Why do I Need a Payment Gateway?

The vast majority of e-commerce merchants do not have the technical resources, money or expertise to build a direct connection to the payment processing networks. For this reason, payment gateways like Authorize.Net provide merchants with the complex infrastructure and security necessary to connect their Web sites to the payment processing networks. In other words, a payment gateway acts just like a traditional credit card swipe machine you find in the physical retail world.

Compare to Alternative Payment Systems

	Merchant Account and Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Account	PayPal Express Checkout	Google Checkout
Your Money
Receiving Your Money	As few as 1-2 days, depending upon your merchant account provider. Automatic deposit into your merchant account.	3-4 business days; merchant must request transfer to their bank account; 1-2 weeks for paper check ($1.50 per check). Withdraw limit may apply (restricts the funds you receive).	Up to 5 business days; merchant must request transfer to their bank account. Monthly payout limit may apply (restricts the payout you receive).
Safety of Your Money	Your merchant account is with a financial institution, so your funds are FDIC insured.	Not a regulated financial institution, not necessarily FDIC insured.	Not a regulated financial institution, not FDIC insured.
Seller Benefits
Customer Reach	Credit cards remain the most popular online payment type—accounting for 85%** of online purchases. If you do not directly accept credit cards, you are missing out on business.	Shoppers must create a PayPal account to make purchases.	Shoppers must create a Google Checkout account to make purchases.
Competitive Pricing	Flexible pricing. We have hundreds of resellers competing for your business.	Rates controlled exclusively by eBay®/PayPal.	Rates controlled exclusively by Google™.
Advanced Fraud Protection	You set fraud controls to suit your unique business: Authorize.Net Fraud Detection Suite™ (FDS) Address Verification Service (AVS) Card Code Verification (CCV)	You have no visibility into the fraud filters/risk modeling PayPal uses. Their controls may cost you legitimate business by declining transactions you may otherwise wish to accept.	You have no visibility into the fraud filters/risk modeling Google uses. Their controls may cost you legitimate business by declining transactions you may otherwise wish to accept.
Transaction Dispute Resolution	You are represented by your reseller and acquiring bank, both of which share your interest in getting paid.	Mediation service that represents both buyer and seller, making fair resolution challenging and risking the possibility of frozen funds/account.	Mediation service that represents both buyer and seller, making fair resolution challenging and risking the possibility of frozen funds/account.
Customer Support	Online Knowledge Base Toll-free phone support Online chat Web form e-mail	Web form e-mail Toll-free phone support is difficult to find, and available to only silver level PowerSellers and above.	Self help only.
Customer Experience
User Satisfaction	The preferred payment gateway of both resellers and merchants.	Only 44% of shoppers rate their shopping experience as either very good or good.*	Only 19% of shoppers rate their shopping experience as either very good or good.*
Shopper Experience	Customers can pay seamlessly without being forced to leave your site.	Checkout process is interrupted; customers must leave your site to make payments. You lose the ability to communicate with your customer—and possibly the sale.	Checkout process is interrupted; customers must leave your site to make payments. You lose the ability to communicate with your customer—and possibly the sale.
Building Your Business
Credibility and Professionalism of Your Site	Accepting credit cards directly on your site lends credibility that you have an established business.	Many shoppers view PayPal strictly as a solution for amateur or inexperienced vendors that may not have a proven business.	You must prominently advertise Google on your site, whether that fits with your site design or not.
Building Your Brand	You control the look of your checkout page, either on your own site or by using our hosted payment form, allowing you to reinforce your company’s brand.	Your customers are redirected to another company’s checkout page.	Your customers are redirected to another company’s checkout page, and you have almost no ability to customize the checkout process.
Repeat Customers	You control your customer’s payment information, making it possible to market to your customers for repeat business. Authorize.Net provides subscription payment services called Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB) and Customer Information Manager (CIM), which securely store customer data for simple and secure repeat transactions.	Restricts customer contact.	You do not control access to your customer’s e-mail address, making it difficult to build your brand with your customer base.