PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has set up its first Regional Engagement Board (REB) for India and South Asia region.

The Board brings together 27 organizations from across the payments industry to drive education and awareness of payments security standards and best practices.

The regional engagement board members act as advisors to the Council on payment security issues and challenges in the region, and as ambassadors for helping increase education and awareness of PCI SSC standards and best practices for safe payments. 

The Board will meet regularly throughout the year to discuss payment data security best practices, threat trends, and market changes, PCI SSC said in its release.

This is the second REB to be established by the Council following the launch of the Brazil REB in 2018.

The 27 organisations named to the 2025-26 board include major banks, technology firms, service providers, and industry associations. Some members are National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI Cards, Google, Cred, Qualcomm, Ernst & Young, and Bhutan National Bank, alongside companies such as Aurus, M2P Solutions, Zeta, In-Solutions Global, Intellect Design Arena, LankaPay, Yalamanchili Software Exports, and Zeron among others.

"The Council continues to gain valuable insight and understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in the payment security space through our original Regional Engagement Board in Brazil. We wanted to duplicate that experience by expanding this model into other important payment regions in the world," said Gina Gobeyn, Executive Director of PCI SSC. 

"This is indeed a proud moment for the region as payment industry stakeholders will be more involved in shaping a more secure payments ecosystem amid evolving cybersecurity challenges in a dynamic market like India and South Asia," added Nitin Bhatnagar, PCI SSC Regional Director, India, South Asia, and the Middle East.