Global Executive Assessor Roundtable

Global Executive Assessor Roundtable

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The Global Executive Assessor Roundtable has been developed to get recommendations and input from senior leadership of PCI SSC-qualified payment security assessor companies. This initiative allows senior executives of PCI Assessor companies to provide advice, feedback and guidance to the PCI SSC on the issues and concerns relating to assessments and assessor programs, representing the perspectives of the PCI assessor community.

The 2026-2028 GEAR nomination period runs 1-22 June 2026.

Global Executive Assessor Roundtable FAQ

The PCI SSC Global Executive Assessor Roundtable serves as a direct channel for communication between senior leadership of payment security assessor companies and PCI SSC senior leadership.

Building a strong assessor community and developing high quality training programs is a priority for the PCI SSC in its efforts to help secure payment data globally. The PCI SSC established the Global Executive Assessor Roundtable (GEAR) in 2018 to encourage the exchange of information and increase payment security through greater coordination with this key stakeholder group.

The GEAR initiative is specifically designed to gather input on PCI assessor programs, including training content and qualification requirements, as well as to increase assessor engagement in emerging markets. In addition, this initiative provides the opportunity to hear from executives regarding enhancements for PCI assessor capabilities and skills that broaden service and value to merchants and processors.

GEAR Members are responsible for providing advice, feedback and guidance to PCI SSC as requested; provide both open and expert input from both a business and technical perspective; represent the views and interests of the PCI assessor and assessed communities; and are available and willing to participate in special PCI SSC projects.

GEAR Members will be expected to participate in meetings which will be held quarterly, with one meeting to be held at the same time and location as a PCI SSC Community Meeting. Additional telephone-based meetings may be called, as needed.

GEAR Advisors will serve a term of two years.

Eligible companies will be allowed to nominate themselves during the nomination period. All nominations shall be submitted via the PCI SSC portal.

GEAR membership is limited to a maximum of thirty-five (35) companies. Members will be appointed by the PCI SSC Executive Committee from among the eligible slate of nominees (see eligibility criteria), through a process intended to provide the best level of support, advice and interest for the PCI assessor programs and ensure broad representation across the eligible companies.

Eligible companies include any PCI SSC assessor company that has been an active assessor for seven years; is actively participating in at least three assessor programs; is conducting business in at least three assessor regions (not including ASV locations served) and is in good standing* with respect to each PCI assessor program in which it is a participant.

PCI SSC assessor programs: 3-D Secure (3DS) Assessor, Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), Card Production Security Assessor (CPSA), Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) Assessor, Qualified PIN Assessor (QPA), Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and Software and Security Framework (SSF) Assessors.

The nomination period runs from 1-22 June 2026. PCI Assessor Primary contacts at eligible organizations can nominate senior executives as a candidate for the PCI SSC Global Executive Assessor Roundtable. Nominations can be submitted through the PCI SSC portal. For help with login credentials, please contact support@pcisecuritystandards.org.

The nomination must include primary and secondary contact details.

GEAR Members will be announced by 12 August 2026.

*Good standing means, with respect to a given PCI Program, being in compliance with the applicable rules and requirements of that PCI Program.

2024–2026 Global Executive Assessor Roundtable