I've been using authorize.net for the past year. Can't complain, but I think it's more on the expensive side, no? Transactions that go through are at a 2.85% rate. Plus there is 30 cent transaction fee as well as a 10 cent authorize.net transaction fee. I pay a bare minimum of $9.95 monthly and all transactions that go through my website get deposited nicely into n my Wells Fargo account.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to handling transactions and depositing it into my Wells Fargo Account or say if I create another bank account elsewhere?

Paypal is better alternative

Those rates are not Authnet's fault. You have an expensive merchant account provider is all. You can get a cheaper merchant account and still use Authnet and have the money deposted directly into your Wells Fargo bank account.

stymiee: I don't quite understand what you mean. I didn't register with anyone else except Authorize.net. When I signed up, I provided them with my wells fargo account and all the transactions carried out on my website are deposited in my wells fargo account. So what do you suggest I do, boss? These overhead costs are killing me.

Btw...I already have Paypal as a payment option.

I want to accept payments at my Web site—how do I get started?


To accept payment from a Web site, you will first need an Authorize.Net Payment Gateway account and a merchant bank account (a type of bank account that allows you to collect proceeds from online transactions). To obtain these services, you can choose one of many Authorize.Net resellers. See our Reseller Directory.

You can choose another reseller (http://www.authorize.net/solutions/merchantsolutions/resellerdirectory/) of Auth.net for lower prices.

We use MerchantPlus, which is one of the better ones we found.

Cheaper will be accept cash and deposit into your pocket :)

But it's nothing wrong with your cc processing fees. Some of my merchant accounts charge much more.

Also cheaper is not allways best - you can run into a lot of hassles from lame customer services to serious issues, so don't be cheap.

Merchantplus looks very good on paper. I like their rates. I tried doing some research behind them.

My first question: I think it deposits it in Chase...no? Will it deposit it in my Wells Fargo account?

Second question: It seems to work with onlinedatacorp.com . Nothing wrong with that, but I read this really bad review at http://www.webhostingtalk.com/search.php?searchid=2562724

How's your experience been with merchantplus?

I also agree with the poster, you get for what you pay for. But why pay more when you can try to obtain an equivalent service elsewhere for a more reasonable price?

Igor999, it looks like Wells Fargo is your merchant account provider. Authorize.net does not provide merchant accounts, they are only a payment gateway. You'll notice how Wells Fargo is listed in that link Tyler provided.

Your 2.85% processing rate is controlled by Wells Fargo (or whoever is your merchant account provider). So depending on the volume you're doing, perhaps you want to talk to Wells Fargo about negotiating a lower rate or look at alternative providers. Explore other providers to see what kind of rate you can get. If you're happy with Wells Fargo's service I'd suggest going to them first about a lower rate, it never hurts to ask.

Wells Fargo has horrible rates on everything--savings, CDs, you name it. I think they manage to stay in business thanks to people like me who are too lazy to go through the hassle of moving their old checking accounts somewhere else.

CDGCommerce.com is also pretty good and has a nice discount rate. Overall, I don't think PayPal is a fair comparison to auth.net, you can do a whole lot more with auth.net than you can with PayPal.

Look at Wachovia, we have a wachovia/authorize.net set up with them and we are getting about 2.4% and the 9.95 statement fee is standard.

authorize.net is pretty reliable/industrial strength. I started with them in 1998/99 and ive used other processors and them, and they are very reliable.

ive setup websites with paypal only and then added visa/mc and for whatever reason visa/mc became much more popular. 2.85% isnt necessarily a bad rate, alot is dependent on the type of business you have and any risks /chargeback rates associated with it.

What you can do is just call up your merchant back (wells fargo) and say hey, can you offer me a better rate. chances are if you are a good/steady client they may lower it a bit rather then lose you as a customer.

Thanks for the kind words, Reyox. :)

Authorize.Net is a good gateway and has been the "800 pound gorilla" for some time now. There are also other new options on the market that have much lower fees which are compatible with Authorize.Net options as well.

