4 ms·

Ask HN: Alternative to Authorize.net?

27 points by ScottWhigham 17y ago

As of today, authorize.net has been down for more than 6 hours (why is no one reporting on this?). Any good alternatives?

jacquesm 17y ago
vxsbill.com jettis.com epoch.com there must be lots more...
- ScottWhigham 17y ago
  Do you have any experience with any of those? I can google "authorize.net alternative" and find lots of "unbiased" reviews but if people here have experience with a good choice, I'd like to hear about it.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    I'm currently using vxsbill, they're pretty good at what they do, segregated merchant accounts, vbv and so on. They do have a lengthy signup process though for that reason. Epoch has been in business many years, jettis a bit less long. I chose for vxsbill for a number of reasons, one of them is I am based in the Netherlands so it was relatively easy to get my own merchant account (but it still took more time than I liked). If you're on the other side of the atlantic then I'd look at epoch first, then jettis, ccbill or some other reputable company. If you can get a merchant account of your own, this will greatly reduce your exposure to trouble, as well as a significant reduction in fees.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
aristus 17y ago
I like TrustCommerce; simple, solid API and no bullshit. Also their "vault" is great for storing CC info. It's a holiday weekend in the US so don't expect miracles, though. Setting up a new payment gateway takes time. For a quick fix it's better to use PayPal until you get something better set up.
- ScottWhigham 17y ago
  We have PayPal set up already so our customers that can use PayPal are okay during the downtime. I'll check out TC - thanks.
- lisper 17y ago
  I second that recommendation. I've worked with all the major payment processors at one time or another and TC is the only one that really seemed to Get It.
lrm242 17y ago
Braintree has been good to work with so far. Haven't launched yet, but during the research & dev process they've been great.
- midnightmonster 17y ago
  Similar position, except I'm even earlier in the process. Tentatively planning to go with braintree as seemingly the most powerful/flexible gateway and also by far the most up-front about pricing. Should probably talk to the trustcommerce folks, though.
- pelle 17y ago
  We use Braintree and they have been very good.
- nkohari 17y ago
  +1 for Braintree. We also haven't launched yet, but their API is unmatched and their support staff has been very responsive.
- krav 17y ago
  We're in the process of setting up an account with them. So far, their customer service has been stellar. And their API is supposed to be the best in the industry.
- snewe 17y ago
  Are their fees competitive with authorize.net?
- quellhorst 17y ago
  Braintree seems to have more paperwork than other providers and you can find cheaper alternatives. I signed up with another company yesterday that ties in with Authorize.net. Odd that they are down today. In many years this is the first time I know of them having a major outage.
- callmeed 17y ago
  We use them quite a bit and they have been really good.
jonknee 17y ago
I know there are a lot of haters, but I've had no problem integrating with PayPal's PayFlow Pro. It's not PayPal, it's a regular payment gateway. They bought the business from Verisign a while back. I'm not involved on the business end so I'm not sure what the rates are, but the API is easy to integrate with and it's stable. Though I guess all gateways can have trouble like a datacenter fire. Your best bet is probably to have a backup gateway and a non-gateway backup like PayPal or Google Checkout. Cover all your bases.
- Skeuomorph 17y ago
  Back in 2004 or so, Payflow Pro was down for a Sunday because they neglected to renew an internal Oracle security cert and the DBs stopped talking. Took 'em a day to sort that one out. Random events and being human affect all 24/7 services.
- ScottWhigham 17y ago
  Thanks. We actually do have PayPal along with their Payflow Pro. However, not all of our customers accounts can use PayPal hence the need for another provider.
  - andrewf 17y ago
    Payflow Pro just processes credit card numbers you throw at it. No need for your customers to have a Paypal account.
  - jonknee 17y ago
    You're probably thinking of PayPal Website Payments Pro--I'm talking about PayFlow which is a straight payment gateway (almost exactly like Authorize.net). You process credit cards on your website and the funds go into the merchant account at your bank. You can't accept PayPal with PayFlow.
vaksel 17y ago
panicking because of random events doesn't do anyone any good. it's not like any alternative will guarantee that it doesn't happen to them either
- ScottWhigham 17y ago
  Why is this upvoted? I don't get it. This adds nothing. No one panicked. No one suggested anyone was panicking. Having alternatives that you can switch on in the event one goes down is just good practice.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
emilam 17y ago
authorize.net was bought a few years back and there has been few changes to it. Some of the original developers on the authorize.net team have started mtrex. It is a similar service, but things seem to fit together better. I guess the second time around they know what they are doing.
merrick33 17y ago
We switched to braintree from paypal at the beginning of the year - they are the most responsive payment provider I have ever dealt with. Our customer service that answers non technical questions also helped me troubleshoot some api issues I was having.
thesubjective 17y ago
imeem.com used cybersource (authorize.net) for micro-transactions awhile back and the API was pretty straight forward. Support was very responsive. International payments is a whole other game.
jonah 17y ago
I have experience with Auth.net and generally have been happy with them. That being said, I also like VeriFone's offerings - very powerful and their rates are really good. I've also used PayPal's Website Payments Pro and Payflow Pro - good experiences there as well.
pmikal 17y ago
Auth is nothing more than a gateway, ie, hosted software. There are numerous gateway software available which you can run yourself and connect directly to your merchant acquirer. Many might want to consider Chase Paymentech, the largest acquirer, whom you can directly connect with. Paypal runs their credit and partner transactions over the Paymentech network if that gives you any confidence.
systemtrigger 17y ago
I am considering amazon fps for a project mostly because I'm using several other aws services and am comfortable hacking with those. I haven't had a merchant account before so I wonder with fps what advantages I'd be missing over authorize.net, braintree or paypal.
lee 17y ago
I'm setting up PayPal for payment processing next month. Is it really as awful as everyone on HN make it out to be?
lsc 17y ago
I use paypal, personally.

