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Authorize.Net: high-risk payment gateways and merchant account recommendations

A+ rated and BBB accredited – Tasker Payment Gateways LLC helps website owners sell regulated products online using high-risk friendly Authorize.Net accounts catered to their exact products and services. Here are a few reasons we stand out:

High-risk Authorize.Net payment processing: We work with nearly any legal, US-based business type. Our services help regulated and high-risk e-commerce website owners in all 50 states accept credit cards online.

Easy shopping cart integration: Our high-risk Authorize.Net solutions integrate easily with most major shopping carts and site builders, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.

Free advice and recommendations: We are paid by the credit card processors and independent agents we work with in exchange for bringing them qualified clients. Our simple, unique payment gateway and merchant account placement process allows us to provide advice and expertise to website owners and developers free of charge.

Ready to get started? Complete the short form at the bottom of this page or contact us to begin.

Not all Authorize.Net gateways are capable of high-risk credit card transactions

At its heart, an Authorize.Net payment gateway is just software.

In order to accept credit cards, all Authorize.Net payment gateway accounts are connected to a merchant account on the back end. For low-risk website owners, this is seamless. For websites that sell high-risk products and services, choosing and connecting the right credit card processor requires experience and expertise.

This second piece, the merchant account, is critical when determining if an Authorize.Net payment gateway can process high-risk transactions for regulated businesses like CBD, glass pipes, bongs, premium cigars, or tactical items.

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When you set up high-risk payment processing, one-on-one advice makes a difference

A high-risk Authorize.Net payment gateway requires careful set-up and experienced guidance during the application process. This added care helps ensure your online business avoids frozen deposits and credit card processing shutdowns.

When you contact Tasker Payment Gateways LLC for help, a dedicated, one-on-one, independent agent will carefully review your website or business idea and align you with a merchant account that works with both Authorize.Net’s software and your exact products.

Your personal rep’s careful, back-end merchant account recommendation will help you accept credit cards online through a high-risk merchant account while still benefiting from Authorize.Net’s broad shopping cart integrations and stable platform.

You won’t need any special knowledge or expertise – your personal agent will walk you through every step of the process, usually at no added cost to you. 

Beyond Shopify and WooCommerce: You can connect Authorize.Net to Wix and Squarespace

Authorize.Net has more integrations than most people – even most experienced developers – realize.

If you or your client have read on an online support forum – or even your site builder’s tech page – that your Wix or Squarespace website cannot integrate with Authorize.Net, contact us.

Our proven solution allows you to retain your existing website and still integrate a high-risk Authorize.Net payment gateway with a full-featured shopping cart.

We assist high-risk website owners whose site builders do not typically work with Authorize.Net by expanding their website’s high-risk payment gateway options using stable, tested techniques.

Our deep experience allows us to help business owners integrate Authorize.Net with dozens of shopping carts and site builders, including:

We will help you set up an affordable, reliable, high-risk payment gateway using a correctly configured Authorize.Net account combined with a high-risk merchant account recommendation that integrates seamlessly with your high-risk website.

How to sell regulated items with Authorize.Net – even if you have already been declined

Companies selling regulated products like vape and e-juice, FFL to FFL products, water pipes and glassware, CBD oil, or premium cigars regularly contact us because they can’t find a high-risk merchant account and a real Authorize.Net account (as opposed to an emulator) through other providers.

Website owners and even developers often get confused by the difference between Authorize.Net as a payment gateway and Authorize.Net as a merchant account referral service. Tasker Payment Gateways LLC fully understands this difference.

Usually, when website owners believe Authorize.Net declined them, they were actually turned down by one of many merchant processors that Authorize.Net uses on the back end to process credit cards.

Our dedicated agents will use Authorize.Net as a “payment gateway only” and then integrate a high-risk merchant account designed precisely for your products and services on the back end. This extra care allows you to pair Authorize.Net’s broad features and integrations with a payment processor that understands and appreciates your industry.

Getting started is simple. Your dedicated, one-on-one processing agent will walk you through all the pricing, timelines, and “how-to’s.” After approval, Your agent will remain your personal human point of contact. You can read more about Tasker Payment Gateways LLC here. 

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Need help getting an Authorize.Net merchant account?

At Tasker Payment Gateways, we’ve been helping high-risk businesses by recommending the best possible merchant account and payment gateway solutions for various high-risk companies since 2002.

