The largest risk of noncompliance for merchants is the increased risk of susceptibility to a data breach. The average cost to recuperate from a data breach is $215 per compromised card number. Worse, 70% of small- to medium-sized businesses never recover from a data breach.
There can be large fines involved in a breach too. PCI Compliance doesn’t entirely neutralize this threat. It does educate a merchant on industry best practices, showing them the active steps to take for the best breach prevention. If a merchant is found to be in noncompliance, costly fees could be levied against them.