sentences:  On 7 September 2006, American Express, Discover Financial Services, Japan Credit Bureau, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International formed the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) security council with the goal of managing the ongoing evolution of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.The council itself claims to be independent of the various card vendors that make up the council.As of 1 August 2014, the PCI SSC website lists 688 "Participating Organizations".