Please check out our BBB profile to see our reviews and feedback. We’re proud of our achievements and look forward to recommending the best possible high-risk Authorize.Net account for your high-risk business.

Authorize.Net frequently asked questions

What is Authorize.Net, and how does it work?

Authorize.Net is cloud-based software that enables businesses to accept various types of payments, including credit cards and e-checks, by securely facilitating the transaction process between customers, shopping carts, and payment processors. Our Authorize.Net: how it works page goes into more detail.

What is an Authorize.Net merchant account?

Generally, an Authorize.Net merchant account is a 3rd party merchant account connected to an Authorize.Net payment gateway. For low-risk, traditional businesses, these are often sold alongside the payment gateway piece on the Authorize.Net website. For regulated industries, the merchant account is generally sold through a separate entity and then integrated with Authorize.Net.

Learn more about Authorize.Net merchant accounts here, or contact us with any questions.

What shopping carts does Authorize.Net integrate with?

Authorize.Net integrates with most standard shopping carts and customer relationship software systems, including direct integrations like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. In addition, we have researched and tested 3rd party Authorize.Net integrations for Wix and reliable Squarespace Authorize.Net solutions.

You can review the list of shopping carts that support native integration on Authorize.Net’s software partners page, BUT… because we often have little-known,- or 3rd party integrations available – we suggest that you simply reach out to us directly if you’d like to know if your software or shopping cart can work with Authorize.Net.

Additionally, our High-risk payments resource guide has a ton of valuable information on little-known integrations and how-to advice that discusses accepting credit cards for regulated products.

How do I integrate Authorize.Net into my website?

For most integrations, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, Authorize.Net is a simple integration that – once approved – can be set up by entering a few unique identifier fields within your shopping cart. Wix and Squarespace, among others, require extra knowledge or specific providers to work with Authorize.Net.

Remember, regulated items must be approved on the back end for high-risk payment processing. Reach out to us any time with questions.

Our How to integrate Authorize.Net to major shopping carts page has details and support links on integration. Additionally, if you need a new Authorize.Net merchant account, you can always contact us for help.

Can I use Authorize.Net for recurring payments?

Yes, you can set up recurring payments or subscriptions with Authorize.Net. Depending on your internal systems and preferences, you can use Authorize.Net’s native Automated Recurring Billing (ARB) feature or utilize a subscription system supported by your site builder or shopping cart.

Does Authorize.Net offer fraud detection and prevention tools?

Yes, Authorize.Net offers an Advanced Fraud Detection Suite (AFDS) and standard tools like AVS, CVV, and daily velocity monitoring. Check out our Authorize.Net fraud features article to dive in deeper.

How does Authorize.Net handle payment card industry (PCI) compliance?

Authorize.Net is an audited and certified Level 1 PCI-compliant service provider. All data is fully encrypted, tokenized where appropriate, and independently certified by a qualified security assessor.

Can I use Authorize.Net with my existing merchant account, or do I need to sign up for a new one?

Either. You can use the Authorize.Net payment gateways with a new or existing merchant account. As long as your existing merchant account is underwritten and approved for your exact products, services, and marketing methods, we can simply add it to a new Authorize.Net gateway for you.

Contact us using the short form near the bottom of this page, and a dedicated, independent agent will reach out with all of the details and answer any questions you may have.

Beyond setup and application help – your personal agent will continue to assist you with integration, troubleshooting, and customer service – all at no additional cost. Our goal is to provide a single point of contact whenever possible. You can check out our About Tasker Payment Gateways LLC page to learn who we are and what we do.

What are Authorize.Net’s prohibited categories?

Generally, allowed-use policies are enforced more on the merchant account provider than by the payment gateway – therefore, Authorize.Net’s prohibited categories are minimal. Still, you need a merchant account to process transactions; those restrictions are far more significant. Our Authorize.Net prohibited activities page goes into more detail.

Does Authorize.Net offer a sandbox or test mode for development and testing purposes?

Yes, Authorize.Net offers full developers’ Sandboxes on test accounts. Additionally, Authorize.Net has a test mode – which allows back-end troubleshooting and quality assurance on active payment gateway accounts. You can read more on our Authorize.Net testing and developer information page.

