Authorize.net Competitors

By Phillip Parker

Last Updated: November 21, 2013

If you want to accept online credit card payments, you’ll need to set up an online payment gateway for your website. A payment gateway connects an online shopping cart to an existing merchant account, enabling merchants to securely accept payments from their customers. Fortunately, there are a number of affordable payment gateways available, many of which can be set up with little to no programming expertise.

Authorize.net is the Internet’s largest payment gateway provider; as of this update, the company claims to have over 375,000 merchants in its user base. In fact, if your business accepts payments online, it’s possible that you are using an Authorize.net payment gateway without even knowing it. Authorize.net is a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa, and many merchant account providers resell Authorize.net’s payment gateway as a standard e-commerce solution. Sometimes, the Authorize.net gateway is slightly modified so that the reseller can present it as a proprietary service.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with using Authorize.net, some merchants may be interested in alternatives. The trouble is that Authorize.net’s huge market share can make it difficult to find providers who don’t use it. Below, we have put together a list of 13 companies that supply a non-Authorize.net payment gateway for merchants.

Please note that CardPaymentOptions.com has not assessed the security of the payment gateways offered by the following providers. This list also does not constitute an endorsement of any kind by CardPaymentOptions.com, and the order in which these businesses are listed does not imply a ranking of any sort. This list is simply a resource for merchants who are trying to find payment gateways besides Authorize.net. Merchants are strongly encouraged to research the pricing and services offered by these providers before agreeing to their terms.

About The Author

Phillip Parker

Phillip Parker is an independent card payment expert specializing U.S. and Canadian point-of-sale, e-commerce, and mobile payment acceptance. He has nearly two decades of experience in credit card processing as a journalist and consultant. Phillip is the creator of this website and has written over 1,500 articles covering numerous payment acceptance topics. He has also published critical reviews about most merchant services providers currently in operation.

Expert Guidance

Phillip has consulted businesses of all sizes from mom-and-pop shops processing $10K per month to enterprise level organizations processing in excess of $300MM annually. His specialties include:

– Merchant Account Statement Auditing
– Rate & Fee Negotiation
– Processor & POS Selection
– Software Integrations
– Risk Assessment
– Fraud Prevention
– General Processing Advice

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Phillip’s Top Picks

Phillip has researched and reviewed over 1,000 merchant services providers over the last 15 years. He also owns multiple businesses that accept credit card payments. If you are looking for an ethical credit card processor that doesn’t hide fees or lock you into expensive contracts, see Phillip’s merchant account picks here.

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In addition his contributions on CPO, Phillip has also been quoted in several major publications such as The Los Angeles Times, INC Magazine, Miami Herald, Computer World, and numerous others. If you would like to interview Phillip for your story or podcast, please reach out here.

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