Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is a U.S. payment gateway brand that enables merchants to accept card and electronic-check payments through websites and other internet-connected systems.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Authorize.Net is a United States payment gateway service founded in Utah in 1996 by Jeff Knowles. Its core role is to connect merchants, payment processors, and financial institutions so that businesses can authorize and settle customer payments made by credit card, debit card, and electronic check. The service is designed primarily for small and medium-sized merchants and can be integrated into ecommerce websites, software applications, shopping carts, and other internet-based sales channels. Unlike payment services that require consumers to create an account with the payment provider before completing a purchase, Authorize.Net can allow customers to enter payment and shipping information directly into a merchant-controlled checkout experience. This gateway-oriented model has made the brand a long-standing infrastructure provider rather than a consumer-facing wallet or marketplace. Its merchant tools include hosted and simplified checkout options, a virtual terminal for manually entered transactions, invoicing, recurring billing, fraud-prevention features, and developer tools. The company grew through a sequence of ownership changes. Go2Net acquired Authorize.Net in 1999 in a transaction reported at US$90.5 million in cash and stock. After Go2Net was acquired by InfoSpace in 2000, Authorize.Net was sold to Lightbridge in 2004 for a reported US$82 million. CyberSource acquired the business in 2007, and Visa acquired CyberSource in 2010 for approximately US$2 billion. Visa retained Authorize.Net and CyberSource as distinct service brands: Authorize.Net continued to focus principally on small and medium-sized businesses, while CyberSource emphasized larger enterprises and international payment processing. Security, fraud control, reliability, and ecommerce expansion have been recurring strategic themes for the brand. Authorize.Net has offered fraud-screening and transaction-management capabilities alongside payment acceptance, while its developer-facing API and software development kits have supported integration with web, Android, and iOS applications. Recurring billing is particularly relevant to merchants selling subscriptions or repeat services. The brand has also experienced significant operational incidents. A distributed-denial-of-service attack in 2004 disrupted service for more than a week and reportedly involved an extortion demand. In July 2009, a major infrastructure outage took the company’s public and merchant-facing web properties offline and prevented more than 200,000 merchants from processing credit-card transactions for part of the disruption. These events underscored the dependence of online commerce on payment-gateway availability and communications. Authorize.Net remains positioned as an established payment-processing gateway within Visa’s broader merchant-services portfolio. Public reference material has described it as having hundreds of thousands of customers, including approximately 450,000 customers together with parent CyberSource in 2014. Its product scope continues to center on payment acceptance, merchant administration, recurring transactions, fraud controls, integration interfaces, and support for small and medium-sized businesses.
History
Authorize.Net was established in Utah in 1996 by Jeff Knowles as an internet payment gateway company. Its business model was to provide the technical connection required for merchants to accept card and electronic-check payments through websites and internet-connected applications. Rather than functioning primarily as a consumer wallet, the company operated behind the scenes as merchant infrastructure, allowing customers to submit payment and shipping information within a merchant’s checkout flow. The company entered a period of consolidation in the online-services sector during the late 1990s. Go2Net acquired Authorize.Net in 1999 for a reported US$90.5 million in cash and stock. Go2Net was subsequently acquired by InfoSpace in 2000 in a transaction reported at approximately US$4 billion. Authorize.Net later changed ownership again when Lightbridge acquired it in 2004 for a reported US$82 million. In 2007, CyberSource acquired the gateway business. Authorize.Net’s expansion was accompanied by operational and security challenges. In September 2004, its servers were targeted by a distributed-denial-of-service attack that lasted for more than a week. The incident substantially impaired gateway availability and was reportedly accompanied by a demand for payment. In July 2009, the company experienced another major service interruption when its web infrastructure, including its main and merchant gateway sites, went offline. The outage prevented a reported 200,000-plus merchants from processing credit-card payments for part of the incident. The episode also exposed weaknesses in customer communications because the company’s previously announced holiday telephone closure coincided with the outage. Visa acquired CyberSource in 2010 for approximately US$2 billion. After the acquisition, Visa kept CyberSource and Authorize.Net as separate brands with different market emphases. Authorize.Net remained oriented toward small and medium-sized businesses, while CyberSource concentrated more heavily on large enterprises and international payment processing. At the time, management priorities included expanding ecommerce, strengthening fraud detection and prevention, and improving data security. The service portfolio developed around several layers of merchant functionality. In addition to gateway authorization, Authorize.Net has provided support for card and ACH payments, fraud controls, recurring billing, simplified checkout, invoices, and a virtual terminal for manually entered transactions. Its API and software development kits have enabled merchants and software developers to integrate payment acceptance into websites and Android and iOS applications. Reference material reported approximately 90,000 customers in 2004 and approximately 450,000 customers for Authorize.Net together with CyberSource in 2014. By 2015, the service was described as having the largest customer base among payment processors and as retaining a meaningful share of the payment-processing market. Authorize.Net’s historical significance rests on its longevity as a merchant gateway and on its role within Visa’s broader payment-acceptance infrastructure.
