what’s written. Strong providers will give you clear answers, backed by specifics and evidence—anything less is reason to slow down and probe deeper before moving forward.
Here are the main warning signs to look out for when assessing RFPs.
Vague language
If a response leans on phrases such as “state-of-the-art security” without naming actual standards, protocols, or certifications, it’s a signal that the vendor can’t or won’t provide detail. A serious provider will reference PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, specific encryption methods, and concrete processes.
Lacking independent validation
Vendors processing payments should have external audits. If they don’t hold PCI DSS certification or can’t provide SOC or ISO reports, look for someone who does.
Unclear incident response plans
An RFP should surface concrete timeframes and tested plans for breach notifications and documented recovery plans. If the vendor hedges with “we’ll notify customers as appropriate,” you have no guarantee of timely communication when it matters most.
Shifting responsibility
Watch for responses that push critical obligations back onto your team (e.g., “We provide tools, but compliance is the merchant’s job”). You’ll always have responsibilities, but a strong vendor shares the load and provides clear support.
Outdated practices
References to weak or obsolete standards (such as MD5 for password hashing or older PCI versions) signal that security hasn’t kept pace. You should expect modern encryption, MFA for administrative access, and current PCI DSS alignment.
Contradictions or overpromises
Inconsistencies across answers (such as claiming data is never stored, but also saying it’s encrypted at rest) suggest sloppiness or poor internal communication. Guarantees of “zero fraud” or “100% uptime” without evidence are equally suspect.
How Stripe Payments can help
Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world.
Stripe Payments can help you:
- Optimize your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, a wallet built by Stripe.
- Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.
- Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalize interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.
- Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorization rates.
- Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.
Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.