27 points by ScottWhigham 17y ago

As of today, authorize.net has been down for more than 6 hours (why is no one reporting on this?). Any good alternatives?

jacquesm 17y ago

vxsbill.com jettis.com epoch.com there must be lots more...

ScottWhigham 17y ago
Do you have any experience with any of those? I can google "authorize.net alternative" and find lots of "unbiased" reviews but if people here have experience with a good choice, I'd like to hear about it.
- jacquesm 17y ago
  I'm currently using vxsbill, they're pretty good at what they do, segregated merchant accounts, vbv and so on. They do have a lengthy signup process though for that reason. Epoch has been in business many years, jettis a bit less long. I chose for vxsbill for a number of reasons, one of them is I am based in the Netherlands so it was relatively easy to get my own merchant account (but it still took more time than I liked). If you're on the other side of the atlantic then I'd look at epoch first, then jettis, ccbill or some other reputable company. If you can get a merchant account of your own, this will greatly reduce your exposure to trouble, as well as a significant reduction in fees.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

aristus 17y ago

I like TrustCommerce; simple, solid API and no bullshit. Also their "vault" is great for storing CC info. It's a holiday weekend in the US so don't expect miracles, though. Setting up a new payment gateway takes time. For a quick fix it's better to use PayPal until you get something better set up.

ScottWhigham 17y ago
We have PayPal set up already so our customers that can use PayPal are okay during the downtime. I'll check out TC - thanks.
lisper 17y ago
I second that recommendation. I've worked with all the major payment processors at one time or another and TC is the only one that really seemed to Get It.

lrm242 17y ago

Braintree has been good to work with so far. Haven't launched yet, but during the research & dev process they've been great.

