Authorize.net is one of the big names in payment gateways, the conduit service from your website shopping cart to credit card processors. Payment gateway services are essential for encryption security but depending on your budget and needs, they can provide multiple other services.

The upside of signing with Authorize.net is they integrate your web site with the payment gateway, they’re known for adaptable services that make it fairly painless to scale your operations up or down operations, and customer support is included by email, live chat or phone. They also offer free “virtual terminal” which means you can take orders over the phone and run them through the payment gateway. Incidentally, the customer service is one selling point has received some criticism for less than competent troubleshooters.
Basic payment gateway services are around $20 but you should also plan on set-up fees (ranging from $100-$200), and often a transaction fees (ranging from $0.05-$0.20 per transaction). These will vary depending on the reseller you go through and extras you sign up for.
Other bells and whistles that Authorize.net offers are additional fraud detectors which will beef up your online security for $5 a month by red flagging suspicious orders. For $10 a month you can add automated recurring billing which is ideal for businesses who run subscription billing, and for $20 a month you can add their Customer Information Manager which simplifies customer data storage. If you’re interested in accepting eChecks they also offer these services but keep in mind electronic checks require their own set up and will run from $20-$70, plus a set up fee.