Payment Gateway Comparison
SecureTrading (based in the UK) require you to have a merchant account from your bank, but give you two methods of accepting payments: using your own server with SSL, or if you don\'t have a secure server then you may use theirs. Using their server is very straightforward: the payment form on your server sends them all information except for the credit card, the customer moves to the ST server and enters the credit card information, and pressing the \'Pay\' button then sends a \'callback\' to your server with all information (bar credit card) available for further processing and optionally displays a receipt page from your server on the ST server. Using your own server entails running a Java app called XPay which encrypts all information with 1024 bit security before sending it to the ST server. Communication with the XPay app is by XML strings from Interchange. The annual charge, at GBP195, is rather high but they do not have a monthly charge.
Pros:
* Free setup, reasonable transaction fees
* Able to use your own SSL server
* Able to use their server, and fully customise the pages.
* A full \'virtual terminal\' for managing transactions
Cons
* Need to have your own Merchant Account
* Recurring billing system is a little clunky
* Nobody has yet written an Interchange payment module for their new interface
AuthorizeNet / PlanetPayment
AuthorizeNet and their international arm PlanetPayment (based in the US) works in one of two ways: It either captures the necessary customer information (name, credit card number, etc.) from a merchant\'s own secure transaction page, or it displays a customizable transaction page hosted on an Authorize.Net secure server, for the customer to fill out. Merchants can check the status of transactions or run reports on past activity by going to the Authorize.Net Web site and logging on to their own password-protected Authorize.Net site. And online businesses can use the Authorize.Net Virtual Terminal to enter payment information manually if customers prefer to call in their credit card information.
Pros:
* Can use own server
* Full multi-currency
* Virtual terminal
Cons:
* Need a Merchant Account
Echo
Echo is an all in one solution, as they not only own their own bank but also provide merchant accounts and their own payment gateway. Their rates are extremely reasonable, and the only major negative is that they do not accept businesses from outside the US (which fact is stated clearly on their pages). Customer reports are generally very positive, and negative reports are pretty-well unknown.
Pros:
* Merchant account is included
* Extremely good rates
* A very tidy all-round solution
Cons:
* Only for US applicants
* Do not accept European debit cards: Solo, Switch, Delta, Electron
Protx
Protx are based in the UK, have been in business since 1995, and operate as a payment gateway for Visa, Master/Eurocard, Switch, Solo, Delta credit and debit cards. Their transaction fee is an amazingly low 5p per transaction. No percentage, no monthly fees, no annual fees, no setup fees. Just the 5p for an authorisation or refund. (GBP 5p is approximately USD 8c). They can operate either with a direct background call for authorisation, meaning that your customer stays on your site, or optionally by redirecting your customer to their secure server and completing the transaction there.
Pros:
* Lowest rates known - 5p per transaction
* Take most credit and debit cards
Cons:
* Need a separate merchant account
PayQuake / US Merchant Systems
PayQuake is a wholly owned subsidiary of US Merchant Systems, which has been in business for 10 years. PayQuake has three different plans (between which you may change at any time), starting from zero monthly with 3.75% and 50c, US.95 monthly with 2.75% and 40c, up to US.95 monthly with 2.35% and 30c per transaction. All plans have a US annual fee, and setup fees are zero, US and US respectively. Options of cheque payment and debit card acceptance. They claim to take non-US merchants, but investigation shows that they are simply re-selling WorldPay, and the application form which they email back to you features the WorldPay logos quite prominently. This form no longer offers merchant accounts, but only payment gateways, and tells you to look at this page, which gives a very different perspective but unfortunately does not appear to be linked from their main website. Some people to find this rather confusing and deceptive.
Pros:
* Very good rates
* Use the well-established Authorize.net gateway
* Accept: Visa/MC, Amex, Diners, Discover
Cons:
* Do not accept European debit cards: Solo, Switch, Delta, Electron
* Do not offer merchant accounts to those outside the US
Charge.com
Charge.com appear to be a good choice for those merchants based in the US. If you are based outside of the US, do not bother to apply. Even though the application form gives all relevant fields for international data, and by telephone they will agree that they accept international applicants for their merchant accounts, in fact this is quite deceptive. Once an international merchant submits his application, Charge.com will fail to courier the documents for signing as they promise, and if pressed will tell you to look at this page instead. This turns out to be 2checkout.com, which is a "third party" processor, cannot give merchant accounts to anyone, and has no more than an affiliate relationship with Charge.com. Otherwise, for applicants within the US, this could be a good choice. Be aware though, that even though they claim to have no setup or application fee, you are required to pay US5 for their "Virtual Terminal" - all other processors known to us give you this terminal for free.
Pros:
* Very good rates
* Use the well-established Authorize.net gateway
* Accept: Visa/MC
Cons:
* Do not accept European debit cards: Solo, Switch, Delta, Electron
* Easy to be misled by their website if you are from outside the US
WorldPay:
WorldPay (based in the UK) offer two systems: one for those with their own Merchant Account, and a "WorldDirect" package for those without. The "WorldDirect" package appears to be a bureau (3rd party) account in which you share the merchant account with the processor, but in fact you will get a standard merchant account from WorldPay\'s parent company, NatWest (in turn owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland). This merchant account is tied to the WorldPay gateway, so you are not able to use it with any other gateway/processor. Despite the rather confusing verbiage on WorldPay\'s website, you should have just as much chance of success with an application for a merchant account directly to NatWest as you would by applying through the medium of WorldPay. In either case, the mechanics of their gateway mean that you need to transfer your customer to the WP server to enter credit card details, though you can send all other information to their server to pre-populate the form. This page on the WorldPay server allows only very basic customisation, though the receipt page can be one from your own server which is displayed on the WP server, and their is a \'callback\' which sends all information (bar credit card) back to your server for further processing. It is also worth noting that their standard fraud detection is extremely basic. For example, they do not check the card-holder\'s name as genuine (meaning that you could enter "Pink Fairy" and WorldPay would accept the name). In fact their only standard fraud check is that the card is not reported stolen and that it holds sufficient funds for the transaction. This is below the standard which Zolotek.net deems appropriate and adequate. They have other detection systems, but these are not part of the standard package and you need to pay extra. Their standard charges are very high - 4.5% of the transaction, plus GBP 150 pa. Even worse, whilst all other merchant account providers will pay you your funds within 2 to 3 days, Worldpay make you wait for between 30 to 45 days. Overall, we are unable to recommend WorldPay to our customers.
Pros:
* A full \'callback\' facility, though not easy to setup
* Very good recurring billing
Cons
* Must use their secure server rather than your own, only some customisation allowed
* Standard fraud detection is extremely basic
* High charges - 4.5% plus GBP150 pa.
* 30 - 45 days wait for your pay-out.
Article source: http://ezine.softbath.net/business-finance/Payment-Gateway-Comparison-458.php