First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, and Web-hosting giant Go Daddy, a one-stop shop for small businesses looking to leverage the power of the Internet, announced Go Daddy Payment Solutions.

The application is designed to better serve the electronic payment needs of the small-business community. 

Go Daddy customers will be able to leverage Go Daddy Payment Solutions to process eCommerce transactions online. Go Daddy gives customers the ability to go from an idea to a full-blown Web presence—including a website, shopping cart, and online payment acceptance—in a few simple steps.

“We’re extremely excited about the opportunity to combine the payment and technology assets of First Data with the market presence of an online leader like Go Daddy,” says Neal Korzekwinski, senior vice president, strategic partner acquisition and management, First Data. “We view Go Daddy as everything that is online commerce—domain registration, Web hosting, eCommerce—and believe they hold an industry-leading position in everything that they do.”

Go Daddy has nearly 11 million customers, manages more than 54 million domain names, and hosts more than 5 million websites.

Because of the variety of services Go Daddy offers, many of its small businesses customers consider Go Daddy their IT partner.

Results from a recent study, “2012 First Data Universal Commerce Merchant Tracker,” illustrate that small merchants are embracing technology to stay ahead. The study found that nearly half of all small merchants believe adopting new payment and marketing technologies are important to stay competitive.

Of the small merchants surveyed, 86 percent have a website, and nearly half offer online shopping. Of those currently without a website, almost two-thirds of merchants plan to launch one soon.

“Go Daddy’s main focus is to help small businesses get bigger without investing a lot of time, money, or energy,” said Neil Proctor, senior director of development, Go Daddy. “First Data’s payment processing gives Go Daddy customers the chance to quickly enable credit-card payments online, expanding their revenue growth opportunities exponentially. The best part is if customers have any questions, they can reach out to Go Daddy’s world-class customer service to get them answered quickly.”