How payments work in Snipcart
A Snipcart support representative says Snipcart has a built-in Authorize.net integration you can use right away. You connect it from the gateway settings page in the Snipcart dashboard by entering your API login and transaction key.
The same answer says the custom payment gateway feature is not the route for Authorize.net, because it is only for custom integrations.
Snipcart is a shopping cart you add to a website with a few lines of code.
This guide covers online and invoice payments, the ones Snipcart takes through its payment connection.
What changes and what stays
What changes
- The payment connection inside Snipcart: either a new gateway login, or a new account behind the gateway you already use. We tell you which after we read your statement.
- Who settles your card money and sends your monthly statement.
- Your fees. We show you the real numbers from your own statement and never predict them.
What stays
- Snipcart itself, with your customers, records and the way you work.
- What your customers see when they pay, in most cases.
Who this suits
Best fit
- A developer-built site that wants card payments through a gateway the owner chooses.
- Your processing contract is near its end, or you can time a change around it.
- You have not looked at your statement in a while and want a person to read it with you.
Not a fit
- A site that needs a payment method Snipcart does not list. Check the list first.
- Your statement is already clear and you are happy with it. Then the honest answer may be to stay where you are.
- You are in the middle of a contract with a large early cancellation fee and cannot time a change.
What a switch involves
- Send your latest statement. A person reads it with you and works out your effective rate. This is free and there is no pressure to switch.
- We check what Snipcart allows for your setup. Plans and settings differ, so we confirm what your Snipcart account can do. If the honest answer is to stay, we say so.
- Apply for the new account, if a change makes sense. This takes business and bank details. How long it takes varies with the account review and with any hardware involved.
- Update the payment connection in Snipcart. Enter the new connection details in your payment settings and run a test payment before you tell customers anything.
- Move saved cards and recurring payments, then close the old account. Do this when your contract allows it. Closing the old account too early can stop recurring charges.
Timing varies. We give you a realistic timeline for your setup when we read your statement.
What to watch
- The support answer is a few years old. Confirm the current dashboard steps before you change anything.
- Cards your customers have saved on file. Ask whether they can be moved to the new setup, or whether customers would need to enter them again.
- Recurring billing and subscriptions, which are tied to those saved cards.
- Gift card balances, if you sell gift cards.
- Card surcharges. Card network rules and some state laws limit them, so check before you add or keep one.
- Your current contract end date and any early cancellation fee.
Questions merchants ask
Is Authorize.net built in?
A Snipcart support representative says it has a built-in Authorize.net integration you can use right away.
Should I use the custom payment gateway feature?
No. The support answer says that feature is only for custom integrations, not for Authorize.net.
How do I connect it?
From the gateway settings page in the Snipcart dashboard, by entering your API login and transaction key.
How do I see what I pay now?
Open your monthly processing statement and add up every fee. Divide that total by your card sales for the month. The result is your effective rate, the real percentage you pay after every fee. Our free statement review walks you through it.
See what you pay, for free
A person reads your statement with you and tells you what each fee means and whether a different processor is even possible with Snipcart. There is no pressure to switch.