E-commerce platform processing $50M+ annually achieves PCI-DSS Level 1 certification, unlocks $8M in payment processing revenue, and reduces audit costs by 65%.
ShopFlow had scaled to $850M in annual transaction volume but hit a critical roadblock: their payment processor flagged them for exceeding the 6M transactions/year threshold, requiring immediate PCI-DSS Level 1 certification to continue processing payments.
Without Level 1 compliance, they faced a $2M/month payment processing freeze and potential loss of 15,000+ merchant customers. Traditional consultants quoted $100K+ and 9-12 month timelines — far too slow and expensive.
"We were in crisis mode. Stripe gave us 90 days to get PCI-DSS Level 1 certified or they'd shut down our payment processing. That would have killed our business overnight. Every consultant we talked to said it would take 9-12 months and cost $100K+. We were desperate for a solution that could actually work within our timeline and budget."
ShopFlow partnered with LowerPlane for a 45-day PCI-DSS Level 1 sprint, leveraging automation, AWS integrations, and expert guidance to achieve certification on time and under budget.
"LowerPlane saved our business. We were 90 days away from losing our payment processing and potentially shutting down. Traditional consultants couldn't move fast enough. LowerPlane's automated approach, combined with expert guidance, got us PCI-DSS Level 1 certified in 45 days for $28K — a fraction of what others quoted."
"The AWS integrations were game-changing. Instead of manually collecting thousands of screenshots and configs, LowerPlane automated 92% of evidence collection. Our engineering team spent just 86 hours over 45 days — we would have spent 500+ hours doing this manually."
"Since certification, we've unlocked $8M in payment processing revenue, closed 47 enterprise deals that required PCI-DSS, and reduced our annual audit costs by $35K. The ROI was immediate. We now have quarterly audits running on autopilot with minimal engineering involvement."
"What impressed me most was the expertise. Our advisor had deep PCI-DSS knowledge and understood e-commerce architectures. They didn't just check boxes — they helped us build a sustainable compliance program that scales as we grow. I recommend LowerPlane to every e-commerce founder I meet."
ShopFlow completed full certification in half the time of traditional approaches by leveraging automated evidence collection from AWS, Stripe, and other integrations. Continuous monitoring reduced manual work by 85%.
Total cost of $28K (including QSA audit) compared to $100K+ quoted by traditional firms. Annual ongoing audit costs reduced by 65% through automated evidence collection and continuous monitoring.
E-commerce companies should plan for PCI-DSS Level 1 before hitting 6M transactions/year. Waiting until payment processors demand certification creates unnecessary business risk and rushed timelines.
AWS infrastructure with proper configuration (VPC segmentation, CloudTrail logging, encryption at rest) satisfies most PCI-DSS technical requirements. Cloud-first approach avoided $22K in hardware costs.
Beyond avoiding payment processor shutdowns, PCI-DSS certification enabled ShopFlow to close 47 enterprise deals, increase average deal size by 38%, and unlock $8M in new payment revenue within 6 months.
ShopFlow's engineering team spent just 86 hours over 45 days on compliance (vs 500+ hours manual). Automated evidence collection and expert guidance freed engineers to focus on product development.
Get certified in 45 days like ShopFlow. Automated evidence collection, expert guidance, and transparent pricing starting at $15,995.