- 2014
Large combined customer base reported
[1]Reference material reported approximately 450,000 customers for Authorize.Net and its parent CyberSource together.
- 2010
Visa acquires CyberSource
[1]Visa acquired CyberSource and continued operating Authorize.Net as a distinct gateway brand.
- 2009
Major infrastructure outage
[1]A broad outage took the company’s public and merchant-facing web infrastructure offline and disrupted payment processing for more than 200,000 merchants.
- 2007
CyberSource acquisition
[1]CyberSource acquired Authorize.Net and incorporated it into its payment-services portfolio.
- 2004
Lightbridge acquisition and DDoS incident
[1]Lightbridge acquired Authorize.Net, while the service also experienced a prolonged distributed-denial-of-service attack during the year.
- 2000
InfoSpace ownership
[1]Authorize.Net became part of InfoSpace after InfoSpace acquired Go2Net.
- 1999
Go2Net acquisition
[1]Go2Net acquired Authorize.Net in a cash-and-stock transaction reported at US$90.5 million.
- 1996
Authorize.Net is founded
[1]Jeff Knowles founded Authorize.Net in Utah as an internet payment gateway company.
Products and positioning
An established, integration-oriented payment gateway for small and medium-sized merchants, emphasizing online payment acceptance, recurring billing, fraud controls, and compatibility with ecommerce systems.
Payment gateway
Authorize.Net Payment Gateway
The core service routes merchant payment requests for credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks between a merchant’s website or application and the relevant payment-processing infrastructure. It is intended to support online and other internet-connected transactions without requiring consumers to establish a separate Authorize.Net wallet account.
Developer platform
Authorize.Net API and SDKs
Developer interfaces allow ecommerce sites, business software, and mobile applications to connect with Authorize.Net payment functions. Reference material identifies an API and software development kits for Android and iOS, supporting embedded or customized payment experiences.
Subscription payments
Recurring Billing
Recurring-billing functionality is designed for merchants that collect scheduled repeat payments, including subscription and membership businesses. It extends the gateway beyond one-time checkout by managing recurring transaction arrangements through the merchant payment setup.
Merchant operations
Virtual Terminal
The virtual terminal permits authorized merchants to enter payment details manually rather than relying solely on an online storefront. This supports transactions handled by staff, telephone orders, or other situations in which the customer is not entering information directly into a website.
Merchant tools
Invoices and Simple Checkout
Invoice and simplified-checkout features provide merchants with relatively direct ways to request and collect payment. They are part of the brand’s broader effort to serve smaller businesses that may not need to build a fully customized payment stack.
Risk management
Fraud Detection Suite
Authorize.Net offers fraud-protection and transaction-screening capabilities intended to help merchants identify or block suspicious payment activity. Fraud prevention and data security became especially prominent strategic priorities after the brand joined Visa’s payment-services portfolio.
Controversies
2009
Extended service outage
The company’s web and merchant gateway infrastructure went offline on July 2–3, disrupting credit-card processing for more than 200,000 merchants. Communications were also criticized in the reference account because telephone support was unavailable during a previously announced July 4 holiday closure.
2004
Distributed-denial-of-service attack
Authorize.Net’s servers were subjected to a DDoS attack lasting more than a week. The incident severely interrupted gateway availability, and the attackers reportedly demanded money to end the attack.
Brand decisions
2010
Visa acquires CyberSourceM&ABackground
CyberSource owned Authorize.Net after acquiring it in 2007, and Visa sought to expand its ecommerce payment and merchant-services capabilities.
Action taken
Visa acquired CyberSource for approximately US$2 billion and retained Authorize.Net and CyberSource as separate service brands.
Aftermath
Authorize.Net remained focused on small and medium-sized merchants, while CyberSource continued to emphasize larger enterprises and international payment processing. Management identified ecommerce growth, fraud prevention, and data security as priorities.
Acquisition value. Approximately US$2 billion (2010 acquisition)
Recent events
- 2010
Visa acquires CyberSource and retains Authorize.Net as a distinct service[1]
M&A
Visa acquired CyberSource for approximately US$2 billion and maintained Authorize.Net and CyberSource as separate offerings, with Authorize.Net focused on smaller merchants and CyberSource focused on larger and international businesses.
- 2007
CyberSource acquires Authorize.Net[1]
M&A
CyberSource acquired Authorize.Net, adding the gateway brand to its payment-services portfolio.
- 2004
Lightbridge acquires Authorize.Net[1]
M&A
Lightbridge acquired Authorize.Net for a reported US$82 million.
- 2000
InfoSpace acquires Go2Net[1]
M&A
Authorize.Net became part of InfoSpace after InfoSpace acquired Go2Net in a transaction reported at approximately US$4 billion.
- 1999
Go2Net acquires Authorize.Net[1]
M&A
Go2Net acquired Authorize.Net in a transaction reported at US$90.5 million in cash and stock.
Sources3 sources
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