What is a high-risk Authorize.Net account?

The term “high-risk Authorize.Net account” refers to an Authorize.Net payment gateway integrated with a high-risk merchant account.

High-risk merchant accounts are payment processing relationships specifically approved and underwritten for a particular product category or marketing method that most merchant account providers, like major banks, PayPal, Square, and Stripe, generally prohibit or restrict.

Certain industries or businesses are categorized as high-risk due to a higher likelihood of chargebacks, legal and regulatory considerations, or reputational risks to the payment processing provider. Examples of high-risk industries include CBD, hemp seed, FFL and tactical websites, certain nutritional supplements, premium cigars, and smoking accessories, among many others.

To obtain a high-risk Authorize.Net account, merchants must undergo a separate underwriting and approval process in addition to setting up the Authorize.Net software. The payment processor or acquiring bank’s underwriting team will assess the risk associated with the specific industry or business and may impose additional requirements.

You can read more about high-risk credit card processing on our High-risk resource page. If you want to set up a payment gateway for your website but have been turned down by PayPal, Stripe, Square, or Shopify Payments, contact us using the short form near the bottom of this page. We’re always happy to help.

Does Authorize.Net allow nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals?

Yes, the payment gateway piece allows any legal supplement vitamin. But any Authorize.Net payment gateway account that needs to process payments for regulated or otherwise high-risk items must ensure that the back-end merchant account is approved for those exact items.

Does Authorize.Net allow online smoke shops that sell CBD, seeds, water pipes, or cigars?

Yes. Authorize.Net is compatible with most online smoke shops – if it is set up correctly and has high-risk processing on the back end.

Many new smoke shop merchants think of Authorize.Net solely as an all-in-one solution. It is not. As we discussed above, Authorize.Net is just cloud-based payment software; to accept credit cards, it connects to a merchant account.

If you need a high-risk Authorize.Net merchant account because you sell smoking accessories like glass pipes, bongs, herb grinders, CBD, or premium cigars – we can help.

Our trusted solutions ensure that both your credit card processing and your payment gateway software are compatible with your product type and software.

Our vetted, dedicated agents will take the time, one-on-one, to explain every step of the process. Please use our contact us form for a free, detailed rate sheet specific to your business.

Because we happily work with high-risk merchant types, start-ups, and established businesses that are new to Authorize.Net, our partners all offer personal support in addition to the 24-7 support provided by Authorize.Net.

Does Authorize.Net allow tactical items, FFL-to-FFL transfers, and survival items?

Yes. Authorize.Net does allow FFL to FFL transfers and the sale of tactical items – if the back-end merchant account piece is set up correctly.

Our dedicated, independent agents have helped hundreds of tactical websites accept credit cards using Authorize.Net since we first entered the business in 2002. The key to our success is knowing the best back-end processors to connect to each individual Authorize.Net gateway. This extra step ensures that your website aligns with a tactical-friendly processor that appreciates your business.

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Authorize.Net for high-risk – we can help

Authorize.Net is great out of the box, excellent when you know all its features, and best when paired with a credit card processor specializing in your industry. Because of this, along with Auth.Net, we can offer a processing recommendation with low credit card processing rates.

Contact us today. A trusted, independent agent will provide you with a no-nonsense, precise, accurate rate quote right away that is suitable for your business type, whether it be a traditional one or high risk.

If needed, your account rep will help you log in to your Authorize.Net portal and the virtual terminal for the first time. They will help you generate an API Login ID and Transaction Key – set your AVS, and adjust your daily velocity filter to help mitigate fraudulent charges. They can explain these features in simple, easy to understand terms and walk you through the process. Like many things, terms like AVS, and API Login ID sound more intimidating than they are in real life.

Do you need advanced features? We are happy to explain no-cost, or low-cost value-added options such as CIM (Customer Information Manager), ARB (Automated Recurring Billing), and AFDS (Advanced Fraud Detection Suite).

Our preferred merchant account partners can often offer a simple, consolidated, electronic sign-up form for both the gateway and the credit card processing. This means a much more straightforward process for you. Your gateway can come preconfigured and ready to use on day one and with your dedicated independent agent as a point of contact long after your account is approved – it couldn’t be much easier.

Call or contact us anytime. We can help take the stress out of setting up a high-risk Authorize.Net payment gateway for your website.