Things to remember when accepting cards online

When a company decides to start taking payments online via credit and debit cards, one of the most important things it needs to do is decide on a security strategy. Stephanie Faris writes on Small Biz Technology that one of the first things that needs to be done is to set up PCI compliance to work within the rules of the system.

"No matter your business’ size, you must follow these standards if you accept credit cards as payment," she said. "Primary of these is the need for your customers’ data to be on a secure server behind a firewall. But not only will your data be secure, to be PCI compliant you must provide encryption for transmission of credit card data over your network."

Other ways to help protect customers' cards include setting up a secure server, never printing out full credit card numbers and considering a software solution to meet a company's needs for credit card security.

Even businesses running from home should invest in PCI compliance, according to the PCI Compliance Guide. These businesses may be among the most targeted due to the perceived lack of security they have.