BlackLine wins PCI DSS validation for card matching

BlackLine has achieved PCI DSS compliance validation for its PCI Detokenization Service, extending support for payment-card reconciliation workflows.

The validation allows organisations to use BlackLine's transaction-matching and reconciliation tools in workflows involving sensitive payment-card information. It applies to cases where finance teams handle large volumes of card transactions and need to match records without exposing cardholder data.

Businesses processing millions of card transactions can face substantial manual work when even a small share of items remain unmatched. Security rules designed to protect payment-card data can also limit the information available for automated matching, making full automation harder to achieve.

BlackLine's PCI Detokenization Integration Service allows authorised users to access the payment-card information needed for matching while keeping the underlying cardholder data within the customer's own environment. That means organisations can automate more of the reconciliation process while retaining control of sensitive information.

The move broadens the range of financial workflows BlackLine can address, particularly in transaction-heavy settings. Banking and financial services are a key target, but retailers and businesses in travel, hospitality, and leisure also commonly use payment-card data in reconciliation processes.

Security standard

PCI DSS is a widely used security standard for organisations that store, process, or transmit cardholder data. For technology suppliers supporting payment-related workflows, meeting the standard can be an important customer requirement, especially in regulated or security-sensitive environments.

BlackLine described the validation as a way to help customers increase automation in operational finance tasks without weakening security controls. The company has been expanding beyond traditional finance-close processes into broader workflow areas involving high transaction volumes and more complex data requirements.

"Our customers are asking BlackLine to go deeper into some of their most complex operational workflows, and greater automation cannot come at the expense of security or control," said Owen Ryan, chief executive officer and chairman of BlackLine.

"This validation enables organizations to apply BlackLine's proven matching and reconciliation capabilities to more of the high-volume, sensitive workflows they manage every day. It expands where we can deliver value while maintaining the security and trust our customers demand," Ryan said.

BlackLine has nearly 4,300 customers across several industries. Its products are used by finance and accounting teams to manage record-to-report and invoice-to-cash processes, with transaction matching forming part of that broader toolset.

Broader use

For customers handling payment-card information, the validation may widen the range of processes they are willing to move into automated reconciliation. That is likely to matter most where card transaction volumes are high and small exceptions can create large backlogs of manual investigation.

Jill Knesek, Chief Information Security Officer at BlackLine, said the validation provides independent assurance of the company's security standing in this area.

"For organizations managing payment-card information, PCI DSS is an important security standard and, in many environments, a prerequisite for technology providers supporting these workflows," said Jill Knesek, chief information security officer of BlackLine.

"This validation gives customers independent assurance that BlackLine has cleared that bar, allowing them to extend automation into sensitive financial processes with confidence," Knesek said.