Almost $1.25 billion was shelled out in 2011 on just one day, Cyber Monday, which is the online equivalent of Black Friday. This number accounted for approximately 12 percent of sales online for the entire month of November that year. What this signifies is that more people are shopping online than ever, and that was almost two years ago. The numbers likely have risen considerably since then.

These statistics are making some online retailers happy, since they have already established merchant processing systems that allow for B2C and B2b credit card processing in secure and encrypted fashions. These online retailers have pretty much nothing to worry about, provided their Internet merchant accounts have been established and set up through reputable vendors. But for others who are still considering whether to add merchant processing capabilities to their own businesses, some questions remain. Fortunately, almost all can be answered through speaking with online credit card processing companies.

For instance, businesses unsure how specifically credit card processing online would boost their profiles would be ecstatic to know that customers can usually be billed through email for services rendered, thereby eliminating a significant amount of paper. In fact, by 2007 electronic bill payments on the consumer end surpassed the numbers of paper checks that were in use, and this trend will keep moving in this direction. Most payment processing services allow for this service to occur automatically, which is nice for companies that are uneasy about transitioning to online merchant processing systems.

Companies unsure of the relevance that these online based merchant processing systems have also would be pleasantly surprised to learn that 42 percent of people making purchases via their mobile devices are between the ages of 25 to 44, which as most consumer marketers know is a veritable sweet spot. To reach these consumers, businesses must adopt online merchant processing programs. If they do not, they risk losing this business to their competitors.

Lastly, companies that are unconvinced about the power of merchant processing systems that are based via the web can rest well knowing that PCI DSS is in place. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, and it is a measure that most merchant processing companies adopt and adhere to so they can keep all online based operations functioning like they are intended to function. It basically applies to all merchants that obtain cardholder data and holds them accountable for keeping that information protected.

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