Sage North America has partnered with security and payment compliance management provider Trustwave to help small to midsized businesses facilitate their Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance efforts.

PCI DSS is a requirement for all entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data that has been endorsed by all the major card brands.

Sage is encouraging SMBs to use Trustwave's TrustKeeper 3.0 Web portal compliance validation service, as well as its TrustKeeper Agent, which helps ensure merchants aren't storing unencrypted cardholder data. TrustKeeper also helps SMBs schedule required scans and receive their PCI DSS compliance certificate.

"As a focused leader in payments security, Sage is taking a proactive position on PCI compliance," Greg Hammermaster, president of Sage Payment Solutions, Sage's payments division, said in a statement. "Trustwave's industry-leading compliance portal helps businesses further secure their payment environment with little investment in time or money. We're happy to use our buying power to bring down the cost and complexity for any SMB to be validated PCI DSS compliant."