Authorize.Net Review

Rates and Fees
85/100
Truth in Advertising
95/100
Consumer Reviews
95/100
Customer Support
95/100
5

Best for

Authorize.Net is best for small to mid-sized businesses serving the restaurant and hospitality, mobile, and e-commerce industries.

Specializes in

Ideal for small and mid-sized businesses, Authorize.net serves as both a reseller of payment processing services and the company's specialty – payment gateways. The company also offers easy-to-integrate payment gateways with virtual terminals, PCI compliance, and fraud protection included in its plan offerings. The company also provides mobile card readers via BBPos and IDTech.

Pricing Summary

Setup Fee: $0

Monthly Fee: $0

Swipe Rate: 2.9% + $0.30

Keyed-in Rate: 2.9% + $0.30

Early Termination Fee : $0

Contract Terms:

Month-to-month
Visit Authorize.Net

Authorize.Net does not disclose who the company's acquiring bank is.

Authorize.Net was founded in 1996 by Jeff Knowles. Authorize.Net headquarters are in San Francisco, California, and the company's current CEO is Michael Walsh.

Authorize.Net Overview

 

Jeff Knowles founded Authorize.Net in Utah in 1996. In 2007, the company was acquired by CyberSource, which Visa acquired in 2010 for $2 billion.

The company is currently headquartered in San Francisco, California. Authorize.Net is a reseller of merchant account solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. However, the company's main line of business is the payment gateway solution. The company has also partnered with IDtech and BBPos for mobile POS equipment.

Authorize.Net offers its services for many industries and helps in facilitating online transactions. The company offers a flat-rate free option for small businesses but also has interchange-plus pricing for enterprise customers.

Authorize.Net was accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 200 and has been given an A+ rating.

The company has had 71 complaints filed against it in the last 36 months and 27 during the previous 12 months.

Quick Facts

Head Quarters

San Francisco, CA

Year Founded

1996

CEO

Michael Walsh

Employees

500

Merchant Provider Risk Tolerance

What We Like

Broad support for multiple currencies

Robust security and anti-fraud features

Month-to-month billing

No long-term contracts

What We Don't Like

The all-in-one option may confuse customers

High flat-rate pricing for an optional merchant account

It may be cheaper to use Authorize.Net when bundled with another service

Industries Served

  • Clothing & Apparel
  • Convenience Store
  • Electronics
  • Gas Station
  • Marketing Agency
  • Moving Companies
  • Personal Service
  • SAAS
  • SEO & SEM Services
  • Thrift Store
  • Web Design Services

Business Types Served

  • Ecommerce
  • High Volume
  • Information
  • Low Risk
  • Mobile
  • Mom & Pop
  • Online
  • Retail / Card Present
  • Small Business
  • Wholesale

Authorize.Net Products & Services

 

Payment Processing: Authorize.Net offers payment processing services, and lets merchants accept EMV-enabled cards and contactless payments via ApplePay, PayPal, and Visa's Click to Pay. For global payment processing, Authorize.Net uses CyberSource.

Point of Sale: Authorize.Net partners to resells EMV-compliant mobile card readers of POS equipment makers BBPos and IDTech.

mPOS: The company also has a mobile app to convert any smartphone or tablet into a point of sale device.

Payment Gateway: An all-in-one Gateways solution combining virtual terminals and PCI encryption compliance.

Authorize.Net Payment Processing

  • Credit Card Terminals
  • Debit Card Processing
  • eCheck & ACH Processing
  • Mobile Card Reader
  • Mobile Payments App
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Gateway
  • Shopping Cart Integration
  • Virtual Terminal

Authorize.Net Billing & Invoicing

  • Mobile Payments
  • Multi-Currency
  • Online Payments
  • Payment Processing
  • Recurring/Subscription Billing

Authorize.Net Advertising & Sales

 
We were not able to find any complaints about Authorize.Net sales tactics being too aggressive or inaccurate. The company does hire outside sales teams, generally not as well trained as inside sales staff. Being less mindful of a company's reputational risks, outside sales teams are often more aggressive in sales tactics to hit short-term goals.

The company is very transparent regarding what its listed rates are. Authorize.Net also does a great job informing merchants that rates are likely to differ as it is the merchant account providers' discretion the costs they decide to pass onto merchants.

Truth in Marketing

Discloses All Important Terms

Yes

Public Pricing Available

Yes

Authorize.Net Pricing, Rates & Fees

 

Below are the details available for Authorize.Net;

All-in-One Option

Flat rate: 2.9% + $0.30

Monthly Gateway Fee: $25

Monthly PCI Compliance Fee: None

Annual Fee: None

Setup Fee: None

Early Termination Fee: None

Monthly Minimum: None

Payment Gateway Only

Transaction Fee: $0.10

Batch Fee: $0.10 daily

Monthly Gateway Fee: $25

Monthly PCI Compliance Fee: None

Annual Fee: None

Setup Fee: None

Early Termination Fee: None

Monthly Minimum: None

Enterprise Solutions – available to clients processing more than $500,000 a year. The pricing is tailored to fit merchant needs and is negotiable. Interchange plus pricing is also an option in this plan.

Pricing at a Glance

Pricing Model

Flat Rate

Swiped Rate

2.9% + $0.30

Keyed-in Rate

2.9% + $0.30

Mobile Payment Rate

Virtual Terminal Rate

2.9% + $0.30

Monthly Fee

$0

Payment Gateway Fee

$25 Per Month

Batch Fee

$0.10

Early Termination Fee

$0

PCI Compliance Fee

$0

Equipment Lease Terms

TBD By Third Party

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Application Fee

Account Setup Fee

$0

Gateway Setup Fee

$0

Annual Fee

Monthly Minimum

$0

Statement Fee

Authorize.Net Contract & Terms

Authorize.Net is very transparent regarding contract terms. The company offers flat-rate pricing to small businesses while also offering an interchange-plus pricing option for enterprise clients. There are no initial setup fees nor early termination fees charged by Authorize.Net.

The company does not lease equipment, although it does partner with mobile POS equipment vendors such as BBPos and IDTech.

 Authorize.Net clearly states that the rates advertised on the company's website may differ from what merchant processors may charge for Payment Gateway services.

Contract Length

Month-to-month

Early Termination Fee

$0

Authorize.Net Setup & Support

 

Setup Highlights

  • Documentation / Knowledge Base
  • Live Online (1-on-1)

Support Highlights

  • Domestic Phone Support (Business Hours)

Authorize.Net Complaints, Ratings & Reviews

Authorize.Net was accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2009 and currently has an A+ rating. There were 71 complaints against the company in the last three years and 27 complaints in the past year. The complaints against the company range from product issues to billing and fund holds. It would be wrong to say that Authorize.Net is at fault for these complaints. It seems that the complainants are confused about who to direct their ire towards, confusing Authorize.Net for the merchant account provider.

We did not find any class action lawsuits filed against Authorize.Net. We also did not find any FTC complaints against the company.

Ratings

BBB

A+(73 complaints)

Google

N/A

Facebook

No Reviews yet

Yelp

N/A

Reviews

Total Online Reviews

205+

Total Online Complaints

100+

Lawsuits

None

Authorize.Net Alternatives

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