| Merchant Account and Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Account | PayPal Express Checkout | Google Checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your Money | |||
| 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. |
| Seller Benefits | |||
| 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:
|
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 |
|
Web form e-mail Toll-free phone support is difficult to find, and available to only silver level PowerSellers and above. |
Self help only. |
| Customer Experience | |||
| 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. |
| Building Your Business | |||
| 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. |
* Survey of online shoppers conducted January 2007 by J.P. Morgan.
** Global Payments Web site (http://merchantaccounts.networksolutions.com/).