What is a Gateway?

Gateways accept credit card information from a website and forward it to the merchant processor. A gateway verifies credit card data and conducts fraud prevention tests. After the information is cleared, the gateway makes a transfer request to the issuing bank and the merchant’s merchant account. A payment gateway account is different from a merchant account because it is a service account instead of an actual bank account. Payment gateways must be connected to the website owner’s shopping cart system. Most shopping carts will be compatible with several gateways.

Which Gateway is best for you?

Gateways are usually included in a merchant account setup. However, you may need to use a different gateway than the one included in the setup because it isn’t compatible with your shopping cart software. Below is a list of many gateways to help you decide on one:

Skipjack real-time credit card processing
Planet Payment multi-currency credit card processing
Authorize.net Major processor, check with sales dept.
E-Commerce Exchange Must contact sales dept. for pricing
GoRealTime $99 Setup, $19.95 monthly fee
Ibill $.25 per transaction, includes processing
Netbilling Must contact sales dept. for pricing
Paycom.net flat rate per transaction, no monthly fees
PSIGate Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.paradata.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.cybersource.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
EProcessing Network Must contact sales dept. for pricing
Goemerchant.com Gateway: $49 Setup, $29.95 monthly fee
PayPal.com Gateway: Free Setup, no monthly fee
Merchant Store Gateway: Free Setup, $10 monthly fee
Authorize.net Gateway: $39 Setup, $10 monthly fee
Payment Clearing Gateway: $59 Setup and $15 monthly fee
Verisign Payflow Link: $165 Setup and $15 monthly fee
Verisign Payflow Pro: $225 Setup and $30 monthly fee
Paymentonline.com: $195 Setup and $49 monthly fee (Optional Hosting)
www.eftcanada.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.charge-it-now.com Free Setup and $20 monthly fee
www.paymentjunction.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.ach-eft-ncms.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.linkpoint.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing
www.itransact.com $295 Setup, no monthly fee or transaction fee
www.bluepay.com Must contact sales dept. for pricing

You’ll notice that many of the companies in the above list offer merchant accounts coupled with a gateway.

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How credit card transactions work
Merchant Account Fees
Merchant account provider fees and contracts
Merchant account provider review
Don't be deceived by the discount rate
Internet Gateways
Avoid pitfalls choosing a merchant account provider
What is the Interchange Fee?
Why do merchant account providers impose volume limits?
Tips to avoiding problems with processing volume limits