midnightmonster 17y ago
Similar position, except I'm even earlier in the process. Tentatively planning to go with braintree as seemingly the most powerful/flexible gateway and also by far the most up-front about pricing. Should probably talk to the trustcommerce folks, though.
pelle 17y ago
We use Braintree and they have been very good.
nkohari 17y ago
+1 for Braintree. We also haven't launched yet, but their API is unmatched and their support staff has been very responsive.
krav 17y ago
We're in the process of setting up an account with them. So far, their customer service has been stellar. And their API is supposed to be the best in the industry.
snewe 17y ago
Are their fees competitive with authorize.net?
quellhorst 17y ago
Braintree seems to have more paperwork than other providers and you can find cheaper alternatives. I signed up with another company yesterday that ties in with Authorize.net. Odd that they are down today. In many years this is the first time I know of them having a major outage.
callmeed 17y ago
We use them quite a bit and they have been really good.

jonknee 17y ago

I know there are a lot of haters, but I've had no problem integrating with PayPal's PayFlow Pro. It's not PayPal, it's a regular payment gateway. They bought the business from Verisign a while back. I'm not involved on the business end so I'm not sure what the rates are, but the API is easy to integrate with and it's stable. Though I guess all gateways can have trouble like a datacenter fire. Your best bet is probably to have a backup gateway and a non-gateway backup like PayPal or Google Checkout. Cover all your bases.

Skeuomorph 17y ago
Back in 2004 or so, Payflow Pro was down for a Sunday because they neglected to renew an internal Oracle security cert and the DBs stopped talking. Took 'em a day to sort that one out. Random events and being human affect all 24/7 services.
ScottWhigham 17y ago
Thanks. We actually do have PayPal along with their Payflow Pro. However, not all of our customers accounts can use PayPal hence the need for another provider.
- andrewf 17y ago
  Payflow Pro just processes credit card numbers you throw at it. No need for your customers to have a Paypal account.
- jonknee 17y ago
  You're probably thinking of PayPal Website Payments Pro--I'm talking about PayFlow which is a straight payment gateway (almost exactly like Authorize.net). You process credit cards on your website and the funds go into the merchant account at your bank. You can't accept PayPal with PayFlow.

vaksel 17y ago

panicking because of random events doesn't do anyone any good. it's not like any alternative will guarantee that it doesn't happen to them either

ScottWhigham 17y ago
Why is this upvoted? I don't get it. This adds nothing. No one panicked. No one suggested anyone was panicking. Having alternatives that you can switch on in the event one goes down is just good practice.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]

emilam 17y ago

authorize.net was bought a few years back and there has been few changes to it. Some of the original developers on the authorize.net team have started mtrex. It is a similar service, but things seem to fit together better. I guess the second time around they know what they are doing.

merrick33 17y ago

We switched to braintree from paypal at the beginning of the year - they are the most responsive payment provider I have ever dealt with. Our customer service that answers non technical questions also helped me troubleshoot some api issues I was having.

thesubjective 17y ago

imeem.com used cybersource (authorize.net) for micro-transactions awhile back and the API was pretty straight forward. Support was very responsive. International payments is a whole other game.

jonah 17y ago

I have experience with Auth.net and generally have been happy with them. That being said, I also like VeriFone's offerings - very powerful and their rates are really good. I've also used PayPal's Website Payments Pro and Payflow Pro - good experiences there as well.

pmikal 17y ago

Auth is nothing more than a gateway, ie, hosted software. There are numerous gateway software available which you can run yourself and connect directly to your merchant acquirer. Many might want to consider Chase Paymentech, the largest acquirer, whom you can directly connect with. Paypal runs their credit and partner transactions over the Paymentech network if that gives you any confidence.

systemtrigger 17y ago

I am considering amazon fps for a project mostly because I'm using several other aws services and am comfortable hacking with those. I haven't had a merchant account before so I wonder with fps what advantages I'd be missing over authorize.net, braintree or paypal.

lee 17y ago

I'm setting up PayPal for payment processing next month. Is it really as awful as everyone on HN make it out to be?

lsc 17y ago

I use paypal, personally.