| Merchant Account and Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Account | PayPal Express Checkout | Google Checkout |
| Receiving Your Money |
1-2 business days, automatic deposit into your merchant account. |
3-4 business days; merchant must request transfer to their bank account; 1-2 weeks for paper check ($1.50 per check). Withdraw limit may apply (restricts the funds you receive). |
Up to 5 business days; merchant must request transfer to their bank account. Monthly payout limit may apply (restricts the payout you receive). |
| Safety of Your Money |
Your merchant account is with a financial institution, so your funds are FDIC insured. |
Not a regulated financial institution, not necessarily FDIC insured. |
Not a regulated financial institution, not FDIC insured. |
| Customer Reach |
Credit cards remain the most popular online payment type—accounting for 85%** of online purchases. If you do not directly accept credit cards, you are missing out on business. |
Shoppers must create a PayPal account to make purchases. |
Shoppers must create a Google Checkout account to make purchases. |
| Competitive Pricing |
Flexible pricing. We have hundreds of resellers competing for your business. |
Rates controlled exclusively by eBay®/PayPal. |
Rates controlled exclusively by Google™. |
| Advanced Fraud Protection |
You set fraud controls to suit your unique business:
- Authorize.Net Fraud Detection Suite™ (FDS)
- Address Verification Service (AVS)
- Card Code Verification (CCV)
|
You have no visibility into the fraud filters/risk modeling PayPal uses. Their controls may cost you legitimate business by declining transactions you may otherwise wish to accept. |
You have no visibility into the fraud filters/risk modeling Google uses. Their controls may cost you legitimate business by declining transactions you may otherwise wish to accept. |
| Transaction Dispute Resolution |
You are represented by your reseller and acquiring bank, both of which share your interest in getting paid. |
Mediation service that represents both buyer and seller, making fair resolution challenging and risking the possibility of frozen funds/account. |
Mediation service that represents both buyer and seller, making fair resolution challenging and risking the possibility of frozen funds/account. |
| Customer Support |
- Online Knowledge Base
- Toll-free phone support
- Online chat
- Web form e-mail
|
Web form e-mail Toll-free phone support is difficult to find, and available to only silver level PowerSellers and above. |
Self help only. |
| User Satisfaction |
The preferred payment gateway of both resellers and merchants. |
Only 44% of shoppers rate their shopping experience as either very good or good.* |
Only 19% of shoppers rate their shopping experience as either very good or good.* |
| Shopper Experience |
Customers can pay seamlessly without being forced to leave your site. |
Checkout process is interrupted; customers must leave your site to make payments. You lose the ability to communicate with your customer—and possibly the sale. |
Checkout process is interrupted; customers must leave your site to make payments. You lose the ability to communicate with your customer—and possibly the sale. |
| Credibility and Professionalism of Your Site |
Accepting credit cards directly on your site lends credibility that you have an established business. |
Many shoppers view PayPal strictly as a solution for amateur or inexperienced vendors that may not have a proven business. |
You must prominently advertise Google on your site, whether that fits with your site design or not. |
| Building Your Brand |
You control the look of your checkout page, either on your own site or by using our hosted payment form, allowing you to reinforce your company’s brand. |
Your customers are redirected to another company’s checkout page. |
Your customers are redirected to another company’s checkout page, and you have almost no ability to customize the checkout process. |
| Repeat Customers |
You control your customer’s payment information, making it possible to market to your customers for repeat business. Authorize.Net provides subscription payment services called Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB) and Customer Information Manager (CIM), which securely store customer data for simple and secure repeat transactions. |
Restricts customer contact. |
You do not control access to your customer’s e-mail address, making it difficult to build your brand with your customer base. Google Checkout does not offer a subscription payment service. |
