Online Payment Systems



Authorize.net


Describe the company, its history, goals and role in e-commerce.

They were the first company to allow online payments through CC and electronic check. Compared to other companies it does not require users to sign up before entering their information.

How much does it cost to setup an account?

For a All-In-One or a Gatewawy Only option sign up is free. Enterprise level (more than 500K per year) has a price with it.

What are the monthly fees for using their services?

Currently nothing (I'd assume because of Covid) until Aug 1st. Normally it would be $25. Unless you process more than $500K per year then you would have to pay. (It just says contact us)

What are the fees per transaction?

All In One: 2.9%+ $0.30 / per transaction
Gateway Only: $0.10 / transaction + $0.10 daily batch fee
Enterprise: I'm not calling to find out!

Does it require additional fees or expenses to process payments?

See Above

Does it offer any special services or discounts to charities, small businesses, startups, etc.?

It seems that the Enterprise account may do just that as it says it works best for 501(3c) or charity companies.

Discuss how the company is handling mobile payment processing.

They have a plug in adaptor to take CC from customers.

Discuss some of the key issues facing the company. This could be business issues or technology.

According to downdetector.com they have outages from time to time that can disuade customers from choosing to use them. There are other reports on BBB that showcase some confusion in what type of companies they will work with (which i'm suprised there's any they dont as a merchant), and it flagging a businesses purchases as fraudulent frequently. They also have a history of showing the consumer that transactions went through even though they didnt and losing the company money.

What do you see as the future for this company?

They accept Paypal which makes me think it may be more inclusive and if they were better known they


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PayPal


Describe the company, its history, goals and role in e-commerce.

Paypal is the first payment processing system soley made for online. It was initially a security for mobile device company but then transfered to a digital wallet and partnered with a banking company X.com owned by Elon Musk. Then it was acquired by Ebay in 2002 then spun off in 2015.

How much does it cost to setup an account?

Nada!

What are the monthly fees for using their services?

Yes, $30 USD

What are the fees per transaction?

US Online: 2.9%
Non-US Online:4.4%
US In Store:2.7%
Non-US In Store:4.2%

Does it require additional fees or expenses to process payments?

$0.15 per keyed transaction
$0.30 per online transaction

there are also cross-border transaction fees, currency conversion fees and chargeback fees.

Does it offer any special services or discounts to charities, small businesses, startups, etc.?

They also have lower rates for micropayments Plan (less than ~$10 / transaction) for smaller businesses and an online non-profit discount as well.

Discuss how the company is handling mobile payment processing.

They are giving them away fro free

Discuss some of the key issues facing the company. This could be business issues or technology.

They have some technology issues (I assume) where frequently peoples accounts are randomly freezing, not allowing them to add or withdrawl money from their account.

What do you see as the future for this company?

While they have been around for a long time and have some inherit trust with them, they don't feel like they are the leader of the pack as far as what you hear people using mostly. But a good question is, do we really want something trendy for our banking app or does trust / longevity win out. It wins out for me as they're still what I use to handle online purchases.


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Square


Describe the company, its history, goals and role in e-commerce.

Square was founded because one of the founders was frustrated that they couldn't complete a $2,000 transaction because he couldn't accept credit cards in 2009. They got their IPO in 2015.

How much does it cost to setup an account?

Free

What are the monthly fees for using their services?

$60/month for each location and $40/mo for each additional terminal.

What are the fees per transaction?

2.6% + $0.10

Does it require additional fees or expenses to process payments?

It claims that there are not, but I really ahve a hard time believing that.

Does it offer any special services or discounts to charities, small businesses, startups, etc.?

Not for non-profits, I don't think for anything else.

Discuss how the company is handling mobile payment processing.

They are the leaders and the first in this department.

Discuss some of the key issues facing the company. This could be business issues or technology.

In 2011 a rival company (Verifone) showcased how easy it was to skimm the CC's off the magnetic reader because it was unencrypted. Now, however, Square uses strong encryption.

What do you see as the future for this company?

Because of their innovation with the Square Stand (a sort of Ipad looking device) in 2013 they're staying on top of the game and I expect them to stay that way in the B2C end.


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