Authorize.Net Review 2021

A highly recognizable payment gateway provider, Authorize.net serves over 430,000 merchants and handles over 1 billion transactions on a yearly basis. Since it was established in 1996, it has grown to become one of the most popular eCommerce names on the market today.

While they don’t directly provide merchant accounts to businesses through their platform, they can set up an account with a third-party processor. With their relatively affordable gateway system, they provide checkout integration, customer information management, and more. This makes them a great option for businesses of all shapes and sizes. 

Authorize.Net’s Background and History

As a subsidiary of Visa, Authorize.net has the history and reputation to back it up as a trustworthy payment service provider. They sell their services through merchant service providers, financial institutions, and independent sales organizations. 

They recently won the Highest Authorization Rate Award from the 2020 TSG Payment Gateway Award. This demonstrates their reliability and lack of gateway failures on a consistent basis. In addition, they won a Customer Excellence award in the 2019 Confirmit Ace Awards, making it their 12th consecutive annual win. 

From these awards, it’s clear that the company has a reputation for excellent customer service and high-volume performance as a payment gateway platform. 

Pros and Cons of Authorize.Net

Overall, Authorize.net appears to have more pros than cons as a digital payment platform. They excel in terms of affordability and customer care, but some cons include an outdated user interface and some difficulties in importing and exporting data.

Pros

• Provides excellent customer service 
• Offers advanced fraud detection for maximum security 
• Makes customer information easily accessible 
• Competitively priced compared to other providers 
• Does not charge setup fees 

Cons

• User interface can be improved 
• Data migration can be challenging 
• Flat rate fee for the all-in-one gateway and merchant account is on the high side

Authorize.Net’s Services 

Authorize.net provides a large variety of services to fulfill all your processing needs. Some of their standout features include: 

• Virtual Terminal: They offer VPOS software for card-absent transactions over the phone. However, it is only compatible with Windows PC operating systems and Microsoft Surface tablets. It comes free as part of their payment gateway service. 
• Mobile Payments: Authorize.Net has an app that enables businesses to accept payments via smartphones and tablets. The app is free to use, but you’ll need to purchase a compatible card reader, like the BBPOS Chipper 2X with a Bluetooth option. 
• Simple Checkout: For some businesses that don’t need third-party integration, they offer a free service that lets you easily create HTML code to add a “Buy Now” and “Donate” button to your website.
• Automated Recurring Billing: For retailers that sell subscriptions and products that are bought on a weekly or monthly basis, Authorize.net offers recurring billing for free. They also let you customize a trial period and installment plans for added flexibility at no extra cost. 
• Customer Information Manager: For added convenience, the platform offers free and secure storage of customer payment information and billing data, which is easy to refer to. However, this information can be rather difficult to import and export. 
• Advanced Fraud Detection Suite: Authorize.net enables businesses to customize their security and lower the incidence of fraud and chargebacks. It has thirteen different filters to potentially block suspicious transactions.  
• Account Updater: To save time, you can invest in the optional account updater add-on to update card expiration dates and changes in customer data.
• eCheck: Processing electronic check comes at an additional fee. You can add it to your merchant account or sign up for an eCheck only plan. 

Authorize.Net’s Fees and Rates

Unlike some other payment processing companies, Authorize.net is relatively transparent about its fees. Their pricing page outlines the different payment plans they have, namely the payment gateway only option or the all-in-one option that combines a payment gateway with a merchant account. 

While the payment gateway only option charges a $25 monthly fee, $0.10 per transaction processing fee on top of merchant account provider fees, and a $0.10 daily batch fee for processing, the all-in-one version charges the $25 monthly gateway fee, along with a 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction processing fee. 

If you choose to sign up with a third-party provider to gain access to Authorize.net’s payment gateways, you may be able to negotiate lower fees. The good news is that the Authorize.net payment gateway does not come with a contract or charge early termination fees. 

Other fees that you should be aware of include a $25 fee per chargeback and a 1.5% cross-border assessment fee for any international transactions. 

Reviews and Complaints About Authorize.Net

According to the Better Business Bureau, Authorize.net only has 75 complaints closed in the last 3 years, and 27 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Although this may sound like a significant amount, it is not a large number given their number of clients. Because of this, they have an A+ rating for their services. 

Many reviewers claim that their customer support team is responsive and quick to solve any issues, whether they are contacted through live chat and email. On the other hand, some users note that their user interface can be upgraded since it is difficult to use the platform on a visual level.

Other complaints include billing issues where users claim that they were wrongfully charged for services that they didn’t sign up for. Overall, there appear to be more positive reviews from satisfied customers in comparison to the relatively low number of customer complaints. 

Final Verdict on Authorize.Net

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you’re looking for a payment gateway service to work with, Authorize.net is one of the best affordably-priced options out there for your eCommerce store. With plenty of free features in addition to their payment gateways, like virtual terminals and automated billing, they provide great value for money.

In addition, their ability to respond effectively to any customer issues and provide quick fixes makes them a great choice for smaller brands and bigger companies. For these reasons, we give Authorize.net a final rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 

For more guidance on choosing the best merchant account for your business, feel free to read our comprehensive guide.