Authorize.net for Shopify: merchant account and gateway setup

Does Shopify still allow Authorize.net?

Yes. Authorize.net is one of the third-party payment providers Shopify supports for United States stores, connected through an Authorize.net app that replaced the older built-in integration. Whether your store can use it depends on the store's country and Shopify's rules for third-party providers, so we check your store before anything is boarded. The part Shopify's help pages skip is that the app needs an Authorize.net account with a merchant account behind it; the app is the connector, not the account. We board the merchant account, set up the gateway on it, then install the connection with you.

What does Shopify charge for a third-party gateway?

Shopify charges its own transaction fee on every order processed by a gateway other than Shopify Payments, and the rate depends on your plan: the higher the plan, the lower the fee. It is Shopify's fee for using someone else's gateway, not a card fee and not something the gateway or the merchant account collects. We do not quote the rate here because it changes by plan and over time; read it from Shopify's current pricing page for your plan and put it next to our quote. For a store Shopify Payments has declined, the question answers itself; for a store still welcome there, it depends on your volume and plan, and we will run the math with you.

Can I do subscriptions with Authorize.net on Shopify?

Not through the Authorize.net app on its own. The newer app handles the checkout; the saved-customer and recurring tools that lived in the old integration are no longer inside Shopify, so a subscription needs a Shopify subscription app that lists Authorize.net as a supported gateway. Some do and some run only on Shopify Payments, so the first thing we check is the app you use or plan to use. For subscriptions sold by phone or email, the gateway's own recurring billing and customer profiles still work; our recurring billing page covers them.

What changed with the newer Authorize.net app, and why are its reviews rough?

Three things merchants notice. Orders carry a Shopify payment ID that no longer matches the Authorize.net transaction ID one to one, so reconciliation needs a mapping, not a search. The customer profiles and recurring billing once reachable from the store are gone from the app. And the setup has gotchas the documentation states briefly: test mode must be off in Authorize.net, and the Authorize.net sandbox cannot connect to a Shopify store, so testing is a small live order you refund.

The reviews are rough because most people meet those three things alone, after a migration they did not ask for. We install the app with you on a call, confirm the settings before the first real order, run the test order and refund together, and show your bookkeeper how the payment ID maps to the gateway's transaction list.

Will Shopify Payments ban my products?

If you sell something on Shopify Payments' restricted or prohibited list, the usual pattern is that the store opens fine, sells for a while, and is then reviewed and closed or limited, with funds held. Hemp and CBD, vape and tobacco, firearms and accessories, many supplements, and trial or continuity subscriptions are the categories we see most. Shopify publishes the list; read it against your catalog.

A dedicated merchant account moves the question from Shopify's list to underwriting: the merchant account decides whether your products are accepted, and the gateway follows. Our industry pages for CBD and hemp, vape, firearms, supplements and subscriptions say what each review looks at. Whether a given product is approved on a given gateway is an underwriting answer, not a sales answer, so tell us exactly what you sell before you apply.

Does NMI work with Shopify?

It depends on when you ask and whom. NMI announced a Shopify integration of its own, with an inline checkout, and NMI's documentation describes it; at the same time some resellers state that Shopify no longer accepts new NMI gateway connections and send their Shopify merchants to Authorize.net. The sources conflict, so we do not publish a yes or a no here. We verify the current state for your store when you apply, in writing, before anything is boarded.

Our default for a Shopify store is Authorize.net, because the connection is documented in Shopify's own help pages and we can stand behind the install. We send a Shopify merchant to NMI only when the business needs what NMI does better, such as more than one merchant account under one gateway login, and only once the Shopify connection is confirmed. If you were told you need NMI specifically, tell us who said so and why.

How long does setup take?

Two clocks run. The first is the merchant account. Approvals usually come back within hours, three days at most. The second is the install, which is one call once the gateway credentials exist: the API Login ID and Transaction Key entered in the Authorize.net app, test mode switched off in Authorize.net (an order placed while it is on looks successful and never settles), a small live order placed, confirmed in the store and the gateway, and refunded, then the cutover from Shopify Payments scheduled so no order lands in between. The slow part, when there is one, is a subscription app or a reconciliation routine that has to change, and we tell you that before you apply. If Shopify Payments has already closed your account, say so on the first call and we move the application to the front of our day.

Can I keep Shopify Payments for some products and use Authorize.net for the rest?

Not inside one store. A Shopify store runs one primary card provider at a time, so the choice is store-wide, and Shopify Payments' product rules apply to the whole store that uses it. Merchants who want both usually end up with two stores: one on Shopify Payments for the unrestricted catalog, one on Authorize.net with a dedicated merchant account for the rest. That only makes sense when the unrestricted side is large; for most stores the cleaner answer is to move the whole store to the dedicated account and let one statement cover everything, counter and phone orders included. Confirm Shopify's current rules for your plan with Shopify; we will tell you what the merchant account can cover.