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On Cyber Monday of 2011, consumers spent nearly 1.25 million dollars, or roughly 12 percent of all online sales for the entire month. On top of that, through the whole year, a full third of eCommerce transactions came from people who used online flight and travel booking services to help make travel plans. But no matter what someone sells, from plane tickets to DVDS or clothes to concert tickets, having a strong web presence that makes online shopping easy is a must. And, consequently, being able to process payments online is vital for businesses who are looking to expand.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of shopping online is that doing so allows consumers to make purchases without having to do so much as get up off of the couch. In order to make that process even easier, businesses will want to make sure that they have a great online card payment processing plan in place. Online payment systems can both accept a number of different types of payments and store credit card information to make the buying process easier for consumers. Simply put, typing in credit card and billing information constantly can be a hassle, so if businesses can avoid that problem, they are likely to make more online sales.

One of the biggest concerns when it comes to being able to process payments online, both for consumers and businesses, is security. In order to keep credit card processing online safe, businesses will have to work to meet Payment Card Industry, or PCI, standards. PCI Data Security Standards apply to every organization or merchant that accepts, transmits, or stores cardholder information, no matter the sizes or number of transactions that they make. These standards are designed with consumer safety in mind, and must be followed if businesses want to establish themselves as a trustworthy company.

There were more than a million credit card numbers stolen from Sony alone in 2011. Sony is a major company that has IT and web professionals who have the knowledge to try to prevent cyber attacks. However, even they were vulnerable. If a business owner or manager has little or no experience with internet security, but wants to make sure customers are protected, they should consider working with merchant account experts. Doing so can help them not only protect cardholder data, but also stay organized and best utilize eCommerce trends. Find more on this topic here: www.arrowpayments.com