Authorize.Net

What you should know

Authorize.Net was one of the original online gateways. True to form, they suit online businesses best, and integrate with hundreds of shopping carts, e-commerce platforms, and offer up robust SDKs and APIs when you want to build payments directly into your software. Authorize.Net offers 2 distinct products. Their All-in-One option provides a merchant account (set up through a 3rd party processor), while their Payment Gateway Only option is ideal when you only need a gateway to accept online payments (and already have a merchant account). Keep on reading for details about all the features that Authorize.Net provides, and check out this 2-minute video for an introduction to the company.

International Processing

Authorize.Net supports a few international transactions, but it depends on where your business is located. Here are the details:

Advanced Fraud Protection

Authorize.Net has an Advanced Fraud Detection suite that gives you 13 transactions filters that help identify, manage, and prevent fraudulent transactions. Here’s a quick overview of the filter types:

• Velocity Filters - Limit the number of transactions allowed per day or per hour

• IP Filters - Block activity based on IP address, IP region, IP transaction velocity, and specific server IP addresses

• Transaction Filters - Validate card information before processing, set thresholds based on amounts, and flag suspicious activity based on specific criteria

• Shipping Filters - Identify shipping-billing mismatches, implement Shipping Address Verification, and use Enhanced AVS Handling to flag suspicious transactions

Customer Information manager

If you have repeat customers, you can keep their information on file so they can quickly pay without re-entering their payment details using the Customer Information Manager. When your customers make a purchase, they will have the ability to save billing, payment, and shipping information on file for future orders. Each customer profile can include multiple payment methods and shipping locations, and you can manage your customer’s profiles and perform transactions on their behalf from Authorize.Net’s Merchant Interface, or using their API. All sensitive customer information is stored on Authorize.Net servers, so you won’t need to worry about major PCI compliance risks. Check out this 2-minute video for more information on the Customer Information Manager.

Recurring Payments

Within the Customer Information Manager, you’ll be able to set up subscription and recurring billing for your customers with their Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB) tool. You’ll be able to accept credit cards and eChecks (ACH), set up flexible billing schedules, include trial periods before charging a customer, and have access to reporting to review the status of your subscriptions and transactions.

Account Updater

When using the ARB tool, you’ll gain access to Account Updater functionality, which automatically updates your customer’s payment information when it changes, reducing payment declines, billing interruptions, and time chasing down customers new information.

Invoicing

Email invoices right to your customer's inbox. You can customize your invoices with your logo, add up to 30 line items, include discounts, and even send automatic email reminders to customers with open invoices. Customers can pay online, on the phone, and via eCheck, and you can keep track of all invoices through simple reporting dashboards that allow you to search and filter invoices by status or number. Check out this 3-minute video for an overview of Authorize.Net’s Invoicing feature:

Simple Checkout

If you sell one product at a time or accept donations, you can easily generate a customizable‘BUY NOW’ or ‘DONATE’ button that you can drop right onto your website. User’s who click the button are taken to Authorize.Net’s secure hosted payment form to enter their payment information, keeping your PCI risk low.

Sync for Quickbooks

Authorize.Net automatically syncs to your Quickbooks account for streamlined reporting. 

Accept Payments In-store

While you have the ability to accept payments in your brick and mortar with Authorize.Net, online payments are their bread and butter. If you’re dead-set on using Authorize.Net to accept payments in your physical store, you can connect a card reader directly to your computer and use their Virtual Terminal. 

Accept Payments from Your Mobile Device

If you need to accept payments on the go, you can use the Authorize.Net mPOS app with a card reader to accept payments right from your mobile device. When you want to build payments into your mobile app, Authorize.Net’s Accept Mobile SDK is what you’re looking for - read more in the Online tab.

mPOS

The Authorize.Net Mobile Point of Sale, or mPOS, is an iOS or Android app. In addition to accepting payments, you can:

• Create and manage an SKU-based catalog, with descriptions and pricing for each item

• Set a specific sales tax rate

• Accept tips and add notes to an order

• Email or print customizable receipts

• Void or refund transactions

• View transaction history

Mobile Card Readers

Authorize.Net currently offers 4 mobile card readers, detailed below.

• BBPOS Chipper 2X Magstripe and EMV Chip Reader - A simple card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of your device, and can also plug into your Windows computer for in-store payments

• BBPOS Chipper 2X BT - Similar to the previous card reader, but this one offers Bluetooth connectivity

• ID Tech Shuttle Two-Track Secure Magstripe Reader - Another simple card reader that plugs right into your headphone jack, but only support magnetic stripe payments

• ID Tech Augusta V4 Smart Card Reader - An EMV and magstripe reader that can plug into your headphone jack and your Windows computer via USB

Accept Payments Remotely

Authorize.Net offers a fully capable Virtual Terminal, named VPOS, which is ideal for payments taken over the phone or mail orders that you need to key in customer’s payment information. You can even connect a card reader to your computer and accept EMV and swiped payments in your physical store with the VPOS. Along with payments, you can also use the VPOS to:

• Create a catalog of items with SKU codes, organized by department, item type, and more

• Set the default tax rate (as many as you want), accept tips, and gather customer shipping information

• Email your customers receipts

• Review transaction history, and perform voids and refunds

• Take advantage of Address Verification Service (AVS) when entering customer billing information, reducing the likelihood of fraud

Accept Payments Online or through Your Software

Authorize.Net is a great option when your business is primarily online. With hundreds of online integrations, robust developer tools and documentation at their Developer Center, and 24/7 support, you should definitely give Authorize.Net a closer look, especially if you have a merchant account that doesn’t offer their own gateway.

Integrations

Authorize.Net integrates with hundreds of online platforms, shopping carts, and e-commerce solutions. Setup is typically a breeze and well documented. Check out a small sample of popular integrations below:

• 3dcart

• BigCommerce

• Magento

• PrestaShop

• Shopify

• Weebly

• WooCommerce

• Xero

• Zoho

SDKs

Unless you're hacking away with a fringe programming language, Authorize.Net offers SDKs in just about every language you could need. Here’s the list:

• C#

• Java (includes Android)

• Javascript (Node)

• .Net

• Obj-C

• PHP

• Python

• Perl

• Ruby

• Swift

APIs

Authorize.Net provides APIs that give you all the functionality of their gateway platform so you can build payments directly into your website, web app, or mobile app. Check out the APIs they offer:

• Payment Transactions - Pretty self-explanatory 

• In-person Payments - Accept payments when your customer is present

• ECheck - Accept ACH payments

• Visa Checkout - Accept Visa Checkout

• PayPal Express - Accept Paypal

• Customer Profiles - Store customers’ sensitive payment data for quick retrieval on return purchases

• Accept Suite - Libraries and forms for website and apps

• Transaction Reporting - Transaction history

• Webhooks - Automated notifications for system events

• Recurring Billing - Subscription-based recurring payments

• Fraud Management - Review, approve, or decline held transactions

• OAuth 2.0 - Authenticate API requests