Need help understanding Authorize.Net

Hi friends,

This my my first post so hello everybody!

I'm moving away from Paypal due to some arbitrary and non-professional behavior from their end...but this is not the point of my post.

I have an startup online store, not a high sales volume yet, but as every new entrepreneur I hoping to grow sooner than later. I need a solution to process credit cards from my shopping cart software(Voilusion) but different than Paypal.

I haven't find any other decent 3rd party processor that I can trust

Q: ...do you guys know about any?

In the other hand, I'm researching about an Authorize.Net merchant account but I can't fully understand how many parts are involved in this.
I see in the Authorize.Net website they promote finding a "reseller"...I found a First Data website offering MUCH better "A.Net" prices than the "A.Net" site but the reviews about them(First Data) are just OUTRAGEOUS.

Q: Is it better to find a reseller of Authorize.Net account? Don't they sell by themselves?

Q: Do you guys know any good "A.Net" reseller?


Q: What do I need in order to fully implement an Autorize.Net credit card processing from my shopping cart software?

I hope is not too much for my first post...

Thanks in Advance!

Welcome allendehl.

I have been using Authorize.Net for years and IMO they are the best. No, they only sell through a third party and that third party actually keeps track of your account for billing purposes and you receive a monthly statement from them. You will have a user control panel at Authorize.Net through which you configure your account. I bought mine through e-onlinedata. Excellent service and security plus I can have 'buy' buttons for other than e-commerce sites that take a customer through a secure checkout process.

Most cart software support Authorize.Net either out of the box or by a modular gateway plug in. What cart are you using?

Hi Roban,

Thanks a lot for your input. I will definitely take a look at e-onlinedata.
I'm using Volusion, they do support Authorize.Net, thats why I'm looking into it.

I've been reading about this but I'm still confused. Authorize.Net is just a gateway...so I will also need a Merchant Account with my bank to link it to my A.Net account? I have my company's bank account in BofA...can I use the same account or should I open an "especial account" for this purpose?

Thanks again!

Regardless of what gateway you use you will need a bank account in which to have your funds deposited. Authorize.Net is your merchant account and e-onlinedata tracks the transaction and manages your billing. You will have to fax them a copy of a voided check for the account you wish to use and depending on your particular business situation e-onlinedata will require some additional information before they will accept your application. These are security measures. My application went very smoothly and it took about 3 days to process.

I find it helpful to keep my personal accounts separate from my business so my payments are deposited into a business account but this is your call.

I have 2 merchant accounts. The Authorize.Net account is solely used for my vitamin web site and I accept MC, Visa and AMEX (AMEX has to be set up through AMEX with a separate AMEX account and when this is done, Authorize will add it to your account). I also use Quickbooks Merchant Services for my computer company. I could use Authorize for this as well but I would have to capture and authorize a credit card manually. In Quickbooks it is done automatically.

I suggest you call Authorize.Net with your concerns. They can explain it much better than I can.

Thats Great news!.

So I already have 2 business accounts for my company, I could use one of them to link to Authorize.Net so I don't need to do anything with my bank right?

I just called e-onlinedata and I happen to find a rep that knew "nada" about Authorize.Net so he just collected my info to have somebody to call me tomorrow.

You probably can help me out with some questions I have about their fees..

Q: What is the "Statement Fee"?...is it mandatory?
Q: I see there are 2 kind of fees: Merchant Account & Gateway Fees...do they add up?. Lets say the MA fees per transaction is 2.29%+$0.30 and the Gateway Fee for Authorize.Net is $0.05. So my total fees would be 2.29%+$0.35?..Same thing with the monthly fee?
Q: The minimum processing fee, is that the minimum amount I have to process in a month? What if I don't meet it while I'm starting up?

I know I'm probably abusing you but I really appreciate your cooperation!

The minimum fee is what you are charged even if you don't sell anything. As to the rest of your questions, you'd get better answers talking to e-onlinedata. No, you don't need to do anything at your bank.

Abusing me? You have no idea of the abuse I take here. :eek:

Now you know why PayPal is so popular :)

allendehl,

I'm not entirely sure why Roban is saying Authorize.net is your merchant account (maybe just an oversight?) but Auth.net is ONLY a gateway provider. They do not provide merchant account services. See this page on their site for more details: http://www.fuzeqna.com/authorize.net...il.asp?kbid=46

You can only get a merchant account through a financial institution. Auth.net provides a merchant interface but this is not the same as a merchant account.

Basically, you need to find a reseller for the Auth.net service. That reseller may also provide merchant account services, or you may be required to find your own solution.

I use First National Bank of Omaha as my merchant account/bank account and they have a partnership with Auth.net so I use Auth.net as my gateway. You need both a gateway and a merchant account to accept credit cards online - unless you are using something like paypal or google checkout - in that case you are using THEIR gateway and merchant account to process cards.

Hope that clears things up for people.

PS: I forgot to mention... you can also buy directly from Auth.net for your gateway and then use your own merchant account with your bank instead of using a reseller.