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NAFCU, along with other industry trade associations, commended leaders of a Senate Banking subcommittee for holding Monday's hearing on data security and also offered assistance to ensure security requirements apply to all parties that hold consumer's personal security data.

The joint letter, sent to Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Ranking Member Mark Kirk, R-Ill., detailed three recommendations for helping to strengthen the payments system:

• establish a national data security breach and notification standard;
• make those responsible for data breaches responsible for their costs; and
• require better sharing of threat information among law enforcement and the financial and retail sectors.

"Our payments system is made up of a wide variety of players: financial institutions, card networks, retailers, processors, and new entrants," the letter stated. "Protecting this eco-system is a shared responsibility of all parties involved and all must invest the necessary resources to combat increasingly sophisticated breach threats to the payments system."

NAFCU also submitted its own letter ahead of Monday's hearing. Three more hearings are expected on the Hill this week relating to data security. The association was the first financial trade to seek hearings and legislation immediately following the Target breach.