Online payments: Payment gateway popularity
You may also enjoy: Accepting Online Payments: the Ultimate Guide. Part one covered Why You Want to Accept Online Payment. Part two discussed How Do Payment Gateways Work and How To Choose One And in part three, So Which Payment Gateway Should I Choose?
After the series about the different payment gateways you can use with FreshBooks, you might be wondering, what are the most popular gateways amongst FreshBooks users?
Popularity by number of transactions
For one-off billing, where your clients enter their credit card every time you invoice them, PayPal standard is the most popular. Why? Because it is the easiest Payment Gateway to get setup and can be utilized anywhere in the world. We do recommend it if you are just beginning to use online payments and are not sure if your clients will regularly pay you online. Also, if you only do 1-5 transactions a month, then this gateway or it’s more featured version, PayPal Website Payments Pro, will be a good fit for you.
Authorize.net is the second one to consider. However, it is only available for US based bank accounts (you’re business can be somewhere else). If you are doing a high number of transactions month, then you’ll probably want to consider it. It is very likely there are less users using Authorize.net compared to PayPal but those that are using it, are using it a lot (more monthly transactions).
Next up is payment gateways and recurring billing.
For recurring billing, where the client’s credit card is charged automatically on a recurring basis (monthly contracts, hosting etc.), the clear winner is Authorize.net. And it’s for good reason, as they have competitive discount rates and are easy to get started with – feel free to check out our pricing deal with them (US bank account required).
Unfortunately, Authorize.net is only available in the US, so if you’re based in Canada, you’ll probably want to check out PSiGate. They are easily the most popular amongst our users in Canada.
Some caveats
With any business decision, you may not want to go with the most popular gateway. You need to consider other factors such as:
- How many transactions will you do per month?
- Do you want to do auto-billing?
- Where are you based?
To learn more, it’s highly recommended you read the second post in the Online Payments Series: How Do Payment Gateways Work and How to Choose One for specific guidelines.
sends more invoices than there are 
1:59 pm
Great roundup guys. Do you have any updates on when Moneris will be integrated as a payment platform?
2:57 pm
Hey guys, we are working in a new online selling services around FreshBooks and the API for invoicing/billing. We already use PayPal for current customers and we are looking forward to accept credit cards, based in our location (Uruguay, South America) we think that the only gateway accepting non US or Canada customers is 2CO, however in this post you say that people or business having a US bank account are eligible to signup on Authorize.net which is better for auto-billing. I have a bank account in the US, but when I try to register in the Authorize.net website the only countries shown are US and Canada.
Can you clarify this a little more? Is possible for you to contact us to an Authorize.net sales rep?
Thank you very much for your time.
All the best,
Andres Montalban
5:04 pm
Hi Dev,
Unfortunately no updates but I’ll pass on the request.
Hi Andres,
If you have online merchant account with a US bank, you should be able to use Authorize.net. Do you have a US address?
Send me an email coates [at] freshbooks dot com.
6:00 am
Online payments: Payment gateway popularity is very interesting…….post……..we are operational in a new online selling military around FreshBooks and the API for invoice/billing. We already use PayPal for present customers and we are look forward to accept credit cards, base in our position (Uruguay, South America) we think that the only entryway compliant non US or Canada customers is 2CO, nevertheless in this post you say that public or business having a US bank report are appropriate to signup on Authorize.net which is superior for auto-billing. I have a bank report in the US, but when I try to inventory in the Authorize.net website the only country shown are US and Canada.
8:58 am
Hi there,
With Authorize.net, you need a US Merchant account with a US address (needed for registration).
For more details, email me: coates [at] freshbooks dot com.
Cheers,
John
1:33 am
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