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Reseller Newsletter - November 2006

In our tenth year of doing business, Authorize.Net continues to experience dramatic growth. Consider for example that it took eight years for Authorize.Net to achieve the benchmark of 100,000 active merchants and since then we've added an additional 57,000 active merchants in just two subsequent years.

All of us at Authorize.Net would like to say THANK YOU! We owe a significant amount of our success to you, our loyal resellers. We know you have choices, and the fact that you choose Authorize.Net means a great deal to us.

We wish you a happy and profitable 2006 holiday season and look forward to our combined growth and success.

Authorize.Net Merchant Trustmark

Authorize.Net is proud to announce the launch of our free, Authorize.Net branded Merchant Trustmark. When displayed on a merchant's Web site, this seal immediately affiliates their company with Authorize.Net, creating consumer confidence, and potentially leading to higher sales conversions.

The benefits of displaying the Authorize.Net Merchant Trustmark are clear:

  • The merchant creates a sense of confidence for consumers who may be concerned about the security of making purchases online.
  • The merchant cuts down on shopping cart abandonment due to security and trust concerns.
  • The merchant aligns their company with one of the industry's best known payment brands.

Secure Payments Seal
Sample of the Authorize.Net Merchant Trustmark on a merchant Web site.

Merchants can configure the Merchant Trustmark in the Merchant Interface. Additional information on the Merchant Trustmark can be found at http://www.authorize.net/seal.

Holiday Preparation

As the holiday season quickly approaches, we know that your merchants will be busier than ever preparing for this critical time of the year. Unfortunately, fraudsters are also aware of the great opportunities to exploit merchants during the seasonal rush. So, it is more important than ever that your merchants are aware and take advantage of the following tools that Authorize.Net provides for fighting fraud.

  • Fraud Detection Suite (FDS)
    FDS is a set of customizable, rules-based filters and tools that identify, manage and prevent suspicious and potentially costly fraudulent transactions. Merchants can customize FDS filters and tools to match their business needs and control how suspicious transactions are handled, including the ability to approve, decline or hold transactions for manual review. Everyone wins when your merchants choose to protect themselves with FDS. With a new flat fee pricing of only $5 per month with no setup or transaction fees, FDS has never been a cheaper or easier solution for fighting fraud.
  • Multiple User Accounts
    Multiple User Accounts allows merchants to strengthen account security and streamline transaction management by creating unique user accounts with distinct permissions for each employee who accesses the Authorize.Net Merchant Interface. Multiple User Accounts is a standard feature of the payment gateway.
  • Address Verification Service (AVS)
    AVS is a valuable fraud-prevention tool that allows merchants to validate customer billing address information before accepting credit card transactions. This tool is a standard feature of every merchant payment gateway account and can be customized to allow or block transactions according to the merchant's business practices.
  • Card Code Verification (CCV)
    The CCV security feature provides an extra measure of security against fraudulent credit card transactions by comparing the card code provided by the customer with the card code on file at the card-issuing bank. CCV is a standard feature of every merchant payment gateway account and can be customized to allow or block transactions according to the merchant's business practices.

Associate Reseller Interface

As you know, Authorize.Net announced the availability of the Authorize.Net Reseller Interface at https://secure.authorize.net/ResellerInterface to our Associate Resellers earlier this year. The Reseller Interface provides valuable tools for managing your referred merchants and your Authorize.Net Associate Reseller account. Within the interface, you can update your merchants, view and download reports and statements, and edit your account information. If you haven't logged in yet, you can obtain your username and password by calling Reseller Support at 888-437-0481.

Co-Brandable Landing Pages

Authorize.Net wants to make it as easy as possible for you to sign up new merchants! To achieve this goal, we are proud to provide you with a new option that will allow you to conveniently facilitate merchant signups while marketing your business alongside Authorize.Net.

We've created a co-brandable "landing page" on our corporate Web site. Simply direct your merchant customers to your co-branded landing page for information about your business, the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway, and service pricing; as well as a link to a co-branded Authorize.Net Payment Gateway setup form that can be downloaded, filled in, and faxed to Authorize.Net. To view a template for this landing page, see http://reseller.authorize.net/application.asp?id=65601.

