Payment Gateway Suggestions

[ILoveHostasaurus]

It should be the same and getting better as the Payflow emlpoyees transitioned to PayPal with the Payment Services division and continue to work on it. They're working to integrate PayPal into Payflow so you can accept all card types and PayPal. Miva's recently released a new Payflow mod for Merchant 5 that starts to make use of some of the anti-fraud features of Payflow. On the support side, we've seen them get better there as well; we're a reseller of Payflow and they've now given us 24x7 phone access to them where before even resellers had to pay for premium support.

Their reporting interface could definitely be improved compared to a few of the others but it's good enough for most when coupled with the reliability and low transaction cost.

[bob1982728]

Is Payflow still good even though now essentially a Paypal product instead of a Verisign product ? Paypal itself does not have the best of reputations in other areas.

[d_host]

By far the best is Verisign Payflow Pro - it's very fast, super reliable, and their uptime is unmatched. You can get it directly from Verisign at their full price, or perhaps through your host or another reseller at a discounted rate. We offer a great price on it on our site.

Then you have Authorize.net, probably second in line... and PayQuake... (which you can also get through us at better rates). Avoid Cardservices' LinkPoint - it's terribly unreliable and historically everyone who's tried it has nothing but negative things to say about it. All others are hit and miss.

[ILoveHostasaurus]

If maximum reliability is the priority, Verisign Payflow Pro is usually best. It can range in price from lowest to highest depending on your order volume since it has a higher base fee than all the rest but the base fee includes 1000 transactions per month. The rest are cheaper but have per-transaction fees that start with the 1st transaction. I'd say the only other two gateways to look at would be Authorize.net/PayQuake (same thing) and CyberSource/Miva Payment (same thing).

[bob1982728]

Slightly OT.... I need some help in choosing a payment gateway. Aside from costs, I don't know what questions to ask. I'd be interested in specific recommendations ("use this vendor" or "stay away from that vendor") as well as general suggestions on the process.

The long list of possibles are: Cardservice/LinkPoint Payment; Gateway; PayPal Instant Payment Notification; Authorize.Net Payment Services v3.1; debit-it! - Full Service Online Electronic Check Processing; PayQuake; U.S. Merchant Systems; R-P-G (Rodopi Payment Gateway); E-Commerce Exchange/QuickCommerce 3.0 Payment Gateway; Verisign Payflow Pro (PaymentNet) Verisign Payflow Link; Paradata Payment Service; Lynk Internet Processing; Innovative Gateway Solutions; CyberSource ICSv2 Payment Services; GlobalCommerce Payment Gateway; e-ValuCheck - Accept checks for immediate shipment; Moneris e-SELECT Payment Service;