2.85% as a qualified rate seems very high to me. Unless the pricing structure is a bundled pricing model and you have large tickets or there is something else that I am not aware of on it, it sounds like it is definitely time for you to shop around and get some competitive quotes to see where you stand.

Look at Wachovia, we have a wachovia/authorize.net set up with them and we are getting about 2.4% and the 9.95 statement fee is standard.

Without knowing other factors 2.40% is a little high as well.

There are also other new options on the market that have much lower fees which are compatible with Authorize.Net options as well.

Sounds interesting... any specific info to share? :)

We have a CDGcommerce account, and would be interested to try a different gateway...

I've been using authorize.net for the past year. Can't complain, but I think it's more on the expensive side, no? Transactions that go through are at a 2.85% rate. Plus there is 30 cent transaction fee as well as a 10 cent authorize.net transaction fee. I pay a bare minimum of $9.95 monthly and all transactions that go through my website get deposited nicely into n my Wells Fargo account.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to handling transactions and depositing it into my Wells Fargo Account or say if I create another bank account elsewhere?

Wow. I'd be thrilled paying that! I pay a $20 gateway fee, 14.99 fee to Innovative Merchant Solutions (avoid them like the plague!), a $30 monthly fee I have yet to figure what that's for...plus the disc+transaction charges.

Needless to say...I came across your post while Googling other merchant account options.

I have good credit, and in 3 years never a single chargeback nor fraud order. Sadly I haven't been paying enough attention to matching up IMS's monthly statement to my bank statement. What their statement says they charge me, and what they actually take OUT of my account...very different.

don't use PayPal, the worst choice.

Wow. I'd be thrilled paying that! I pay a $20 gateway fee, 14.99 fee to Innovative Merchant Solutions (avoid them like the plague!), a $30 monthly fee I have yet to figure what that's for...plus the disc+transaction charges.

Needless to say...I came across your post while Googling other merchant account options.

I have good credit, and in 3 years never a single chargeback nor fraud order. Sadly I haven't been paying enough attention to matching up IMS's monthly statement to my bank statement. What their statement says they charge me, and what they actually take OUT of my account...very different.

Those are some hefty fee's there. Is the $30 fee by chance the monthly minimum fee?

Are there any cheaper alternatives to handling transactions and depositing it into my Wells Fargo Account or say if I create another bank account elsewhere?

Man, I have tried them all over the years... I have found Authorize.Net to be the most easy to work with, most reliable, stable and fast I know of. They are all gonna screw you.. I mean, let's face it.. What do they do? They provide a gateway, and charge you to use that gateway. They essentially get a cut (lets call it protection money) for every deal you close...

It's legal organized crime IMO.. Either way, I like Authorize.net, and do not find the fees as penal as other places.

It's a part of doing business...

Those are some hefty fee's there. Is the $30 fee by chance the monthly minimum fee?

$25 is the monthly minimum, though I've noticed they charge that no matter how much I run through in cards, *plus* the discount on top of that.

I went back over my contract, line by line, and it says nothing about the $14.99 fee, either. To be clear, these are merchant account charges, not from Authorize.net.

I've found another merchant account providers, one flat fee of $19.95 plus 2.15% disc and .25 transaction fee, and NO gateway fee. I feel like I've been let out of prison :)

Which merchant account provider is that? Thats cheaper than what I currently have been quoted from CDGCommerce

MerchantPlus. A human actually answered the phone, too! Really nice guy, knows the hosting business (another shock), is familiar with the billing software we use (WHMCS). I was just calling around getting quotes, but I felt so confident after talking with the guy in the office, I signed up right then.

Mara: Glad you got a good provider.

The merchant account biz is so competitive, you can get rates at 2.19 or 2.09. Processing is basically a commodity. You are totally in the drivers seat when shopping around.

Keep your current AuthNet account. Just have the new merchant ID # put in.

There are also these guys: https://www.e-onlinedata.com/valuereseller

$10/month for account + $10/month for authorize.net. Transaction $0.20 + 2.1%. Not too bad. No minimum, no setup, etc.

yeah, if you really want to get crazy you can ask authnet to lower trans fee to 0.10