To request your own co-branded Authorize.Net landing page, complete our signup form at http://reseller.authorize.net/application/new/.

Merchant Activation Auto-Reminder E-mails

Authorize.Net recently began sending automatic reminder e-mails to merchants who have not yet activated their payment gateway accounts. These e-mails are sent 14, 21, 30, and 45 days following the merchant's initial setup in the Reseller Interface. You can do the following to encourage new merchants to activate their accounts:

  • Remind new merchants that they aren't truly activated until they complete the activation process, beginning by following the secure link in their activation e-mail.
  • Check to make sure that the merchant's e-mail address is properly configured in the Reseller Interface. If the e-mail is incorrect, you can reset it and generate a new activation e-mail to be sent to the merchant.
  • Do not set up additional accounts for the same merchant. Your merchant may activate one account but continue to receive activation e-mails on the other, creating confusion and concerns of spamming.

Partner Programs

Don't miss out on the opportunity to grow your business through our partner programs, which are designed to promote third-party solutions or service providers that integrate to the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway. Each of these programs can help you earn credibility and take advantage of marketing opportunities through a partnership with the industry's leading payment gateway.

Our current partner programs include:

  • Certified Solution Program – If you provide business solutions for merchant customers, you can distinguish your company by being listed in our Authorize.Net Certified Solutions directory.
  • Certified Developer Program – If you perform custom integrations for client Web sites or products, market your Web development expertise to thousands of prospective customers.
  • Certified Hosting Program – If you provide Web hosting services for merchants, expand your business reach by partnering with Authorize.Net.

Each program includes a listing in our online partner solutions directories—which is a great opportunity to generate new sales leads. Additionally, you will be provided with an Authorize.Net partner logo to display on your Web site, creating confidence for potential customers. Information about each of our certification programs is available at http://www.authorize.net/solutions/partnersolutions/. There are no enrollment fees or signup costs! Certify today to take advantage of the great benefits of being an Authorize.Net certified partner.

Merchant Toolbox

We often hear from merchants looking for additional assistance in marketing and managing their business. Against this backdrop, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our new Merchant Toolbox accessible at http://www.authorize.net/toolbox. The goal of the Merchant Toolbox is simple: provide Authorize.Net merchants with best-of-class solutions to help them better their business.

Currently the Merchant Toolbox features solutions in the following categories: Marketing, Security and Business Productivity. In the coming weeks and months, we expect to add categories for Accounting, Analytics, Content Management and more. Each category will feature 3-5 solutions that have been fully vetted to provide clear choices for your merchants.

We hope you'll encourage your merchants to visit the Merchant Toolbox often—after all, the more successful they are, the more successful we all are. Look for future announcements of new additions to the Merchant Toolbox in press releases and on our homepage.

New User Guides

Authorize.Net is pleased to introduce two new user guides for our resellers.

Associate Reseller Interface Reference Guide
The Associate Reseller Interface Reference Guide serves as an introduction to the Reseller Interface for new users and training purposes. The guide includes descriptions of all aspects of the Reseller Interface, as well as helpful links and frequently asked questions. This guide can be found at http://www.authorize.net/files/ARreferenceguide.pdf.

Authorize.Net Password Policy Guide
The Authorize.Net Password Policy Guide contains valuable guidelines about creating a secure password policy that will strengthen the security of your business. This guide can be found at http://www.authorize.net/files/PasswordPolicy.pdf.

In addition, don't forget that the Authorize.Net Web site has numerous White Papers, Case Studies, Data Sheets and more designed to assist you in selling Authorize.Net products and services. You can view these documents on our corporate Web site at http://www.authorize.net/resources/documentlibrary/.

Thank You!
Once again we want to say thank you for helping us make 2006 an extraordinary year. As we head into 2007, we will continue to earn your trust and business and exceed your expectations in every way possible.

 
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