Authorize.Net

{{Infobox company

| name = Authorize.Net

| logo = Authorize.Net, A Visa Solution wordmark.svg

| logo_caption = Current logo, after Visa acquisition

| type = Subsidiary

| image = File:Authorize dot net headquarters.jpg

| image_caption = Original headquarters of Authorize.Net in American Fork, Utah

| foundation = {{start date and age|1996}}, in American Fork, Utah

| defunct = {{end date and age|1999}}

| fate = Acquired several times since 1999: by Go2Net in 1999, then by Lightbridge in 2004, then by CyberSource in 2007; CyberSource acquired by Visa in 2010

| location = Foster City, California (2007–2010)

| industry = Internet, Communications

| services = eCommerce Payment Management

| parent = CyberSource

| homepage = {{url |https://www.authorize.net/}}

}}

Authorize.Net is a United States–based payment gateway service provider, allowing merchants to accept credit card and electronic check payments through their website and over an Internet Protocol (IP) connection. Founded in 1996 as Authorize.Net, Inc., the company is now a subsidiary of Visa Inc. Its service permits customers to enter credit card and shipping information directly onto a web page, in contrast to some alternatives that require the customer to sign up for a payment service before performing a transaction.{{cite news | title=5 Tips To Make Digital Payments Easier For Ecommerce | first=Dan | last=Rowinski | date=June 28, 2017 | work=Arc | url=https://arc.applause.com/2017/06/28/digital-payments-ecommerce-best-pratices/ | access-date=July 14, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725193536/https://arc.applause.com/2017/06/28/digital-payments-ecommerce-best-pratices/ | archive-date=July 25, 2017 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}{{Cite web |title=10 Best Payment Gateways Of 2024 – Forbes Advisor |url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-payment-gateways/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=www.forbes.com}}{{Cite web |last=Aviso |first=Agatha |date=2024-09-30 |title=Best B2B Payment Processors 2024: Top Picks & Reviews |url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/best-b2b-payment-processors/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=TechRepublic |language=en-US}}

History

{{pic|Authorize.Net wordmark.svg|Original logo of Authorize.Net}}

Authorize.Net was founded in 1996, in Utah, by Jeff Knowles.{{cite news | title=Visa to Acquire CyberSource, Authorize.Net | date=April 22, 2010 | first=Kerry | last=Murdock | work=Practical Ecommerce | url=http://www.practicalecommerce.com/Visa-to-Acquire-CyberSource-Authorize-Net }} As of 2004, it had about 90,000 customers.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,65039,00.html |title=Hack Attack Gums Up Authorize.Net |publisher=Wired.com |date=September 21, 2004 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923104754/http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0%2C1377%2C65039%2C00.html |archivedate=September 23, 2004 }}

Authorize.Net was one of several companies acquired by Go2Net, a company backed by Microsoft founder Paul Allen, in 1999,{{cite news | title=Cautious Hunter | first= Erika | last=Brown | date=May 29, 2000 | work=Forbes | url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2000/0529/6513074a.html }} for {{US$}}90.5 million in cash and stock.{{cite news| title=Go2Net Acquires Authorize.Net For $90.5 Million in Cash, Stock | date=July 1, 1999 | work=Wall Street Journal | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB930837255480658054 }} Go2Net was acquired by InfoSpace in 2000 for about $4 billion;{{cite magazine | title=InfoSpace Pays $4 Bil for Go2Net | date=July 26, 2000 | magazine=Wired | url=https://www.wired.com/2000/07/infospace-pays-4-bil-for-go2net/ }} Authorize.Net was acquired by Lightbridge in 2004 for $82 million{{cite news | title=Lightbridge acquires Authorize.Net for $82M | date=March 1, 2004 | work=Boston Business Journal | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2004/03/01/daily1.html }} and then by CyberSource in 2007.

