Hi,

I've been an Authorize.Net reseller since 2001, and they've just started charging minimum processing fees for their Wells Fargo SecureSource merchant accounts. I wasn't very happy when I found out, so I called to complain. Authorize.Net claims it's a standard practice. I had the impression that it wasn't. Is anyone else paying $25.00 per month (on top of the standard monthly fee of $29.95) if they process less than enough transactions to produce $25.00 worth of fees?

I have some other issues with them, as well. Looking over my bank statement today I noticed that they have been charging the wrong discount rate for Visa and MasterCard transactions. They're also double-billing the per-transaction fee, taking it out of the transaction, and then charging it to me again at the beginning of each month. Their reseller interface is so bad, there's not even a way to see a basic list of all your merchants without straining to search in clever ways, like merchants who have a letter "E" in their name, or a number 1 in their ID.

Really, this is ridiculous. If you've had similar problems with Authorize.Net, I'd suggest complaining to them so that they get the message. I've invested a lot in their API so it's disappointing to have to go through all of this.

Aaron

Usually the monthly minimum is in the merchant account side and is part of the discount rates.

For example, if your discount rate is 2.25% and you sell $1,000 a month, that is $22.50 so you would owe $2.50. It costs the company to maintain your account and the provider basically wants to assure you are worth their business. Usually this monthly minimum never applies. If (using the 2.25% above) and you sold $1,112 - then you would have met that monthly minimum.

It seems like WellFargo is probably who you should be unhappy with - they are the ones probably charge you the non-qualified rate on certain transactions. You can always switch to another processor that is compatible with the Authorize.net gateway.

It seems like WellFargo is probably who you should be unhappy with - they are the ones probably charge you the non-qualified rate on certain transactions. You can always switch to another processor that is compatible with the Authorize.net gateway.
Which would be just about all of them. You wouldn't even need to alter your website. Just the Authorize.Net configuration that tells them which bank you use.

I also recommend finding a provider without a monthly minimum. That only benefits them and hurts you. There are plenty of providers who don't have one so you wouldn't have to look very far to find one.

It definitely sounds like the monthly minimum is being imposed on the merchant account side with those Wells Fargo accounts... not the Authorize.Net side.

If I were to speculate, I would guess that perhaps someone over at Wells Fargo analyzed their bankcard portfolio and decided that it would be a good way to generate revenue from the lower processing volume accounts... provided they stay on board.

That would not be the first time that a large bank or processor makes a decision that is at odds with their previous policies. For instance, I saw a letter a few months back that First Data sent out to many tens of thousands of their merchants under several portfolios whereby they were charging a new (and very large) annual fee moving forward out of the blue.

Frankly, I think that if you sign up a merchant on a no monthly minimum program or no annual fee program you should stick to it but not everyone in the corporate world views these things the same way and sometimes earnings trump customer service or even merchant retention.