I realize that this question been asked at least five dozen times, but there are so many different opinions and discussions about this topic, that now I am more confused than when I began. So here it goes: what Credit Card Processor do you recommend for websites?

I understand the difference between a Merchant Account and a Third Party Processing account. Although I'm only starting a small business right now, I would also like to see what options I should be aiming for in the future (when business grows, Lord willing). Or if I can pass Go and proceed directly to Merchant Account, that would be even better. Yes, I'm also posting here because I'm too lazy to build my own comparison chart.

Here are the processors I have read about in my searches here, and the general opinions about them (feel free to add/comment as needed). I don’t need an opinion on every one of them; just which ones I should look into and which to avoid.

MERCHANT ACCOUNTS:
Electronic Clearing House
Epdq
ModernAuthorize
WorldPay - Fairly Popular - Seems to have Good Service, but Expensive Setup Fees

GATEWAYS (Still Need Bank Merchant Account):
Authorize.net - See Their Name Quite Often
AuthorizeNet.com - Most Advertised Gateway, Though That Doesn't Necessarily Mean Much
Cybercash.com
CDGCommerce.com
CyberSource.com - The Most Stable Gateway System, Little to Zero Downtime
Netbilling.com - Their Oustanding Services Look Mighty Promising
LinkPoint - Running Since 1871, Must Be Doing Something Right
Verisign - First 1000 Transactions Free, Not Bad for Starting Companies

OTHERS (May be 3rd-Party or Not, I'm Not Sure):
Charge.com - These Folks Look Very Promising
Echo-inc.com - Also Received Nice Reviews, But Their Site is Confusing
iKobo - Poor Services (i.e., No Mastercard), but Reliable Money Handling Compared to Others
Stormpay

BLACKLIST:
These are the services that I would rather not use, having read some not-so-good reviews on them. Now before any of you go accusing me of being a "shill", "noob", “liar”, or any other label, please here me out.

The lists within this post are based on discussions here at the forums and not on factual experiences by me. Rather, they are based on the opinions (and possibly biases) of others.
Many of the source discussions were a couple years old, so if a listed company has worked to correct a deficiency, please say so.
I understand that A LOT of people use the below services and are more than content. But just like anything else in life, it's not just the 95% greatness that I look for; I need to know how bad things can get if (and when) that unlucky 5% comes about.2Checkout - Their Handling of Rebates and Excessive Fear of Chargebacks Makes me Excessively Afraid of Them
Paypal - Notorious for Freezing Merchants Money, Does Not Look "Professional" (what a bizarre mentality)
PaySystems, Pay-line - Disappeared with Merchant's Money
ProPay - Must Manually Approve Each Transaction, Which is Too Prohibitive on Business Growth
Volpay, iBill and PayingEZ - Delayed Payments to Merchants

If you've got this far, thanks for reading such an unnaturally long post! : )

Stormpay has troubles right now. Check this.
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=484006

A few quick clarifications on your list of companies...

- CDGcommerce.com is a merchant account processor, not a gateway.
- Authorize.Net & AuthorizeNet.com are one and the same.
- Electronic Clearning House & ECHO are one and the same.
- CyberCash really doesn't exist anymore - it was bought by Verisign.
- ModernAuthorize is a reseller for OnlineDataCorp.

In terms of which option is best for you - a lot depends on your geographic location and how much volume you anticipate processing per month.

Hmm.. you blacklist 2CO and Paypal? I thought Paypal and 2CO are not so bad after all. Just my 2 cents.

I'd agree with Starsearcher that - while I'm not an advocate or fan of 3PP arrangements in general - if I were forced to pick one - 2CO or PayPal are probably the two most stable ones in the industry.

But both have bad reputation for chargebacks ..............

You might also check out LoudCommerce (http://www.loudcommerce.com). I have been using them for quite some time and I am extremely happy with their services. They have a special (http://www.loudcommerce.com/promo/wht.asp). They wil help you set up the gateway and your merchant account.

Sorry for some reason, the edit buttons are not showing up on this, but I would not use Netbilling. Visa did not show them as being CISP compliant and that is pretty dangerous in my opinion.

One quick question, Valdamir... where are you geographically located?

This will play a major role in your choice of available processing options. If you are in the U.S., then you have a ton of options but that may not be the case if you are based outside of the U.S.

One quick question, Valdamir... where are you geographically located?