Visa Inc. acquired CyberSource in 2010 for $2 billion.{{cite news | title=Calif. rival to buy Authorize.Net for $565m | first=Hiawatha | last=Bray | date=June 19, 2007 | work=Boston Globe | url=http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/06/19/calif_rival_to_buy_authorizenet_for_565m/ }} Visa has maintained Authorize.Net and Cybersource as separate services,{{cite news | title=Visa Debuts New Mobile Payments And NFC Partner Program For Merchants And Developers, Ready | date=February 22, 2013 | first=Leena | last=Rao | work=TechCrunch | url=https://www.wired.com/2012/10/braintree/ }} with Authorize.Net concentrating on small- to medium-sized businesses and Cybersource concentrating on international and large-scale payment processing.{{cite magazine | first=Sarah | last=Mitroff | title=Braintree Seeks Online Payment Domination | date=October 17, 2012 | magazine=Wired | url=https://www.wired.com/2012/10/braintree/ }} At the time of the 2010 acquisition, the company's CEO identified three priorities: expanding the ecommerce market, enhancing fraud detection and prevention, and improving data security.{{cite news | title=CyberSource CEO Addresses Visa's Acquisition | date=May 4, 2010 | work=Practical Ecommerce | url=http://www.practicalecommerce.com/CyberSource-CEO-Addresses-Visa-s-Acquisition }} As of 2014, along with parent CyberSource, it had about 450,000 customers.{{cite news | title=Cybersource Enables ApplePay, Visa Checkout and PayPal | date=November 4, 2014 | work=PMNTS.com | url=http://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/cybersource-enables-applepay-visa-checkout-and-paypal/ }}

=Outages=

In September 2004, Authorize.Net's servers were hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,65039,00.html |title=Hack Attack Gums Up Authorize.Net |publisher=Wired.com |date=2004-09-21 |accessdate=2004-09-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923104754/http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0%2C1377%2C65039%2C00.html |archivedate=2004-09-23 }} The DDoS attack lasted for over one week and caused a virtual shut down of the payment gateway's service. The attackers demanded money from Authorize.net in exchange for stopping the attack.

On July 2, 2009, at 11:00 p.m. PST, the entire web infrastructure for Authorize.Net (main website, merchant gateway website, etc.) went offline and stayed down all morning July 3, 2009.[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009415571_apwafisherplazafire1stldwritethru.html Fire disrupts stations at Seattle's Fisher Plaza] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706041326/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009415571_apwafisherplazafire1stldwritethru.html |date=July 6, 2009 }} Friday, July 3, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Seattle Times{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Fisher-Communications-Inc-NASDAQ-FSCI-1012899.html |title=Fisher Communications, Inc. Issues Statement Following an Electrical Fire at Fisher Plaza East |accessdate=2009-07-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706181412/http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Fisher-Communications-Inc-NASDAQ-FSCI-1012899.html |archivedate=2009-07-06 }} None of the over 200,000 merchants who used Authorize.Net payment gateway at the time were able to process credit cards. Authorize.Net's phone numbers were closed July 3 because of the July 4th holiday as previously announced on their website (though the website was down at the time).https://account.authorize.net/UI/themes/MintAnnouncement.htm. Retrieved July 6, 2009. See "24 June 2009" announcement. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405114136/https://account.authorize.net/UI/themes/MintAnnouncement.htm |date=5 April 2022 }} Other companies that have nearby offices have reported to the media that there was a fire. Authorize.net started a Twitter account that morning, but did not update their phones to give notice to customers until July 5 when they reopened phones.https://account.authorize.net/UI/themes/MintAnnouncement.htm. Retrieved July 6, 2009. See "3 July 2009" and "4 July 2009" announcements. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405114136/https://account.authorize.net/UI/themes/MintAnnouncement.htm |date=5 April 2022 }}

Services

Authorize.Net processes card and ACH payments for companies from small and medium-sized merchants. It offers fraud protection services, recurring billing subscriptions, and simple checkout options. For developers, it provides an application programming interface (API) and software development kits for Android and iOS.{{cite news | title=Daily API RoundUp: Billingbooth, RivieraBuild, Plus Authorize.Net, ClearBlade SDKs | date=October 26, 2015 | first=Joy | last=Culbertson | work=ProgrammableWeb | url=https://www.programmableweb.com/news/daily-api-roundup-billingbooth-rivierabuild-plus-authorize.net-clearblade-sdks/brief/2015/10/26 }} Its virtual terminal and invoice features can process manual payments. It also offers recurring billing and a plugin for the integration with Authorize.Net, and technical support is available for merchants.

Authorize.Net has the most customers of any payment processor as of 2015{{cite news | title=What to Know About 5 Popular Payment Gateways | date=January 1, 2015 | work=ABC Signup | url=http://www.abcsignup.com/blog/what-to-know-about-5-popular-payment-gateways | access-date=July 31, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801041433/http://www.abcsignup.com/blog/what-to-know-about-5-popular-payment-gateways | archive-date=August 1, 2017 | url-status=dead }} and has been described as one of the more senior players in the payment processing industry, retaining a "decent portion" of the industry's market share.{{cite news | title=Your Ultimate Payment Gateway Comparison Guide | first=Allen | last=Burt | date=February 26, 2017 | work=Huffington Post | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-burt/your-ultimate-payment-gat_b_9329154.html }}