This will play a major role in your choice of available processing options. If you are in the U.S., then you have a ton of options but that may not be the case if you are based outside of the U.S.

I'm situated up in Oregon, USA. I don't expect to have a lot of volume sales for a while, but I have a serious goal of building a business with serious 1000+ sale counts (but that stage is a good while away, still need to get the basics off the ground).

Sorry for some reason, the edit buttons are not showing up on this, but I would not use Netbilling. Visa did not show them as being CISP compliant and that is pretty dangerous in my opinion.
Excuse my ignorance, but is CISP compliance something I should seriously look for? Looking at Visa's list, it seems that only Authorize.net, ECHO, LinkPoint, Paypal, and Versign are compliant. Does this mean they are more reliable than others?

I'd agree with Starsearcher that - while I'm not an advocate or fan of 3PP arrangements in general - if I were forced to pick one - 2CO or PayPal are probably the two most stable ones in the industry.
I feel uncomfortable with PayPal becaues when things go bad, they go really bad. PayPal has gone to court because they've frozen accounts in the name of fraud protection; suspending a business when only suspected of illegal activities is a little too pessimistic for my liking. Again, this is just heresay of what I read online; I realize that the usual 95% never have a problem. But still...

As to 2CO, I really have not done/read any research on them besides the topics here at the forums. If you profess them to be a good reliable service, I can accept that. What concerns me just a bit about them is this: a customer can phone in requesting a rebate for a transaction, and if he/she answers the questions just right, 2CO will hand out the rebate without asking my opinion first; they expect me to handle the issue on my own through the normal legal processes. The choice of going to court vs needlessly losing money is not attractive to the starting business... well, to any business.

You might also check out LoudCommerce. I have been using them for quite some time and I am extremely happy with their services. They have a special. They wil help you set up the gateway and your merchant account.
That looks pretty interesting... merchant account and gateway signup in one! I will definitely consider them.

Charge.com - These Folks Look Very Promising

They are NOT 3pp. They are huge. I've used them before and everything worked fine; apps approved quickly; etc.

You can read about charge.com and its parents here ...
http://www.pipelinedata.com/about.html

I thought they were owned by First Data - but I was wrong according to the link.

I posted good comments: Here are some bad: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=477256

Also an interesting read and comparison if you have time. :)
http://www.4www.us/credit-cards/merchant-accounts.htm

Excuse my ignorance, but is CISP compliance something I should seriously look for? Looking at Visa's list, it seems that only Authorize.net, ECHO, LinkPoint, Paypal, and Versign are compliant. Does this mean they are more reliable than others?There are also other electronic payment gateways that are CISP compliant. This does not necessarily mean more reliable but they have gone through the hoops of making sure that credit card data is secure and hopefully there would be no breach.

I recommend CardService for your merchant account and Authorize.net for the payment gateway.

PayPal

PAYPAL

That is the best. Stormpay is good also. But paypal is most trusted.

Just go to Linkpoint.com, they are trully the best on both service and rates

Just go to Linkpoint.com, they are trully the best on both service and ratesLinkPoint is not a merchant account provider though. They are only an electronic payment gateway (like Authorizenet.com and Verisign's Payflow Services). I recommend CardService for your merchant account and Authorize.net for the payment gateway.You would need the merchant account from Cardservice or on of the many other processors like Chase, First Data Merchant Services, etc that use that gateway.

linkpoint.com

Worldpay.com

To make it more clear, LinkPoint as the Payment Gateway, Cardservice International as the Merchant Account Provider

We are currently using CardService and Linkpoint. Linkpoint has been a terrific gateway; no problems. CardService is now charging non-qual rates for corporate cards (which is probably 75% of my business) and the discount rate has risen 2%. Other folks have said that it really should only be about a .3% increase. So I am trying to find another card processor who will only pass through the real rate change.

Does anyone have an opinion about eMerchantGroup? Or a recommendation for another card processor (compatible with Linkpoint) that will not hose us on these Corporate cards?

You may want to talk to your Cardservices rep to see if they can work out an adjustment on your rates as a starting point. Also make sure to check on the early termination clause on your agreement if you have been with CSI for less than a year in that costs may apply. (but these costs may be easily offset by getting lower rates on your corporate cards)

Beyond that, doing a search here on the forums for "merchant accounts" or a similiar term will probably bring up reviews on different services to check out.